Questions and Answers
How Important is the correct understanding about the “Immortal Soul”? (Part 2)
In part 1 of this Q&A, we discussed the fact that many religions believe that each person has an immortal soul. Orthodox Christianity, in general, has the same understanding. But is it true?
In our booklet “The Theory of Evolution – A Fairy Tale for Adults,” the Spirit in Man is discussed and below are a few selected highlights taken from pages 19-26. This shows that the Spirit in Man is not the soul.
“Herbert W. Armstrong… published his findings in a book entitled, ‘The Incredible Human Potential.’ This is what he wrote on pages 74 and 75, ‘Animals are equipped with brain and instinct. But they do not have power to understand and choose moral and spiritual values or to develop perfect spiritual character. Animals have brain, but no intellect—instinct, but no ability to develop holy and Godly character. And that pictures the transcendental DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIMAL BRAIN AND HUMAN MIND.
“‘What then can account for the vast difference? Science cannot adequately answer. Some scientists, in the field of research, conclude that, of necessity, there has to be some non-physical component in human brain that does not exist in animal brain….’
“Mr. Armstrong then explains that, according to the Bible, each human being has a non-physical component in his brain, called ‘the spirit…
How important is the correct understanding about the “Immortal Soul”? (Part 1)
On the Britannica website we read the following:
“Human beings seem always to have had some notion of a shadowy double that survives the death of the body. But the idea of the soul as a mental entity, with intellectual and moral qualities, interacting with a physical organism but capable of continuing after its dissolution, derives in Western thought from Plato and entered into Judaism during approximately the last century before the Common Era and thence into Christianity. In Jewish and Christian thinking it has existed in tension with the idea of the resurrection of the person conceived as an indissoluble psychophysical unity. Christian thought gradually settled into a pattern that required both of these apparently divergent ideas. At death the soul is separated from the body and exists in a conscious or unconscious disembodied state. But on the future Day of Judgement souls will be re-embodied (whether in their former but now transfigured earthly bodies or in new resurrection bodies) and will live eternally in the heavenly kingdom.”
This is one of several “explanations” of our future in heaven. It is by far not the only one, as we will discuss below in more detail.
However, we can see from this information how the thinking of pagan philosophers can infiltrate…
And why do you keep the Night to Be Much Observed?
It is a good question to ask.
Why do we keep this particular celebration? Mainstream Christianity doesn’t even keep the weekly Sabbath or annual Holy Days which we do, and this particular celebration would also be rather strange to them.
We read in Exodus 12:40-42:
“Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.”
Deuteronomy 16:1 adds:
“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.”
It was during the Passover night—the night of the 14th day of the month—that the death angel passed over the Israelites who were in their houses (hence the name “Passover”), while killing the firstborn of the Egyptian households (Exodus 12:6–13). But it was on the 15th day, “on the…
“Lord, to whom shall we go?”
As true Christians, we know that people cannot self-select to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Some may church-hop and browse the services to see if it fits their lifestyle. However, as we read in John 6:44: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” God the Father initiates the spark that draws a person to His Son. It is as wondrously simple and as complex as that. The 71 verses that comprise John 6 are packed with fundamental elements of our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and coming King. Once I began my study of this particular chapter, I realized that I wanted to devote this entire Q&A to an examination of John 6 and the context of two questions shared in a conversation between Jesus and His apostle, Peter.
Let’s begin with those two fundamental questions: In John 6:67Jesus asks Peter a pivotal question: “Do you also want to go away?”In verses 68 and 69, Peter responds as follows:“Then Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and…
Where does God come from?
This is an age-old question, and to say it right from the start—the answer is difficult for us to comprehend and accept. Still, the Bible does give us numerous hints, leads towards and proofs for the correct understanding.
When someone were to ask where the Bible talks about the beginning of creation, many who know Scripture would turn to Genesis 1:1, where it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This statement identifies God as the Creator, and “God” describes more than one Person—the Hebrew word “Elohim” is a plural word, followed here by a singular verb, revealing the fact that God is a Family, consisting of the Father and the Son. We read that God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:6 states:
“… for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
Hebrews 1:1-2 confirms:
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,…
Who and What is in Heaven? (Part 2)
In the first part of this Q&A, we looked at the biblical evidence that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Word, and innumerable angels are all in the third heaven.
