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The following are quotes added to my Jesus is Jehovah unclassified quotes database in August 2008.
The date format is dd/mm/yy. See copyright conditions at end.
2008: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug (2), Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
5/08/2008
"He [Haman] also said that he was not pleased at seeing the Jew Mordecai in the court. Then Zarasa, his
wife, told him to order a tree [xulon] sixty cubits high to be cut down, and in the morning ask the king for
leave to crucify [anastaurosai] Mordecai; and he praised her plan and ordered his servants to make the
gallows [xulon] ready and set it up in the court for the punishment of Mordecai. And so it was prepared.
But God mocked Haman's wicked hopes, and knowing what was to happen, rejoiced at the event. For that
night he deprived the king of sleep, and, as he did not wish to waste his wakeful hours in idleness but to use
them for something of importance to his kingdom, he commanded his scribe to bring him both the records of
the kings who were before him and those of his own deeds, and read them to him. And so, when he lad
brought them and was reading them, it was found that a certain man as a reward for his bravery on one
occasion" (Josephus, "Jewish Antiquities," 11.246, in "Works," Marcus, R., transl., Heinemann: London, Vol
VI, 1937, Reprinted, 1958, p.433)
5/08/2008
"But Sabuchadas, one of the eunuchs, seeing the cross [stauron] that had been set up at Haman's house
and prepared for Mordecai, inquired of one of the servants for whom they had made this ready, and,
learning that it was for the queen's uncle, for the time being held his peace." (Josephus, "Jewish
Antiquities," 11.261, in "Works," Marcus, R., transl., Heinemann: London, Vol VI, 1937, Reprinted, 1958,
p.439)
5/08/2008
"At this Haman was overcome and unable to utter any further sound, and then came the eunuch
Sabuchadas and accused Haman, saying that he had found a cross [stauron] at his house prepared for
Mordecai. For this was what the servant had told him in answer to his inquiry, when he had come to Haman
to summon him to the banquet. And the cross [stauron], he said, was sixty cubits in height. When the
king heard this, he decided to inflict on Haman no other punishment than that which had been devised
against Mordecai, and ordered him at once to be hanged [ekeinou] on that very same cross [stauron]
till he was dead." (Josephus, "Jewish Antiquities," 11.266-268, in "Works," Marcus, R., transl., Heinemann:
London, Vol VI, 1937, Reprinted, 1958, p. 443)
6/08/2008
"In the classical Greek the word stau·ros' meant merely an upright stake, or pale, or a pile such as is used
for a foundation. The verb stau·ro'o meant to fence with pales, to form a stockade, or palisade. The
inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures wrote in the common (koi·ne') Greek and used the word
stau·ros' to mean the same thing as in the classical Greek, namely, a simple stake, or pale, without a
crossbeam of any kind at any angle. There is no proof to the contrary. The apostles Peter and Paul also used
the word xy'lon to refer to the torture instrument upon which Jesus was nailed, and this shows that it was
an upright stake without a crossbeam, for that is what xy'lon in this special sense means. (Acts 5:30;
10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) In LXX we find xy'lon in Ezra 6:11 (1 Esdras 6:31), and there it is
spoken of as a beam on which the violator of law was to be hanged, the same as in Acts 5:30; 10:39."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures," [1969],
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1985, p.1149)
13/08/2008
"[Ex 3:]14 And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING [ego eimi ho on]; and he said, Thus
shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING [ho on] has sent me to you. 15 And God said again
to Moses, Thus shalt then say to the sons of Israel The Lord God of our fathers, the God of Abraam,
and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to You: this is my name for ever, and my memorial to
generations of generations." (Brenton, L.C.L., transl., "The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament,"
[c.1870], Samuel Bagster & Sons: London, Reprinted, c.1960, p.73. Emphasis & italics original)
13/08/2008
"[Isa 41:]4 Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations
of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM [ego eimi]" (Brenton, L.C.L., transl., "The Septuagint
Version of the Old Testament," [c.1870], Samuel Bagster & Sons: London, Reprinted, c.1960, p.875.
