—— PART#2 ——
By: General James Green
READING COLOSSIANS 1:13-17 gives us a background where Paul is writing about Christ being the Firstborn of all creation (all human beings — v. 15). Verse 16 deals with His creating power. Verse 17 brings it home for us: “in Him all things consist—cohere, are held together” (AMP). The “all things consist” puts Christ as the ORIGINATOR/HEAD/SOURCE…even of immortality/ eternal life.
In v. 18 (in the AMP) we see that “Christ is the Head of [His] body, the church (Gk., EKKLESIA).” Note the word “Head” or “Source”/“Origination”/ “Founder”/etc. The word used here by Paul (figuratively) is the Greek word kephale; it is translated “head” 18 times (in various usages, in the KJV) throughout Paul’s epistles; and we will examine it in 7 instances, where Paul used it figuratively.
Good Bible dictionaries (N.T.), under the title “head,” usually always say something like: “The head is not regarded as the seat of intellect, but as the SOURCE OF LIFE [all-caps mine] . . . thus to lift the head is to grant life in the sense of success (see Jud. 8:28).” So, when Paul penned, “[God/Son] who ALONE has immortality,” He meant not that other men did not possess it, but that He and He ALONE or ONLY was/is the SOURCE of it, not men/man.
Paul continues in Colossians 1:18 — “…seeing He is the Beginning…” —again, showing us that He was the ORIGIN/STARTER of eternal life (being raised from the dead). And note what follows: “…so that He ALONE in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place (i.e., the SUPREME/ FIRST/ORIGINAL place) . . . stand first and be pre-eminent.”
Ephesians 5:23
“FOR THE HUSBAND IS the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body.” The counterpart to that is 1 Cor. 11:3 — “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ (Jesus) is God” (Gk. kephale in each instance). Misunderstandings about the role of women/woman/wife come from the misunderstanding of the word “head” (I’ve got 3 booklets already in print called Women in the Ministry in which I explore all those “anti-women” passages).
But for now, I’ll keep it short. In today’s exegesis (wrong exegesis, of course) “head” means “leader, chief, director, boss, dictator, etc.” Somehow, the church (at least portions of it) equate “head” with “absolute authority” in reference to husband-wife/ male/female relations. But, we must ask ourselves, “What did ‘head’ mean in Biblical Greek language — NOT IN MODERN ENGLISH?”
I did my research years ago. I went thru many Lexicographers’ exegeses, Gk-English lexicons/ dictionaries/concordances/etc., especially the BAGD/ NIDNTT/NIGTC/MM/LSJM/TDNT/TNTC/TWNT/ UBSGNT, etc. I searched out every verse where Paul used kephale.
One of the best and most complete Gk. lexicons (covering Homeric, classic, and Koine Gk) is by Liddell, Scott, Jones, and Mckenzie (LSJM). It is based on the examination of THOUSANDS of Gk. writings, from Homer (1000 B.C.)to authors in A.D. 600. And, guess what: it does not include “final authority,” “superior rank,” or anything like what today’s misogynists believe. [Note: the Koine Gk. lexicon by Arndt and Gingrich (also Bauer) does list “superior rank” as a “POSSIBLE” meaning for kephale; and some other N.T. lexicons think kephale COULD mean “superior authority” (supported by the Septuagint — Gk. O.T.).]
Frankly, in 180 instances in the O.T., the Hebrew word ro’sh (“head”) is used to describe and define “chief, leader, superior rank,” etc. But the translators of the Septuagint (the LXX, the Gk. O.T., which was translated directly from the Hebrew, between 250 and 150 B.C.) hardly ever used kephale (“head”) for ro’sh. They usually used the Gk. archon, meaning, “leader, ruler, or commander.” I can’t go into all I dug out, but at least you can know that the N.T. kephale DOES NOT mean what anti-woman/ anti-women people want it to mean. Yet this is not to say that there is not hierarchy in the N.T.
Did Paul Know What “Head” Meant?
OF COURSE! PAUL KNEW both Greek and Hebrew; therefore he knew exactly what kephale meant.
Let us take a look at those 7 texts in which Paul used kephale figuratively: (Note: All texts are taken from the New American Standard Bible.)