But are there any human beings in heaven? What about those who have died and have lived good lives? Did they go to heaven and live there now in a conscious state?
In Ecclesiastes 9:5 we read: “For the living know that they shall die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.”
Psalm 146:3-4 illustrates that the day one dies, his thoughts perish.
No human being has ascended to heaven, as Jesus revealed in John 3:13, and this is a telling piece of Scripture: “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from, and it is heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”
The NIV states “No one has ever gone into heaven.” The old Luther Bible says: “No one ascends to heaven.”
Acts 2:29 and 34 are also instructive on this matter:
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day… For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said…
Who and What is in Heaven? (Part 1)
These are very interesting questions and the only place that we can find this information is in the Word of God, the Bible.
The spiritual realm is a fascinating subject. Physical can’t see spirit. Our physical life now, however long or short, will be a fraction of our life as a Spirit-born member of God’s Family if we make it into the Kingdom of God.
In an article entitled “What Science Can’t Discover About the Human Mind”, Mr Herbert W Armstrong (1892-1986), former leader of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God, wrote that “God has had to plan to bridge the gap between MATTER (of which MAN is now wholly composed) and SPIRIT (which God now is, and man must become). The body that comes in the (first) resurrection is not the same body that was flesh and blood in this human lifetime. God does not turn flesh and blood matter INTO Spirit. The flesh and blood physical body, after death, decomposes and decays, but the spirit that was IN that body, like the sculptor’s mold, preserves all the form and shape, the memory, and the character INTACT. And that mold, being spirit does not change — even though the resurrection may take…
What does it mean that Ezra was a skilled scribe?
It is useful to appreciate who Ezra was. What was his family line? This is listed in Ezra 7:1-5. In this list, certain names stand out, Hilkiah, who was the high priest in the days of Josiah, 2 Chronicles 34:9, Zadok the priest in the days of David and Solomon, and going back further, Phineas, Eleazar and Aaron, the chief priest. So, Ezra was of the priestly line; in fact, going by his ancestors, very distinguished in the priestly line. He was one of over four thousand priests in Judea, most of whom had already returned to Judea years before Ezra. But he was the one selected by God to restore the true religious observance and worship in the country. He is reputed to have written three books of the Bible, Ezra, and the last two books of the Jewish Scriptures, 1 and 2 Chronicles. He also arranged the books of the Old Testament in the order in which we have them today in the Hebrew Bible, but not in the English Bible (compare “The Authority of the Bible”, page 85). So important was he in the eyes of his people that later tradition regarded him as no less than a second Moses. It…
Baptism for the dead in God’s Church?
In 2 Corinthians 15:29, Paul utters a statement which is difficult to understand. He wrote: “Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?”
Many explanations have been given as to what Paul might have meant—some good, some not so good, and some blatantly wrong. We addressed some of those explanations in a Q&A, which was written in 2006, https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-3014/, which had the following headline: “Would you please explain 1 Corinthians 15:29, speaking of ‘baptism for the dead. Are we to be baptized for those who have already died?”
In that Q&A, we showed that the concept, practiced by some, to baptize someone for a person who had died without having been baptized is totally unbiblical. We said: “This practice is not based on God’s Holy Word. Baptism only makes sense when and so long as the person to be baptized is ALIVE. Baptism for a dead person, that is, vicariously, derivatively or by proxy, accomplishes nothing.”
In this Q&A, we will explore additional possibilities as to what Paul might have meant, and elaborate on what we have stated in the above-quoted…
The Book of Life or the Tree of Life?
Have you ever noticed an interesting phenomenon, when reading a passage in Revelation 22:19, depending on the translation you may use?
The New King James Bible states: “… if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Similar to the Authorized Version and the German Luther Bibles from 1891, 1984, 2009 and 2017.
However, most translations render the verse in this way (using the New International Version as an example): “And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”
Rather than saying, God shall take away his part from the “Book of Life,” they say, God will take away his share in the “Tree of Life.”
Both statements make sense. When somebody tempers with God’s Word, God may take away the Holy Spirit which had been given to the person (symbolized by the Tree of Life), and when that happens, his name will be blotted out from the Book of Life (symbolizing the gift of eternal life; Revelation 3:5). Such a person will…