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Jacob the twister.....
- Apr 12, 2004
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The Nature Of The Soul And
Eternal Punishment
Eternal Punishment
Among the most fundamental questions of religion are those pertaining to human nature, the consequences of evil, and the destiny of human beings after death. There are substantial differences between the teachings of the Watchtower and those of orthodox Christianity on these issues, yet both claim to accurately interpret Scripture and represent apostolic teaching.
The Watchtower Society denies the existence of the soul as a separable entity from the body that survives death. Jehovahs Witnesses teach that the term soul refers to the whole person, composed of a physical body and an impersonal "spirit" or life force. At death, a person ceases to exist except in the memory of God; the life force does not survive death but its energy returns to God. 20 While Witnesses nominally believe in a resurrection of the righteous, it is in reality a recreation, wherein God creates a new person from the pattern of that individual in His memory. 21
The idea of hell as a place of conscious eternal punishment for the wicked has always been anathema to Jehovahs Witnesses. They believe the biblical terms for hell (sheol in the Old Testament, hades and gehenna in the New Testament) refer only to the common grave of humankind. Using their ubiquitous yardstick of biblical interpretation their own human reason they assert that a God of love would never condemn humans to an eternity of fiery torment. The fate of the wicked is nonexistence, with no hope of resurrection to Jehovahs paradise on earth.
The Witnesses believe that the doctrines of a soul that survives death and a hell where the wicked are punished eternally arose from Platonic influences within an apostate church, and they are not representative of the beliefs or teachings of the apostles or early Christians. Does early Christian literature substantiate their claim to have a true biblical and apostolic understanding of these doctrines?
Discussion of the soul occurs frequently in the postapostolic literature. There are different meanings for soul depending on the context in which it is used. The fathers sometimes used the term to refer to the entire person. Their understanding, however, was not confined to this use.
Martyrdom was common in the widespread persecution of the early church. The courage of the martyrs was based on their faith in Christ their Savior and their conviction that death would immediately usher them into His presence. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, was one of the early churchs great martyrs. At the time of his death, his prayer expressed a hope not only in resurrection, but also that he would stand in the presence of Christ after his sacrifice: "I bless Thee, because Thou hast deemed me worthy this day and hour, to take my part among the number of the martyrs in the cup of thy Christ, for resurrection to eternal life of soul and body...may I be received in thy presence this day as a rich and acceptable sacrifice." 22
Ignatius likewise manifested this hope at the time of his martyrdom: "I would rather that you fawn on the beasts so that they may be my tomb and no scrap of my body be left. Thus, when I have fallen asleep...shall I be a real disciple of Jesus Christ when the world sees my body no more." 23
Similar references are common in the postapostolic literature. Typical of the early churchs teaching on the soul is a passage from Justin Martyr, a convert from pagan philosophy who also suffered martyrdom: "Look at the end of each of the former emperors, how they died the common death of all; and if this were merely a departure into unconsciousness, that would be a piece of luck for the wicked. But since consciousness continues for all who have lived, and eternal punishment awaits....All this should convince you that souls are still conscious after death....We look forward to receiving again our own bodies, though they be dead and buried in the earth." 24
In contrast to passages such as those above, there is no literary or historical evidence for any early Christian group teaching soul sleep. The belief in a soul that survives death is ubiquitous in the writings of the early church. It is not credible to say that a theology of soul sleep and an impersonal life force reflects apostolic teaching when such concepts appear nowhere in the writings of apostolic disciples or others in the early church.
As with Justin Martyr above, the punishment of the wicked after death is also a common topic in the literature of the church before Nicaea. There is no indication that the early church believed the wicked were punished by annihilation. Rather, the conscious punishment of those who reject Christ and fail to repent permeates the evangelism of this period. The early church was not reticent about teaching the consequences of sin for the unrepentant.