Emphasis & italics original)
13/08/2008
"[Isa 43:]10 Be ye my witnesses, and I too am a witness saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I
have chosen: that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he [ego eimi]: before me
there was no other God, and after me there shall be none." (Brenton, L.C.L., transl., "The Septuagint
Version of the Old Testament," [c.1870], Samuel Bagster & Sons: London, Reprinted, c.1960, p.878.
Emphasis original)
13/08/2008
"[Isa 45:]21 If they, will declare, let them draw nigh, that they, may know together, who has caused
these things to be heard from the beginning: then was it told you. I am God, and there is not another
beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none but me. 22 Turn ye to me, and ye shall be saved,
ye that come from the end of the earth: I am God, and there is none other. 23 By myself I swear,
righteousness shall surely proceed out of ; my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated ; 24 that to me
every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear by God, 25 saying, Righteousness and glory shall
come to him: and all that remove them from their borders shall be ashamed." (Brenton, L.C.L., transl.,
"The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament," [c.1870], Samuel Bagster & Sons: London, Reprinted,
c.1960, p.882. Italics original)
13/08/2008
"[Isa 46:]3 Hear me, O house of Jacob and all the remnant of Israel, who are borne by me from the
womb, and taught by me from infancy, even to old age: 4 I am he [ego eimi]; and until ye shall
have grown old, I am he [ego eimi]: I bear you, I have made, and I will relieve, I will take up and
save you." (Brenton, L.C.L., transl., "The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament," [c.1870], Samuel
Bagster & Sons: London, Reprinted, c.1960, p.882. Italics original)
13/08/2008
"[Isa 52:]4 Thus saith the Lord, My people went down before to Egypt to sojourn there; and were carried
away forcibly to the Assyrians. 5 And now why are ye here? Thus saith the Lord, Because my people was
taken for nothing, wonder ye and howl. Thus saith the Lord, On account of you my name is continually
blasphemed among the Gentiles. 6 Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I am he [ego
eimi] that speaks: I am present, 7 as a season of beauty upon the mountains, as the feet of one preaching
glad tidings of peace as one preaching good news: for I will publish thy salvation, saying, O Sion, thy God
shall reign." (Brenton, L.C.L., transl., "The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament," [c.1870], Samuel
Bagster & Sons: London, Reprinted, c.1960, p.888. Italics original)
13/08/2008
"[Dt 32:]39 Behold, behold that I am he [ego eimi], and there is no god beside me: I kill, and I will make
to live: I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my hands." (Brenton, L.C.L.,
transl., "The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament," [c.1870], Samuel Bagster & Sons: London,
Reprinted, c.1960, p.277. Italics original)
13/08/2008
"At times explanations given by Jehovah's visible organization have shown adjustments, seemingly to
previous points of view. But this has not actually been the case. This might be compared to what is known
in navigational circles as `tacking.' By maneuvering the sails the sailors can cause a ship to go from right to
left, back and forth, but all the time making progress toward their destination in spite of contrary winds. And
that goal in view for Jehovah's servants is the `new heavens and a new earth' of God's promise.-2 Pet. 3:13."
