Introduction

 

This is part 2 of our discussion on death, the grave, and the resurrection. And we will be picking up where we left off in part 1, which if you haven’t had the opportunity to either read or listen to that post on any of the platforms in which this program is hosted, I would humbly encourage you to do so.

 

But in part 1, we engaged ourselves in a rather broad overview on this subject. But today, this being part 2 of our discussion, we will focus on religiosity’s concept of the “immortal soul” and compare it with the scriptural reality and truth regarding the human soul and what really happens to the soul when a person dies.

 

 

The Origin of the Erroneous Concept of the Immortality of the Soul

 

The conventional wisdom of religiosity today is that humanity is composed of a temporal body and an immortal soul. And according to religiosity, the immortal soul is housed in its temporal body that is composed of flesh and blood. The body serves only as a temporary physical framework or vehicle for the soul. And so, at death, the immortal soul separates from its body. Beyond its physical body the immortal soul exists or dwells in some eternal-conscious ethereal place or location (e.g., purgatory; heaven; hell).

 

So, where did this erroneous understanding of the human soul originate? 

 

 

Well, it turns out  that a James Bonwick, in his book entitled “Egyptian Beliefs and Modern Thought (1956),” lays the blame at the feet of the Greek historian and geographer Herodotus (5th century BC), who in turn said that the concept of the “immortal soul” separating itself from the body at death and existing in some conscious state beyond its body, originated with the ancient Egyptians. Later, contends Herodotus, the Greeks adopted and promoted the “immortal soul paradigm” to the uttermost parts of the world.

 

Who were the primary Greek purveyors of this concept?

Well, it’s believed by some that the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates (~470-399 BC) first picked up on and developed and taught this Egyptian concept during his time in Athens. And then his protégé Plato (~428-348 BC) continued his mentor’s work on the immortal soul paradigm by promoting and teaching it from his thought academy.

 

According to these two ancient Greek philosophers, the soul of man is immortal and indestructible. And so, at death, the immortal, indestructible soul separates and exists independently of its physical body.

 

Plato went even farther by stipulating that after death, all souls are judged according to the deeds done in that soul’s body.

 

The souls that are deemed righteous, I presume by the gods, would go on to heaven, while the souls that are deemed wicked go on to hell or hades (Plato’s “Phaedo,” aka “On the Soul”).

 

And so, the paradigm of the immortal soul spread throughout the known western and eastern world. Shockingly, it was adopted and syncretized into certain sects of the Jewish religion by way of Hellenist Jews. Consequently, the most notable promoter of the immortal soul paradigm that was consistent with the teachings of Socrates and Plato appears to have been the Hellenist Jewish Philosopher and Historian Philo Judaeus—aka Philo of Alexandria (~25 BC-45-50 AD).

 

How and why would a member of the Jewish religion promote such pagan-based foolishness? Well, it turns out that Philo loved and studied Greek philosophy. And this, of course, led to his allegorizing and syncretizing Torah with Greek philosophy. Consequently, Philo’s efforts to marry Hebrew understanding of the Tanach with Greek/Stoic philosophical principles paid off handsomely. His teachings about the immortal soul and the afterlife found a home, as we previously discussed, in various Talmudic/Midrashic writings (content found in the Talmud that is meant to provide textual interpretation, study, and exegesis that date back to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD).

 

It was the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (A.D. 37-~100 A.D.) who said that Philo was influenced by the Alexandrian School. The Alexandrian School was a collective of literary, philosophical, medical, and science thought that originated out Alexandria Egypt/Mitsrayim) during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

 

Conditional Resurrection Versus the Immortal Soul Paradigm

 

Now, as it relates to this Babylonian and Greek derived concept of the immortality of the soul, two perspectives dominated the so-called “inter-testament-years” (I.e., the 400 or so years between the time that the Book of Malachi—~420 BC—was written and the ministry of Yochanan the Immerser began:

 