A few passages speak of the destruction of the wicked. The Epistle of Barnabas, for example, says, "For it is a way of eternal death with punishment wherein are the things that destroy mens souls." 25 Such affirmations taken in isolation might seem to support the doctrine of soul sleep. Yet when the broader context is examined, the fathers did not believe that "eternal death" or "destruction" meant cessation of existence, but rather a state of eternal separation from God the antithesis of the perfection achieved when a faithful Christian is joined eternally with God in heaven.
The early church believed the wicked would receive an eternity of torment and punishment. Clement, the third bishop of Rome, said, "It is better for a man to confess of his sins than to harden his heart in the way those rebels against Gods servant Moses hardened theirs. The verdict against them was made very plain. For they went down to Hades alive." 26 Similarly, the author of 2 Clement, an early Christian homily, said, "But the righteous...when they shall behold them that have done amiss and denied Jesus by their words or by their deeds, how that they are punished with grievous torments in unquenchable fire, shall give glory to God." 27
The author of The Martyrdom of Polycarp describes in detail the death of Johns disciple, and says this of the motivation behind Christian martyrdom: "And giving themselves over to the grace of Christ, they despised the tortures of this world, purchasing for themselves...life eternal. To them the fire of their inhuman tortures was cold, for they set before their eyes escape from the fire that is everlasting and never quenched." 28
Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp described by the Watchtower as one "who boldly spoke out in favor of the inspired written Word of God rather than the traditions of men" 29 said this about the fate of the unrepentant: "The Church...received from the apostles...its faith...that [Christ] may make just judgment of them all; and that He may send the spiritual forces of wickedness...and the impious, unjust, lawless and blasphemous among men, into everlasting fire." 30
It is clear from these and many other references that the early church, citing apostolic teaching as its source, believed that those who failed to repent were destined for conscious eternal torment in hell. They ridiculed the pagan notion that the wicked would be annihilated and cease to exist, asserting that this would be an unjust end for those who pursued wickedness and the pleasures of this world. Just as they believed that faithful Christians would be eternally in the presence of God, they were convinced that the wicked would suffer an eternity of torment apart from Him. The Watchtower teaching on the annihilation of the wicked quite simply has no historical precedent in the early church.
http://www.cephasministry.com/jw_faith_of_our_fathers_2.html
The Watchtower Society denies the existence of the soul as a separable entity from the body that survives death. Jehovahs Witnesses teach that the term soul refers to the whole person, composed of a physical body and an impersonal "spirit" or life force. At death, a person ceases to exist except in the memory of God; the life force does not survive death but its energy returns to God. 20 While Witnesses nominally believe in a resurrection of the righteous, it is in reality a recreation, wherein God creates a new person from the pattern of that individual in His memory. 21
The idea of hell as a place of conscious eternal punishment for the wicked has always been anathema to Jehovahs Witnesses. They believe the biblical terms for hell (sheol in the Old Testament, hades and gehenna in the New Testament) refer only to the common grave of humankind. Using their ubiquitous yardstick of biblical interpretation their own human reason they assert that a God of love would never condemn humans to an eternity of fiery torment. The fate of the wicked is nonexistence, with no hope of resurrection to Jehovahs paradise on earth.
The Witnesses believe that the doctrines of a soul that survives death and a hell where the wicked are punished eternally arose from Platonic influences within an apostate church, and they are not representative of the beliefs or teachings of the apostles or early Christians. Does early Christian literature substantiate their claim to have a true biblical and apostolic understanding of these doctrines?
Discussion of the soul occurs frequently in the postapostolic literature. There are different meanings for soul depending on the context in which it is used. The fathers sometimes used the term to refer to the entire person. Their understanding, however, was not confined to this use.