1—Col. 2:10 (context: vv. 8-15) “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circum-cision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” V. 10— “LIFE SOURCE” is the key.
2—Col. 2:19 (context: vv. 16-19) “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God,…” “SOURCE” is the key.
3—Col. 1:18 (context: vv. 14-20) “…in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or auth-orities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in Heaven,…” “SOURCE or ORIGIN / COMPLETION” is the key.
4—Eph. 4:15 (context: vv. 11-16) “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together, by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love,” “CHRIST AS NOURISHER/ SOURCE” is the key in this portion, but some stress “superior rank,” which Christ, no doubt, is “superior” to man.
5—1 Cor. 11:3 (context: vv. 2-16) “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.
Therefore, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. Judge for yourselves, : is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.”
In the above section, Paul stresses how men and women act in public; but he used “head” (v. 3) with the meaning (the key) of “SOURCE or ORIGIN.” Take note of this: woman came from the man: he was the “SOURCE” of the woman, just like man/male came from Christ, his “SOURCE” (see also 1 Cor. 8:6 where ALL creation came from Christ; and Jn. 8:42 where God is the base of Christ).
6—Eph. 5:23 (context: vv. 19-23) “…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.” Paul uses the head-body metaphor to show “UNITY” — not “fleshly authority.”
NOTE the Greek word “submit” or “be subject to.” I want to mention here that those words do not appear in v. 22 originally; v. 22 reads, “Wives to your husband…” The verb supplied must therefore refer to the same kind of submission demanded of all Christians in v. 21.
[Berkeley and Alvera Mickelson, Professors at Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Some of their articles on men/women issues were first published in Christianity Today, 1981].
Christ does have AUTHORITY over His Church/Ekklesia/Body (Mt. 16:18), but most passages that deal with Him as “Head” do not point to His “AUTHORITY,” but to the ONENESS of Christ and His people. In Ephesians 5:18-33, this “ONENESS” is applied to husband/wife.
What Paul was stressing, was that as Christ is the enabler (the One who brings to completion), so the husband/man is to enable (bring to completion) his wife — where she becomes all that she is meant to be. Therefore, the main issue is not that MAN IS RULER! but that the husband is to NOURISH/SUPPLY/CHERISH his wife (v. 29). How many women have been BEATEN and BULLIED with these Scriptures?
7—Eph. 1:20-23 (context: vv. 13-23) “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
Kephale means “top or crown.” Here the apostle presents an exalted picture of Christ in His authority over His creation. The authority of Christ, established in vv. 20-21, is extended to every extremity from crown (head) to feet . . . including the whole body of Christ. The key is “of Him who makes everything everywhere [with Himself]” (v. 23 AMP.—He supplies!)
So, with all this said, we see that if Paul was setting up a male/man domination system, he would not have used kephale, but exausia (see Rom. 13:1-2) or archon (Rom. 13:3).
My Point?
MY POINT OF ALL THE ABOVE is to show our opponents that 1 Tim. 6:16, “Who alone has immortality,” was showing that God/Christ, ALONE/ONLY are the exalted ORIGINATORS and COMPLETERS. God/Christ is/are the source(s), base(s), derivation(s), enabler(s) (the One/Ones who give(s) immortality / eternal life / spiritual gifts / etc., and brings to completion). God/Christ was/are the source of life, not man/men.
When we speak of “the spring of the river,” we mean, “the source of the river,” or “the origin of the river.” God was/is the spring or origin of all life—both created/natural and immortal/eternal/ everlasting life.
Breath of Life
GENESIS 2:7 GIVES US THE ACCOUNT of man being created a compound being, having a body and spirit distinctly (Paul states in 1 Thess. 5:23 that man is body-soul-spirit). When God breathed into man the breath of life, that body was filled with God’s Spirit (immortality is God!); man became a living soul—became a human being with a soul. The body derives its ORIGIN from the earth; of the soul it is said, God breathed life, i.e., (Heb.) nishmuth chaiyim, the “breath of LIVES,” i.e., animal and intellectual.
Adam (adham, man) was formed from the ground (adhamah). The (Heb) word nephesh, rendered “soul” (KJV) or “being” (RSV), denotes here a “complete person” (to read a good source on nephesh, see Johannes Pedersen, Israel I-II, 1926, pp. 99-181).