1. Judaism of that time, in general, held to the Tanakh-supported and established understanding of a “conditional resurrection” of the righteous. Conditional resurrection holds that eternal life is gifted to the Creator’s righteous ones. Consequently, the Hebraic concept of conditional resurrection is inconsistent with the pagan-based “immortal soul” paradigm. Why? Simply because it doesn’t make sense that the so-called immortal soul of a righteous one would be fluttering about in some temporal, purgatorial, ethereal place, then sent back and reunited with its temporal body in some future resurrection of the dead. Not to mention, the very term “resurrection” and the act of being resurrected, which is the raising of one from the dead, is contradictory to the concept of the immortal soul. For the concept of the immortal soul suggests that there really is no such thing as death. Because the soul—that indestructible element of humanity that makes a person a person—the soul never dies.

 

So, to bridge the chasm that existed between the concepts of a conditional resurrection and the Hellenistic-held belief in the immortal soul, the rabbis produced the idea that it is the soul’s immortality is “conditional.” In other words, the righteous soul is granted immortality at death.

 

Interestingly, some of the writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls supported this very understanding of the “conditional immortal soul.”

 

1. 2. The Greek-influenced Jews (aka Hellenistic Jews) began to teach and promote soul immortality as evinced in some of their liturgy and prayers for the dead (e.g., “El Malei Rachamim” or God, Full of Mercy”).

 

It was Judas Maccabeus, who headed the Jewish resistance against the Greeks in the 2nd-century AD, who is recorded to have prayed for the dead as recorded in 2 Maccabees 12:39-48. Consequently, such acts served as a profound refutation, if you will, of a future resurrection of the righteous dead.

 

The Pervasiveness of the Immortal Soul Paradigm

 

From this juncture in history, it is not hard to see how the immortal soul paradigm crept into so-called Roman Christianity. After the passing of the last inner-circle disciple turned apostle, John (aka Yochanan), the “true faith once delivered” began to be overrun by pagan-influenced intellectuals who promoted this Egyptian-Greek-based concept of the “immortal soul.” These thinkers and influencers have been referred to by some as the Patristic Church Fathers. Their writings influenced and shaped what we know today to be Roman-Christianity between the 2nd and 13th centuries AD. These Roman-Christian thinkers and their writings about the soul of man included the following:

 

• Tertullian (~155-230 AD)—developed and promoted the concept of the “eternal torment of the wicked.” It was in fact Tertullian, who was one of the earliest Patristic Church Fathers, who promoted the concept of hell-fire punishment and torment of the wicked upon their death.

 

• Augustine (354-430 AD)— who advanced the understanding that the immortal soul of man, depending on its judged moral standing when he walked the earth, would determine whether, after death, he would dwell in either “paradise” or “hell” (”The City of God”).

 

• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)— who promoted the “traditional catholic” position on the immortality of the soul, which is the idea that the soul constitutes the “form of the body.” In other words, the human soul makes a person a living thing. And so, according to Aquinas, the soul is independent of the physical body and is destined to exist in an afterlife upon death—not a resurrection mind you–but rather, a temporal, ethereal existence in either “heaven” or “hell.”

 

According to Aquinas, the soul yearns to be joined to its body, for the physical body and its immortal soul form a complete being. This constitutes the fundamental teaching of the Roman Catholic Church even to this day.

 

Fortunately, 1st-century Messianics held to and taught the Tanach-based, “holistic” concept of human nature, which as mentioned in part 1 of this discussion, involves the resurrection of the righteous dead. And this resurrection being a gift of Yah to those found to be righteous based upon their abiding Faith in the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah. Those on the other hand who are judged as wicked will face ultimate and final destruction by the righteous judge of all humanity. And it is this paradigm that was taught, wrote about, and promoted by Yeshua and the “Apostolic Fathers.”

 

The Immortal Soul Paradigm Inextricably Linked to Purgatory and Indulgences

 

It was these and other such expressed perspectives on the soul’s immortality helped fuel the Roman Catholic doctrine of “purgatory.”

 

Just so we’re all on the same page, “purgatory,” according to Roman Catholic teaching, is an ethereal place where the souls of the dead are purified of their sins. It is generally viewed as a temporary abode for the dead before the soul ascends to “paradise.’

