Death and the State of the Dead - Part 5

But don’t souls depart from people when they die?

Texts in question: Genesis 35:18, 1 Kings 17:21,22

“And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin” (Genesis 35:18).

“And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, ‘O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.’ Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived (1 Kings 17:21,22).

These two Old Testament stories appear to support the idea that each person has an immortal soul that departs from the body when the body dies. This theology typically includes the idea that the soul then travels to heaven or hell where it remains for eternity. But if you read neither of the texts in question contain anything about heaven or hell. To me the key to understanding the texts from Genesis 35 and 1 Kings 17 is to know how the Bible defines a “soul.” You have to understand how the Bible defines a “soul”. If not then you have no shot in understanding this verse in the way the Bible teaches it. Genesis 2:7 says this: “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.” Thus, a soul is the combination of a body made of dust and the breath of life, elsewhere called the spirit of God. This spirit, or breath, is only one component of the soul, not the soul itself. When the body and the breath are disconnected from one another, the soul ceases to exist. It “departs,” as it were. With this understanding the texts tell us nothing except that the people in question died. Their “souls,” or essence of life, departed. In the case of the child, it came back. The bodies remain, but without the breath of God, so there is no soul. The Hebrew word used in both instances is pronounced neh'-fesh. It translates, roughly, to “breath,” or “vitality,” and often refers to a living creature. Thus, the (breath, vitality) departed from the people when they died. Many modern translations of the Bible don’t use the word “soul” in the texts in question. For example the NIV (which I have both a NKJ and NIV version of the bible that I use) translates Genesis 35:18 as:  “As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.”

1 Kings 17:21, 22 in the NIV, reads:

“Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, ‘LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’ The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.”

So to me it’s very clear that these texts do not offer evidence of an immortal soul that exists separately from the body.

Do Christians go to heaven after they die?

There’s a couple of Scriptures that people have misunderstood, at least that’s what I think. One Scripture is where Paul says, ‘to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord’.  People understand that to mean that as soon as you die, you, that next moment, you are transported to Heaven before the Resurrection.  

Lets examine this shall we. Paul – understanding that when you’re dead and asleep, you have no consciousness of time – he knew that his next conscious thought would be the presence of the Lord.  And you can use several Bible characters as examples. Lets take King David.  The Bible says in Acts chapter 2 that he’s dead and buried – now this is after the Resurrection of Jesus.  David is a good man, he’s going to Heaven.  The Bible says he’s dead, he’s buried, he’s not yet ascended to Heaven.  Well when David died, Nathan the Prophet said ‘you’ll sleep with your fathers’.  David is sleeping.  He died a thousand years before Christ, but for him it’ll be a moment, the twinkling of an eye, his next breath will be when Jesus descends and he breathes in with a glorified lung, a new body.  So we get confused because you and I are confined to time.  We live in this element of time, this dimension that the dead do not feel right now.  Their next conscious thought is the Resurrection because Jesus said the dead in Christ rise when He comes.  If they’re already in Heaven, why rise them up? I mean think about it right? What good is the Resurrection if they’re already up there? 

Ok here is another example….the Bible translators in every different language have to figure out where they put the punctuation in verses.  The way that words read - and matter of fact, some translators translate this in this way – Jesus turned to the thief.  The thief said ‘Lord remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’  Then Jesus turns to the thief - King James Version says, ‘Verily I say unto you (comma,) you will be with me today in paradise.’  The way that it should read is, ‘Verily I say unto you today (COMMA,) you will be with me in paradise.  Now you see what a big difference that makes? Jesus is saying I don’t look like a King today.  I don’t look like I’m a Lord today.  Everyone around here is mocking me, but I’m telling you today, even though I look defeated, you’re going to be there with me when it’s all said and done. It will not be today but at the end of time when I come back to take my people home.  The emphasis is today – when the moment looks the darkest and the valley is the deepest – I’m making a promise to you that you and I will be in the Kingdom together because you believe in me. Jesus wasn’t saying today (meaning right now) you’re going to be there with me. The proof for that is found in John when Jesus rose from the dead, Mary grabs Him from the feet – and this is two days later – He says, ‘Do not detain me’ or ‘do not cling to me for I’ve not yet ascended to My Father’.  That’s John chapter 20:17.  Well that’s two days later.  Christ hasn’t gone to the Father yet.  The Bible says the Father is in paradise. So how could Christ be with the thief in paradise on Friday if He still hadn’t gotten there by Sunday? Remember Jesus rested all day on the Sabbath day in the tomb.

Ok so this next and last section coming up (click on Part 6) is not my words or research. I got Part 6 off a Christian website and I thought it was great so I wanted to add it to my personal study on the state of the dead. It helps add to/prove my point that the Bible is always true if you let it interrupt itself and not read it with any of your own ideas or agendas in mind. It’s an AMAZING overview of everything I think. Ok so go click on part 6 and enjoy!!