We all know the story—Adam fell, was “ruined” / “destroyed” (for what he and Eve were meant for — they were not annihilated); hence, the need for the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. By and through Him (Jesus) men can be reconciled to God. Man’s body that was subject to death and decay, can now receive immortality at the resurrection. Man’s spirit can now be made ALIVE/ETERNAL (in opposition to eternal death — where it definitely is, pre-salvation).
Man’s soul/spirit was affected by the fall; but, I believe it still had a life that could not die — but now it was separated from God. Could God’s “Spirit Breath” die? If so, this would mean that God could die, though He is immortality. This is our struggle in this writing: trying to find out what those N.T. passages mean that show the lost sinner in HELLFIREforever. If only the born-again Christian has immortality,—a life that cannot be DESTROYED (or even annihilated)—what does the lost-sinner have? Are they “alive” in HELLFIRE; do they feel pain, suffer; and are fully conscious? One thing is for sure, they do not have a WAY OUT, nor do they have the same kind of life—ζωή—as the redeemed; they do not die or become extinct.
Death/Death
THERE IS PHYSICAL DEATH and there is spiritual death; neither means annihilation/extinction. As a Christian, we are constantly dying (or we should be) as 2 Cor. 4:8-16 speaks, “Dying, and, behold we live” (2 Cor. 6:4-10). We die to self-sin-satan’s temptations, but we live for Christ: we live and die at the same time.
Death/Life
“AND AFTER SIX DAYS Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him” (Matt. 17:1-3, KJV).
Here we find two O.T. saints, Moses and Elias (Elijah), with Jesus. Verse 2, I believe, was a preview of Jesus’ immortality (and His body was not affected by sin as men’s bodies are). This “transfiguration” (found also in Rom. 12:2 and 2 Cor. 3:18) was a foretaste of what Jesus, after rising from the dead, would experience in His body — His future glory, in which we will be like unto Him, His body also. The idea is further developed in 2 Cor. 3:18, where those who behold the glorified Christ are metamorphosed into the same glory (see also 2 Cor. 4:16 – 5:5).
The two visitors, Moses and Elijah, WERE ALIVE, obviously with immortality/eternal life, which proves life after death, at least for the redeemed. They were not in “soul-sleep” as the JW’s tell us. This preview of eschatology is our hope, the confirmation for our faith. Later, Peter wrote that he, James and John were “eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16), proving that life after death is real. This same transformation—from mortal (body) to immortality (body) will be ours in Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
What do we learn from this account? That Jesus (and God) were/are the source of immortality. Paul writes in Col. 3:4 (AMP), “When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in (the splendor of His) glory.” What was Paul saying? He was saying that Christ is the SOURCE/ ORIGIN of our life—immortal life, eternal life, never-ending life, quality of life.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses
THE JW’S ARE AMONG THOSE who teach and trick people with chicanery, into believing the concept that eternal punishment is absolute extinction (annihilation). Anyone who studies their beliefs, especially about Hell, will be AMAZED at the poor reasoning and HORRIBLY FAULTY Biblical exegesis (really eisegesis!!!).
Sheol
To the JW’s, “Sheol” (O.T. Heb. word) is merely the grave. They make the mistake that a Hebrew or Greek word means one thing and has no other meaning. I like the way the late Dr. Walter Martin, M.S., Ph.D., shows this:
“In the Heb. text, the word ‘lechem’ is translated ‘bread’ 238 times, one time as ‘feast’, 21 times as ‘food’, one time as ‘fruit’, 5 times as ‘loaf’, 18 times as ‘meat’, one time as ‘provision’, two times as ‘victuals’, and once as ‘eat’. This puts to silence the argument that Sheol always means the grave. It is clear that it has an area of meaning which must be decided from the context, not by the conjectures of misinformed authors (like Charles T. Russell)” (Martin’s Kingdom of the Cults, 1977, p. 89).
Extinction / Annihilation
THE JW’S BELIEVE that death merely means being unconscious/extinction, though we can’t find this “fact” anywhere in the Bible. Death in the Biblical sense means separation. We have a tract called Will The Soul Be Annihilated In Gehenna? in which we go into Ezekiel 18 — “The soul that sinneth … it shall die (be separated).” When Adam sinned, his soul was not annihilated, but merely separated from God’s fellowship. Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, as already stated, provided a reconciliation for every soul to be “born again,” “regenerated,” “saved” thru the redemptive Blood Atonement (see Jn. 3:3-7, 15, 16; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; Col. 1:14; et al.).Death, dear ones, is not extinction (see Isa. 59:1-2; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21-23).