 

Now, over the course of time, the Catholic brand of purgatory made provision for the family members of the dearly departed to lessen their loved one’s time in purgatory by the giving of “indulgences” to the Church Triumphant.

 

Indulgences, if you didn’t already know, served, according to the Church Triumphant, as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and all of the saints” (Wikipedia-Indulgence).

 

In other words, beloved, the Church Triumphant produced a crazy, biblically unsupported scheme, to rob her members of their hard-earned moneys and fatten the Church’s coffers. Romanism already laid claim to the authority to pardon sin, although the church denies such a claim. But this scheme added to the authority of the Church to lessen a dearly departed one’s penance or time in purgatory. And so, if the family member of a deceased soul was willing to pay the Church some scratch, then the family member’s concerns for their deceased loved one’s state and time in purgatory could be lessened, or altogether erased. The use of indulgences, however, weren’t limited to lessening the length of time a deceased individual spent in purgatory. It also served to address the severity of penance one is required to endure for sins committed anytime during his or her life.

 

Interestingly, the Catholic Church firmly contends that indulgences do not forgive the “guilt of sin, nor does it provide a release from the eternal punishment associated with unrepentant mortal sins.” But rather, indulgences serve only to “relieve the…temporal punishment resulting from the effect of sin.”

 

The whole rigmarole about indulgences proved extremely problematic for several individuals, both within and outside of the Church Triumphant. For many, especially the Protestant Reformers, could see right through the “indulgences” scheme. And so, the doctrine of indulgences became one of the platforms by which the reformers set out to separate themselves and their followers from the Roman Catholic Church.

 

The power that the doctrine of indulgences had over many faithful Catholics was founded primarily upon their steadfast understanding and belief in the immortality of the human soul. For without a firm belief in the immortality of the soul, the practice of indulgences could not stand.

 

Nevertheless, the Protestant Reformers chose to retain and promote the concepts of “soul-consciousness” and the “immortality of the soul” and the erroneous idea that the soul, upon death of its body, took up residence either in heaven or in hell.

 

 

The Lie That Keeps on Giving

 

Beloved, I pray that you have been able to draw from all that we’ve been discussing here today and from part 1 of this discussion, that the immortal soul paradigm is a completely made-up sham—a lie of the enemy, if you will. And that billions of people throughout millennia have been duped into believing it. Some at the risk of losing their opportunity for resurrection and to receive the coming Kingdom of Elohim. And I would go so far as to say that the immortal soul paradigm is an outcropping of the lie that the nachash—what our English bibles translate as “serpent”—assured Chavah (aka Eve) in Gan Eden on that fateful day:

 

“You will not surely die” (Genesis/Beresheit 3:4).

 

The nachash of course knew the truth of this matter. But he had some important goods to sell Adam and Chavah that day. You see, he had to contradict the truths that Adam previously received from Yah regarding his human existence—that they consisted of a codependent body and soul that the Creator animated by breathing into them the breath of life that comes only from Him. And so, it stands to reason that the couple had received some understanding of what death meant for their person. And so, it makes sense that the couple would have had a concern that if they transgressed the Creator’s commandments, their soul and body would cease to function, and Yah’s animating “breath of life” would return to Yah who breathed it into their body and soul (Genesis/Beresheit 2:17; 3:3). There was no indication given by Yah to Adam and Chavah that if they transgressed His Torah that the consequences of their transgression would amount to anything other than the total end to their life. In other words, death meant death. Death did not mean that they would continue to exist in another state of being in another place and time.

 

In other words, Yehovah meant what He meant—You disobey my instructions, you will die. Unlike the nachash, Yah does not lie.