Martyrdom was common in the widespread persecution of the early church. The courage of the martyrs was based on their faith in Christ their Savior and their conviction that death would immediately usher them into His presence. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, was one of the early churchs great martyrs. At the time of his death, his prayer expressed a hope not only in resurrection, but also that he would stand in the presence of Christ after his sacrifice: "I bless Thee, because Thou hast deemed me worthy this day and hour, to take my part among the number of the martyrs in the cup of thy Christ, for resurrection to eternal life of soul and body...may I be received in thy presence this day as a rich and acceptable sacrifice." 22
Ignatius likewise manifested this hope at the time of his martyrdom: "I would rather that you fawn on the beasts so that they may be my tomb and no scrap of my body be left. Thus, when I have fallen asleep...shall I be a real disciple of Jesus Christ when the world sees my body no more." 23
Similar references are common in the postapostolic literature. Typical of the early churchs teaching on the soul is a passage from Justin Martyr, a convert from pagan philosophy who also suffered martyrdom: "Look at the end of each of the former emperors, how they died the common death of all; and if this were merely a departure into unconsciousness, that would be a piece of luck for the wicked. But since consciousness continues for all who have lived, and eternal punishment awaits....All this should convince you that souls are still conscious after death....We look forward to receiving again our own bodies, though they be dead and buried in the earth." 24
In contrast to passages such as those above, there is no literary or historical evidence for any early Christian group teaching soul sleep. The belief in a soul that survives death is ubiquitous in the writings of the early church. It is not credible to say that a theology of soul sleep and an impersonal life force reflects apostolic teaching when such concepts appear nowhere in the writings of apostolic disciples or others in the early church.
As with Justin Martyr above, the punishment of the wicked after death is also a common topic in the literature of the church before Nicaea. There is no indication that the early church believed the wicked were punished by annihilation. Rather, the conscious punishment of those who reject Christ and fail to repent permeates the evangelism of this period. The early church was not reticent about teaching the consequences of sin for the unrepentant.
A few passages speak of the destruction of the wicked. The Epistle of Barnabas, for example, says, "For it is a way of eternal death with punishment wherein are the things that destroy mens souls." 25 Such affirmations taken in isolation might seem to support the doctrine of soul sleep. Yet when the broader context is examined, the fathers did not believe that "eternal death" or "destruction" meant cessation of existence, but rather a state of eternal separation from God the antithesis of the perfection achieved when a faithful Christian is joined eternally with God in heaven.
The early church believed the wicked would receive an eternity of torment and punishment. Clement, the third bishop of Rome, said, "It is better for a man to confess of his sins than to harden his heart in the way those rebels against Gods servant Moses hardened theirs. The verdict against them was made very plain. For they went down to Hades alive." 26 Similarly, the author of 2 Clement, an early Christian homily, said, "But the righteous...when they shall behold them that have done amiss and denied Jesus by their words or by their deeds, how that they are punished with grievous torments in unquenchable fire, shall give glory to God." 27
The author of The Martyrdom of Polycarp describes in detail the death of Johns disciple, and says this of the motivation behind Christian martyrdom: "And giving themselves over to the grace of Christ, they despised the tortures of this world, purchasing for themselves...life eternal. To them the fire of their inhuman tortures was cold, for they set before their eyes escape from the fire that is everlasting and never quenched." 28
Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp described by the Watchtower as one "who boldly spoke out in favor of the inspired written Word of God rather than the traditions of men" 29 said this about the fate of the unrepentant: "The Church...received from the apostles...its faith...that [Christ] may make just judgment of them all; and that He may send the spiritual forces of wickedness...and the impious, unjust, lawless and blasphemous among men, into everlasting fire." 30
It is clear from these and many other references that the early church, citing apostolic teaching as its source, believed that those who failed to repent were destined for conscious eternal torment in hell. They ridiculed the pagan notion that the wicked would be annihilated and cease to exist, asserting that this would be an unjust end for those who pursued wickedness and the pleasures of this world. Just as they believed that faithful Christians would be eternally in the presence of God, they were convinced that the wicked would suffer an eternity of torment apart from Him. The Watchtower teaching on the annihilation of the wicked quite simply has no historical precedent in the early church.
http://www.cephasministry.com/jw_faith_of_our_fathers_2.html
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