Bad Exegesis!
ALL THESE PEOPLE are putting forth some very poor exegesis when they believe the word “Hell,” when translated from the Greek “Gehenna,” means “everlasting extinction” (i.e., “annihilation”). In Matthew 5:22, Gehenna is portrayed (lit.) as “The Hell of Fire”. In 10:28, coupled with (Gk.) apolesai, we find “to be delivered up to eternal misery” (as Thayer says, p. 64). And in Matthew 18:9, the same words corroborate 5:22 — “The Hell of Fire” (see Thayer, p. 443 [A] on “olethros” and Latin vulnus—“to wound”).
Re-read Matt. 8:11-12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; Lk. 13:24-28; 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 13; Rev. 14:9-11; 19:20—all these passages prove EVERLASTING CONSCIOUS SEPARATION FROM GOD and TORMENT and NO WAY OUT!!
Descriptive Greek
AS ALREADY WRITTEN ABOUT, Rev. 20:10 is the most descriptive Greek text: “And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire … where the beast and the false prophet ARE and they will be TORMENTED (Gk. basanisthesontai) DAY AND NIGHT into EVERLASTING (aionos = never ending/eternal) OF THE EVERLASTING.” Remember, our opponents tell us that when a soul is cast into Hell, that soul is immediately “burned up” or “annihilated.”
The Greek word basanizo literally means “to torment,” “to be harassed,” “to torture,” or “to vex with grievous pains” (see Thayer, p. 96 [b];) and is used throughout the N.T. to denote GREAT PAIN and CONSCIOUS MISERY! Check out the following passages where basanizo exhibits God’s eternal justice: Matt. 8:6; 8:29; Mk. 5:7; Lk. 8:28; Rev. 14:10 (which we’ve already looked into — see Thayer, p. 40 [B] and Liddell and Scott where they use anapausis (“intermission; by impl. recreation: – rest”), speaking rather of NO intermission, cessation, annihilation or relief).
Orges (Wrath) of God
“LOVE WINS OUT” — so backslidden Rob Bell tells us. This mega church pastor (who left his flock to tell any and all that ALL will go to Heaven Bull!!) used to preach what the Bible says, but now has switched to “universalism.” He claims that (Gk.) Orges will be replaced with “eternal love”. This is literally a falsehood, Rob “no Hell” Bell! God is both “love” and “justice”—man condemns himself, not God. God merely acts upon what man has done (see Matt. 12:37). These lies are growing daily, i.e., annihilation and universalism. “Love” does not win out— all will not be saved (in their sins) and go to Heaven, any more than those in Hell-fire will be annihilated. The souls that end up in Hell-fire will never be destroyed, as we’ve seen by (Gk.) apollumi (ἀπόλλυμι), which is a strengthened form of ollumi, which signifies, “to destroy utterly;” in middle voice, “to perish.” In Gk. the idea is never extinction/annihilation, but “ruin”, “loss”, not of being, but of well-being, (see W.E. Vine’s Expository Dict. of N.T. words, p. 302).
One ought to see how apollumi is used in Lk. 5:37 (wine skins); Lk. 15:4, 6 (lost sheep); Lk. 15:24 (lost son); Jn. 6:27 (perishing food); 1 Pet. 1:7 (of gold); Matt. 2:13 (or persons) where “destroy” is used; 8:25 where “perish” is used; 22:7; 27:20 where the loss of well-being in the case of the unsaved hereafter, Matt. 10:28; Lk. 13:3, 5; Jn. 3:16; 10:28, 17:12, Rom. 2:12; Sam. 2:12; 1 Cor. 15:18; 2 Cor. 2:15, “are perishing”; 4:3; 2 Thess. 2:10; Jam. 4:12; 2 Pet. 3:9.