 

Torah is quite clear regarding Yah’s integrity:

 

^aGod is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Num 23:19 ESV)

 

The Tanach View of Human Nature

 

Torah reveals to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to receive its truths, the reality of human existence on this planet. And that truth is that a human being is a living soul that is meant to exist on this earthly plain:

 

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 soul (Hebrew-nephesh). (Gen 2:7 KJV)

 

Those who’ve supported and promoted the immortal soul lie over the centuries have, in many cases, confused Yah’s breathing into Adam the breath of life with a false understanding of Yah placing an immortal soul into the body of man. But the truth of the matter is that the text does not say any such thing. But rather, the text emphatically states that man—Hebrew of “adam”—BECAME A LIVING SOUL (I.e., “wai’hi ha’a’dam le’nephesh hhai’yah” or “the human existed for a living soul” when transliterated from the Hebrew).

 

Thus, contrary to religiosity conventional wisdom, according to scripture, the human body and soul cannot be viewed as two independent elements of a person’s being, such that the body is the mortal framework of a person’s soul, while the soul is an imputed, immortal, “will o’ the wisp” that operates independent of the physical body. But rather the body and soul of a person are two co-dependent elements or characteristics of the one person. The soul does not, nor cannot operate independently of its body.

 

Of this, Danish Old Testament scholar and Semitic philologist Johannes Pedersen (1883-1977) wrote:

 

“The body is the soul in its outward form” (”Israel: Its Life and Culture,” 1926).

 

British theologian Henry Wheeler Robinson (1872-1945) wrote:

 

“The Hebrew idea of personality is that of an animated body, not that of an incarnate soul” (”The Christian Doctrine of Man,” 1952).

 

The Tanach reveals that both humans and animals are “living/animated souls.” The difference between the two, however, is that humans—adam—was created in Yah’s image—His likeness. Animals on the other hand were not.

 

The Soul of a Person is Mortal—Even Needy–in Every Respect

 

Samuele Bacchiocchi, in his book entitled —“Popular Beliefs-Are They Biblical,” described the human soul as “needy,” which is to say that the body and soul of humanity is wholly dependent on its Creator for its existence. For its protection. For its deliverance from harm and danger.

 

The soul is also the seat of a person’s emotions and personality.

 

We find in Micah/Miykah 6:7 that the soul of a person is the source of a person’s sin:

 

^aWill the LORD be pleased with¹ thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? ^bShall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (ESV)

 

We further find in Numbers/Bemidbar 15:30 that the soul that sins presumptuously—”ruwm” {room}—with lofty intent—will be “cut off from among his people” (I.e., ultimately killed by divine intervention or at hands of the community of Yisra’el).

 

Of this inextricable connection the human soul has to sin, it was the Prophet Ezekiel/Yecheza’el, through the inspiration of Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh who penned:

 

The soul that sinneth, it shall die.  (Eze 18:20 KJV)

 

Thus, we are forced to recognize the mortality of the human soul given these and so many more testimonies to this fact (cf. Joshua/Yahoshua 10:28-38).

 

When the body is destroyed and consumed so that its features are no longer recognizable, then the soul no longer exists, because the body is the soul in its outward form. On the other hand, when the body is laid to rest in the grave with the fathers, the soul is also at rest and lies undisturbed, awaiting its future resurrection (reference Genesis/Beresheit 15:15; 25:8; Judges 8:32; 1 Chronicles 29:28).

 

The Brit HaDashah’s View of the Human Soul

 

Our English term “soul” is “psuche” in the Greek. In the Brit HaDashah it is a synonym for “person.”

 

Psyche can be defined simply as “life.”

 

We find with the renewed covenant way of thinking that the Greek term “psuche” is expanded in many places to include that which is involved in being in a covenant relationship with Yehovah through a trusting faith in Yahoshua Messiah. This in great part is applied to the concept and understanding of salvation and the promise of eternal life.

 

In one of Master’s most poignant teachings regarding the soul of humankind, we read:

 

³⁴ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whosoever will save his life (I.e., “psuche”) shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life (”psuche”) for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. ³⁶ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul (psuche)? ³⁷ Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸ Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mar 8:34-38 KJV)

 

We can see here how the terms life and soul are used interchangeably by our Master. And in His interchanging of life and soul, He is effectively teaching and preaching about the “mortality” of the soul: The soul that must be resurrected by Yah after it dies.