Also, along with (Gk.) apollumi, there are katargeo (abolish); kathaireo (pull down); luo (to loose, demolish etc.); katuluo (to destroy); olothreuo (to destroy); exolothreuo (slay wholly); phtheiro (corruption); diaphtheiro (waste, destroy) [all those were verbs]. Following are (Gk.) nouns: olothreutes (destroyer); apoleia (destruction); kathairesis (cast down); olethros (ruin etc.); phthora (destroy); sumtrim ma (breaking-in pieces).
So, we must be careful what word we use in our studies.
Shall Suffer Punishment
OH, HOW PEOPLE LIKE ROB BELL, Brian McLaren, Heather Kirk-Davidoff, Mark Scandrette, Phyllis Tickle, Nanette Sawyer—just a few names who make up today’s Emergent church—HATE the authority of Christ, His Words on Hell-fire punishment etc. These backslidden reprobates denounce biblical orthodoxy; they embrace “a generous Orthodoxy”—“orthoparadoxy.” These sickos spread religious poison thru religious academia, and many reputedly conservative/orthodox schools/universities/seminaries/etc. have come under their DELUSIONS (see our two Stinking, Rotting Corpse booklets). No-Hell-Rob-Bell says, “We’re rediscovering Christianity…” HA! You’re in REBELLION! Rejecting the Bible as the only authoritative propositional Truth is not “rediscovering Christianity”, but falling from grace.
These folks HATE the truth about “eternal punishment”, some believe in universal salvation, others in annihilation. As usual, the ones that believe in extinction, accept the misapplied word for “destroy”. We’ve already seen how “destroy” is used in the Gk., the Heb. word is ubad, which does not convey the meaning of annihilation.
They make the same mistake as do the JW’s, 7th-Day Adventists and the Emergent church reprobates. The JW’s especially like Ezek. 28:16-19 for their proof text of annihilation:
“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”
Verse 10 in the Amp. Bible says, “…you have come to a horrible end and shall never return to being” (see also Isa. 23; Joel 3; Amos 1; Zech. 9); the KJV says, “…thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more;” the RSV says, “…you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more for ever.” The term here used may be validly rendered, “to reckon as lost, given up as lost, or cast away” (see Eccl. 3:6, also Gesenius’ Heb.-Eng. Lexicon). Ezek. 28:19 is translated, as the JW’s translate it, “never shalt thou be anymore” (see Let God Be True, p. 56). The Heb. word ‘ayin [see Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Heb. and Chaldee Dict., p. 11. The Heb. letters are Aleph (A), Yod (Y), Nun (N), transliterated ‘AYIN] may properly be rendered “to fail” or “to be gone” — NOT“TO CEASE TO EXIST!!”(see Isa. 44:12; 1 Kgs. 20:40).
Hebrew scholars (honest ones) say the use of ‘ayin in Heb. sentence structure is the standard means employed when negating noun clauses. Dr. W. Martin gives an example of this in 1 Kgs. 20:40 where the term ‘ayin is utilized to show the man’s absence or escape, not his extinction. The JW’s use Ezek. 28 to prove that the devil/Satan will be annihilated in the end.
The Lost Will Suffer with Satan
WE DON’T MIND if Satan and his demons suffer eternally, but it irks these “God loves All and never will punish anyone—no matter how in the Hell they live!!” folks to know that God will punish them too. But what are we to do with texts like 2 Thess. 1:8-9? “To deal out retribution (chastisement and vengeance) upon those who do not know or perceive or become acquainted with God, and [upon those] who ignore and refuse to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such people will pay the penalty and suffer the punishment of everlasting ruin (destruction and perdition) and eternal exclusion and banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (Amp.). Check out Paul’s words: retribution, chastisement, vengeance, penalty, suffer, punishment, everlasting ruin (correct Gk.), destruction/perdition. Where is “Love Wins Out” Rob?
Gk. scholar A.T. Robertson in his Word Pictures in the N.T., p. 518 says about verse 9—“shall suffer punishment”—“literally ‘to pay a penalty of justice/right” (see Ps. 19). “This is the regular phrase, with classic writers, for paying the penalty,” he continues, “Eternal destruction”=destruction (see 1 Thess. 5:3) does NOT mean annihilation here, but, as Paul proceeds to show, separation from the face of the Lord and separation from the glory of His might, for an eternity (lit. “age-long”) in the coming age, in contrast to this (present) age (see Matt. 25:46).” That “age-long” age is that “never-ending age.”