 

Master spoke further on the subject of “soul mortality” when He cautioned His disciples:

 

²⁸ And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul (psuche): but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Gr. Gheh’-en-nah). (Mat 10:28 KJV)

 

Here, Master reveals that humans have the capability of destroying the human body but are incapable of destroying the human soul—that intangible element that makes one a person. However, Yehovah Elohim can destroy not just a person’s body, but also their soul-psuche. The soul is not tangible, but the soul also ceases to function when its physical body ceases to function. It is not indestructible, nor is it immortal.

 

The Tanach and Brit HaDashah Excludes an Afterlife

 

We have up to this point in our discussion, determined that the Brit HaDashah and the Tanach both reject an independent dualistic make-up of a person’s being—that a person’s being consists of a temporal, physical body that houses an independent, immortal, indestructible soul. And that upon a person’s death that immortal soul departs the body and takes up residence in some form of afterlife.

 

We’ve instead found that the opposite is true:

 

That there is no consciousness or awareness that a person has when they die. That his or her soul in no way goes off to an afterlife to interact and live with other departed souls. That Yah has no interaction with the soul of a deceased person after their death–Psalms 6:5; 30:9; 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5.

 

 

But rather, scripture only supports this earthly plain as the abode/residence of humanity and of the resurrected righteous in the olam ha ba—the world tomorrow. Which means, beloved, that in the interim of time between death and resurrection, the souls of all humans “rest” or “sleep” in their graves (Genesis/Beresheit 28:11; Deuteronomy/Devarim 31:16; Job/Yob 7:21; 2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Kings 2:10; 2 Peter/Kefa 3:4). Recall from our Torah Reading passage in Part 1 of this discussion that Moshe describes both Ya’achov/Jacob and Yosef/Joseph as both being gathered unto their people when Yah’s breath of life left them (Genesis/Beresheit 49-50). Daniel wrote the following regarding the rest/sleep that humans experience when they die, leading up to their future resurrection:

 

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. ² And many of them that sleep (Heb. “Yashen”) in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.¹ (Dan 12:1-3 KJV)

 

Job/Yob did not mince words when it came to the subject of death, the grave, and a future resurrection of the dead:

 

¹⁰ But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?^{1 11} As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: ¹² So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep (Heb. “shenah”). ¹³ O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴ If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. (Job 14:10-14 KJV)

 

So, throughout the Tanach, we see repeated references to death through the poetic expression of the soul resting or sleeping in its grave as it awaits its future resurrection. And there are at least three-Hebrew terms for our English term “sleep” that are used in this context:

 

• “Shachav”
• “Yashen”
• “Shenah”

 

In the Brit HaDashah, our English verb “sleep” when used in context with death is “koimao”  which means a “sleep of death”:

 

⁵² And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept (Gr. “Koimao”) arose, ⁵³ And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Mat 27:52-53 KJV)

 

Our friend Lazarus sleepeth (Gr. “Koimao”); but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep (Gr. “Exunipzo”—to awaken a person from their sleep). ¹² Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. ¹³ Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (Joh 11:11-14 KJV)

 

What Scripture Says About the Dwelling Place of the Dead

 

We all know that when a person dies, their remains are interred in a grave, tomb, or it is cremated. Regardless the state in which remains are ultimately rendered, scripture refers to any such state as the “grave,” “hell, “or ”pit:

 

(1) Grave—(Hebrew)–qeber/qebuwrah.

 

(2) Grave—(Hebrew)—sheol—Hebraically, the place where the dead are at “rest.” It is also referred to as the place of destruction, or “abaddon” (Psalms 88:12). A realm of darkness (Job 10:21) and silence (Psalms 94:17). Every soul goes to “sheol” when it does, whether that soul is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 9:2). In sheol, there is no work, thought; knowledge; nor wisdom.

 

(3) Grave—(Greek)—hades

 

(4) Hell—(Greek)—gehinnom/gehenna

 

(5) Pit (Greek)—shachath

 

These five-terms are referring to the exact same place—the grave.

 

Both Hebrew and ultimately Greek writers/transcribers understood the grave to be a temporary resting place for the remains of the dead, with the promise of resurrection in the future:

 

 ¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Heb. “Sheol”); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psa 16:10 KJV)

 

So, when we look back to our Torah Reading 45 where the text states that Ya’achov and Yosef, upon their respective deaths, were gathered unto their people, we can safely say that Moshe/Moses was referring to the concept or paradigm that the dead all join their loved ones and predecessors in “sheol”—grave–in a sleep and rest, and in an unconscious state. And in this poetic mentioning of one being gathered together unto his/her people, there is the unspoken, yet apparent, expectation of a future resurrection, that Job/Yob describes as the dead being roused from their sleep in sheol (14:12).

 

After His crucifixion, our Master Yahoshua was placed in a borrowed grave—hades—hell—tomb–gehinnom/gehenna (Matthew 27:60). But He was found to be victorious over death and the grave, for Yah raised Him—resurrected Him (Acts 2:27). Master’s remains rested 3-days and 3-nights in that borrowed tomb according to His own words. Consequently, His remains did not see corruption. The grave was defeated (1 Corinthians 15:55). Clearly His resurrection was a shadow of what we as the redeemed of Yah have to look forward to. Abba gave Master the keys to death and the grave!

 

 ¹⁸ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Rev 1:18 KJV)

 

Two Troublesome Biblical Passages that Challenge the Mortal Soul Paradigm

 

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus—The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is found in Luke 16. A well known parable that religiosity has attached a great deal of its understanding of death and the grave to. Lazarus, a beggar who subsisted by the crumbs that fell from a rich man’s table, died and was ushered into Avraham’s Bosom. The Rich Man, conversely, is said to have also died, but instead of finding himself in Avraham’s Bosom or Avraham’s side, the text records that “…in hell—hades—he lifted up his eyes, being in torments…” (Luke 16:23; KJV).

 

Hades, as found in this passage, is unique in its meaning when compared to its use in other Brit HaDashah passages. For its use here denotes a “place of punishment for the ungodly.” Hades as described in this parable by Master Yahoshua, is a place of fiery torment. Lazarus conversely is ushered into Avraham’s Bosom or Avraham’s Side which is only described as providing Lazarus comfort, but also being within view of the Rich Man and the host of hades. Also, Avraham’s Bosom or Side appears to be a gathering place of the righteous, in this case, Lazarus’ fathers.

 

Many believe that this parable is an accurate framework that in some way confirms and describes what happens to people when they die: The righteous go to paradise, while the wicked go straight to a fiery hell.

 

But we must recognize what we’re dealing with here. This is a parable. And a literal interpretation of parables is not always warranted unless it is contextually imperative to do so. The point of Yahoshua’s message is what must be grasped here, not the literal story. We’re talking about the would-be people of Yah heeding the collective messages of the Gospel that Yahoshua taught; Torah; and the Prophets for them to obtain mercy, justification, salvation, and admittance into the Kingdom of Elohim, as opposed to misery and eternal death to those who reject the messages of the Gospel, the Torah and the prophets.

 

Like His Father before Him, Master met people on ground that was familiar to them: culture; terminology; traditions; wives’ tales; and such. And both Abba, in particular Master, used that which was familiar to those whom He was teaching, in order to advance certain spiritual principles.

 

Shaul wrote to the Corinthian Messianic Assembly:

 

⁴⁶ Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1Co 15:46-49 KJV)

 

You see, in Yahoshua’s day, the “Bosom of Avraham” and fiery “hades” or “hell” had become an accepted belief among many unwitting Jews, who had apparently learned, adopted, and propagated these “old wives’ tales” from back in the days of Yisra’el’s Hellenization by the Greeks—back around the 2nd century B.C.

 

Despite the Bosom of Avraham and Hell—Hades being nothing more than folklore to certain first-century Palestinian Jews, Yahoshua recognized that He could teach the biblical principles of a future paradise abode for the righteous and a terrible destructive end for the wicked using the folktale of Avraham Bosom as a well-known and understood story.