Eternal Entity Necessitates Eternal Hellfire
SINCE HELLFIRE IS NEVER PUT OUT, then we know that eternal entities will never be annihilated. Can the nephesh (Heb., spirit) or psuche (Gk., soul) be annihilated? The “soul” is not merely a principle of life, but an entity (see Gen. 35:18; 1 Kgs. 17:21, 22; Rev. 6:9-11 etc.), seeing that the “soul” departs at the physical death of the (dust) body.
I feel that language changes over the centuries contribute to much misunderstanding on subjects like this. I’m still searching for answers myself. We know that the word “immortal” means “not mortal.” In theology, the word means “exemption from death”. Scholars ask, “When texts use the term immortal, is this definition all that is meant?” Like when I started this article, I said that I can’t find a clear text (like 1 Tim. 6:16) that shows that man or his soul is immortal. We can assume that at creation, God gave man immortality, for He was/is the origin or source of it (actually “origin” isn’t the best word for it might imply that God had a beginning, but I use it as for the beginning of man’s life).
Remember our study on immortality, the Gk. (first) is athanasia, and it appears 3 times and is translated “immortality” each time. The other word (second), aphthartos, likewise translated “immortality” (twice) and “incorruption” (4 times). We’ve already seen that athanasian is used in our main text—1 Tim. 6:16. As I stated before hand, I think Paul had in mind, and was refuting, idolatry. Could he have had Emperor worship in mind? We know that such men thought themselves to be immortal, and the people certainly did think of the emperors as immortal, hence, “Who only hath immortality” (speaking of God). As far as I can see, “immortality” is future, for the body. The same holds true for when aphtharsion is used in Rom. 2:7, “something sought for”, and in 1 Pet. 1:4, “reserved in Heaven for you (us)”, it is of the incorruption of man to be given in the future. But then we must take into consideration Jn. 3:16 where presently we can have eternal life—a life that is a deathlessness and a divine kind of life.
Paul exhorts us to “put on (endusasthe) Christ (Rom. 13:14; Gal. 3:27), “the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12), “the new man” (Eph. 4:24), and “the armor or panoply of God” (Eph. 6:11). Just what are we putting on? Since men prior to the above are mortal, e.g., in a fallen, separated state of being, and their spirit is dead (spiritually separated, yet still active), and their body full of corruption/death, just what happens at conversion? Even though we were dead in sin (Read Eph. 2:1-3 in the AMP Bible), we were resurrected from death (spiritual), yet not exempt from physical death. So, what did we receive if not immortality? (We were reconciled back to God and we received at least a portion of His attribute which is immortality.)
Soul — Existing Somewhere?
WE USE “eternal” in association with the soul, since after its creating by God, it will (future) exist, but what about now? Jn. 3:16, our favorite love passage says, “…that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish (remember our word study on “perish”), but have everlasting life” (KJV). Other translations say, “eternal life.” “Perish” is too often forgotten. It points to the dreadful reality of eternal/everlasting punishment; ”Eternal life” is the gift of God (Who is the source of it) bestowed on us at regeneration, a re-creating and transformation of the person who repented of, and confessed their sins, (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23), by God (the Holy Spirit—Jn. 3:6; 7:4, 3:5). Did man lose the “breath of life” which he/she received at creation? Did it become extinct? If so, then we all must believe in annihilation, shouldn’t we?
What does it really mean to be born again? I can’t see how men in their fallen state actually lose their soul in the sense of it becoming extinct. Sure, the fall affected all humans, but what keeps man alive?, even in his fallen state? Mere physical life? That is, for the body, the soul/spirit is non-physical, therefore, alive yet dead (in sins) without soul/spirit, the body is DEAD! So, the soul/spirit, eternal, lives. Children of the devil have a soul/spirit that is alive, yet dead in sin(s). To say immortality/eternal life is yet future confuses me.