 

The second potential challenge to our Biblically-based mortal soul paradigm is “The Thief on the Cross”—The story of the Thief on the Cross is found in Luke 23. It is a well-known story that again, religiosity has taken unto herself as proof-positive that the moment a saved one dies, their soul or spirit is ushered into heaven or paradise as the text describes:

 

 ³⁹ And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. ⁴⁰ But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. ⁴² And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. ⁴³ And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luk 23:39-43 KJV)

 

Some Patristic Church Fathers identified “paradise” as used here as Gan Eden—The Garden of Eden—which no longer exists on this earth but is located or situated somewhere in the ether.

 

The problem that we face with this passage is verse 43, which records Yahoshua promising one of the repentant thieves that hung on a cross alongside Him, that he would be with Him in paradise when they both drew their last breath and died.

 

Here’s the fascinating thing about ancient Greek [scriptural] passages: They have no punctuation. So, as it relates to translators’ efforts to render an accurate interpretation of verse 43 to their readers, the would-be English translator is left to make guesses as to where he or she inserts commas or not insert them at all. In the case of the KJV and virtually every other English translation of this passage I could get my hands on, a comma was inserted into the verse after the word “thee” as opposed to inserting the comma after the word “today.” For the position of a single comma in this case changes the meaning of the whole verse:

 

“Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with Me in paradise…” versus “verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.”

 

The first rendering is a definitive declaration from Yahoshua to the repentant thief that he would enter “paradise” along with Yahoshua on that very day. The second rendering, on the other hand, is also a definitive declaration from Yahoshua to the repentant thief that at that very moment in time—on that historic day in history—he would enter paradise—no doubt the Kingdom of Elohim—at some point in the future as a result of his profession of faith in Yahoshua. And so, with this second rendering, we get a profound declaration from our Master Yeshua of a future resurrection of the righteous dead and a refutation of an immortal human soul. And so, contextually speaking, the second rendering and understanding is the most likely accurate and truthful rendering for a few reasons:

 

1. Yahoshua Himself prophesied that He would be in the grave for 3-days and 3-nights. Presuming that Yahoshua was truthful in his assertion—and we know that history did in fact bear Him out on this—then it would be impossible for Him to escort the repentant thief into paradise on the same day as His crucifixion.

 

1. Scripture clearly teaches and promotes that of a future resurrection of the righteous dead, not some spiritual transition that the souls of the “saved” makes to some temporary, purgatorial, heavenly abode, to await its reunification with its body at its resurrection from the dead.

 

1. Yahoshua never taught or promoted an immortal soul doctrine. He didn’t even lay claim to such a thing for Himself, noting that His soul would rest in a borrowed tomb for 3-days and 3-nights.

 

Beloved, I trust that I did not burst your bubble as it relates to the biblical understanding of death, the grave, and the resurrection. If I by chance did burst your bubble on this subject, I make no apologies for that. You see, as covenant-walking saints of the Most High, we are called to total transparency. And the truth of the matter is that if we dare expect to be numbered among the future resurrected saints that will lay claim to the coming Kingdom of Yehovah, we must be man or woman enough to accept the Truth of the Word, regardless how much it messes with our personal and spiritual fungswae.

 

So, as the Gospel preachers of old used to say: “Don’t get made…you better get glad.”

 

We who are redeemed of the Most High and who are in a covenant-relationship with the Creator of the Universe through the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah, have a glorious future awaiting us in the coming Kingdom of Yehovah. And if by chance as we await our Master’s glorious return we die, we have a blessed hope that removes the sting of the grave from our passing. So, our bodies will peacefully rest in the earth awaiting His blessed return and His call for us to rise from our graves with incorruptible bodies. And we will live and reign with our Master in His Eternal Kingdom for 1,000-years, and then on to eternity on the new earth that follows.

 

The Apostle Shaul brilliantly wrote of this blessed assurance—and we’ll close out this discussion with this:

 

…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1Co 2:9 KJV)