Adam’s Sin Passed
MAN IS A CREATION OF GOD, created in His spiritual image (Gen. 1:26; 5:1; 1 Cor. 11:7), he is a real spirit being (Job. 32:8; Ps. 51:10; Eccl. 12:7; Acts 7:59; and 2 Cor. 4:13); but man sinned and became separated from God’s fellowship, but, did not become extinct; Adam’s sin nature passed upon ALL humankind, ALL! (Rom. 5:12); God sent His Son, the second Adam to CONNECT Spirit/spirit; to redeem man (Jn. 3:16). This “operation rescue” was, and is, by and through the victorious death of the Son (Matt. 26:28; Acts 20:28; Rom. 5:9; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19; 1 Jn. 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 7:14; Col. 1:20 etc.). This rescue/salvation/redemption is obtained by the new birth by grace thru faith in Jesus Christ the Lord.
Since God IS Spirit (not just “a Spirit,” Jn. 4:24) and is incorporeal, He imparted to man, at creation, a spiritual nature, the essence of immortality. There is NO Scriptural evidence that the soul ceases to exist upon the body dying (please read Lk. 20:37, 38); the only reasonable conclusion then, is that the O.T. saints possessed spiritual natures that transcended natural death. This we are assured of. We’ve already looked at Matt. 17 where Moses and Elijah were ALIVE. And we have looked into Lk. 16:19-31 where the soul of the beggar (redeemed) and the soul of the rich man (not redeemed) were both ALIVE/conscious. Also, we can see in Rev. 6:9 that the souls of those killed for the gospel are ALIVE.
Paul makes it clear in 2 Cor. 5:1-9 that to be absent from the body (his soul/spirit) is to be CONSCIOUSLY PRESENT (in immortality) with the Lord. In 1 Cor. 15:35-49 Paul deals with the question of the resurrection of the body.
So, Scripture teaches that the redeemed will be in Heaven (Light/Glory/Life)—in a resurrected/ glorified body, soul, spirit; and the wicked will be in “outer darkness” (Mt. 8:11, 12; 13:42-50; 22:13; 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 13; Rev. 14:9-11; 19:20 etc.), which does not mean extinction, but separation from what the redeemed have. The redeemed will have immortality in the fullness and incorruption (athanasion, aphtharsion). The wicked will be in a state of “eternal death.”
Men have an “eternal” soul now, whether they are redeemed or not—a soul that cannot die or be annihilated. As I already stated, but I repeat, the Heb. word for “soul” is nephesh—“spirit” is ruach. The Gk. word for “soul” is psuche; “spirit” is pneuma. This soul/spirit of man is an entity possessing the attributes of life (Isa. 55:3); it exists independent of material form. The soul/spirit departs at death (Gen. 35:18), and is conscious (not soul-sleeping) after death (Matt. 17:3; Rev. 6:9-11, see also 1 Sam. 28:18, 19).
Do you remember Stephen’s prayer at death (Acts 7:59)? Isa. 57:16 speaks of the spirit/soul of man and Zech. 12:1 tells us that the spirit is separate from the body. Matt. 26:41 lets us know that man’s spirit/soul has a personality, “wills” (Gk. prothumon).
We are instructed to worship in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23; Phil. 3:3—our spirit is to worship God who IS Spirit).
The spirit of man has the attribute of personality, the ability to witness (Rom. 8:16, 26), capable of knowing (1 Cor. 2:11).
We all know that the spirit can be either lost or saved (in Christian language), but in reality, it is not lost or extinct, only separated from God’s fellowship/love etc. (1 Cor. 5:5).
Since God is the Head/Source/Origin of our body-soul-spirit, we are to glorify Him in them (1 Cor. 6:20).
At death, I repeat, both soul and spirit go out of earth’s time and into timeless eternity, being a conscious entity (Gal. 6:8). When the body dies, the spirit, which is its life, departs (Jam. 2:26).
“But, God is Love!”
TRUE, HE IS LOVE, but within that love is justice. These folks that decry (express strong disapproval of) His Wrath/punishment side, are, of course, steeped in Political Correctness, non-judgmentalism, accusatory, all inclusive, annihilationists or universalists…anything but Biblically Correct! The reality of eternal punishment is clouded by idealistic concepts that either the lost will be annihilated or ALL will be saved in the end. They rest their case upon “God is love.” For these LOST souls, God’s infinite justice does not exist, and eternal retribution has been either swallowed up in “all will go to Heaven,” or “all will be extinct” in the end. They have (almost) zero respect for biblical hermeneutical principles, contexts or proper exegesis.