("The Path of the Righteous Does Keep Getting Brighter," The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pp.26-31,
p.27)
13/08/2008
"There is no question that Jehovah God is continuing to bless the global activity of his witnesses, as
directed by the `faithful and discreet slave.' This can be seen by the fruits. Remember, Jesus said: `Every
good tree produces fine fruit.' And such righteous fruits are to be seen internationally today in one people
only-the united, global society of Jehovah's Witnesses.-Matt. 7:17." ("The Path of the Righteous Does
Keep Getting Brighter," The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pp.26-31, p.27)
13/08/2008
"No matter where we may live on earth, God's Word continues to serve as a light to our path and a lamp to
our roadway as to our conduct and beliefs. (Ps. 119:105) But Jehovah God has also provided his visible
organization, his `faithful and discreet slave,' made up of spirit-anointed ones, to help Christians in all
nations to understand and apply properly the Bible in their lives. Unless we are in touch with this channel of
communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible
reading we do.-Compare Acts 8:30-40." ("The Path of the Righteous Does Keep Getting Brighter," The
Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pp.26-31, p.27)
14/08/2008
"Psalm 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool. (KJV) Jehovah's Witnesses ... open their New World Translation and read the same verse: `The
utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is... .' They go on to argue (1) that the New World Translation is a
superior Bible to use, because it does not have the Lord talking to himself; and (2) that the Lord Jesus must
be a mere created being, since Jehovah God is addressing a person distinct from himself. . To answer the
first argument, it is only necessary to look at the text more closely. It does not say that `the Lord' was talking
to `the Lord.' Most translations render the Hebrew tetragrammaton YHWH as `the LORD' (all capital letters),
who is talking to the psalmist's `Lord' (both capital and small letters), the Messiah. .... Knowledgeable
Christians who read this verse will grasp that God the Father is speaking to the Son. The second Witness
argument-that Jesus cannot be God because `the LORD' spoke to him-is also a faulty one. The New
Testament records many conversations between Jesus and the Father, but this does not disprove the deity
of Christ. The Bible reveals that the Father is God (John 6:27, etc.) and that the Son is God (Isa. 9:6, John
20:28, etc.), yet there is only one God (1 Cor. 8:4)." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by
Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, pp.35-36. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"In explaining to Witnesses the fact that Psalm 110 shows God, the Father in heaven, talking to the Son
(also God) upon the earth, it may help to invite them to turn to Genesis 18 and 19 in their own New World
Translation. There it says that `Jehovah appeared to him' [Abraham] as `three men' or angels (18:1-2).
Abraham addressed the three as `Jehovah' (18:3). Two of them left Abraham and went toward the city of
Sodom, but Abraham continued to address the remaining individual as `Jehovah' (18:22, 19:1). When the
other two reached Sodom and spoke with Abraham's relative Lot, he addressed the two of them as `Jehovah'
(19:18). And, when the city of Sodom was destroyed, the New World Translation says at Genesis 19:24:
`Then Jehovah made it rain sulphur and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens... .' So, unless the Witnesses
want to claim that there is more than one Jehovah, they will have to admit that God can be in more than one
place at the same time, and that he can hold simultaneous conversations with different people in different
places. This should make it easier for them to grasp that the Father can talk to the Son, without calling into
question the deity of Christ." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand
Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, pp.36-37)
14/08/2008
"Psalm 110:1-Jehovah and `My Lord'. ... Psalm 110:1 in the New World Translation reads, `The
utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is: `Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet'
(emphasis added). The Jehovah's Witnesses say that since Jehovah is speaking in this verse, and since the
`Lord' is a distinct person from Jehovah, then Jesus must not be God Almighty. Reasoning from the
Scriptures explains that in Matthew 22:41-45 Jesus claims that He Himself is the `Lord' referred to by David
in this psalm. They therefore conclude that Jesus is not Jehovah, but is the one to whom Jehovah's words
were spoken. ["Reasoning from the Scriptures," 1989, p.198] ... This verse makes perfect sense within the
scope of trinitarian theology. In the broader context of Matthew 22:41-46, we find Christ `putting the
Pharisees into a corner' by asking them a question relating to the person of the Messiah. He asked, `Whose
son is he?' (Matthew 22:42). They responded, `The Son of David.' Their answer was correct since the Old
Testament thoroughly established the Davidic lineage of the Messiah (2 Samuel 7:14). But their answer
was also incomplete. Scripture not only teaches that the Messiah would be the Son of David in terms of
His humanity, it also teaches that He is God-and it is the latter fact that Christ wanted the Pharisees to
acknowledge. Christ, of course, anticipated the Pharisees' half-answer. That's why in the next verse He
quoted a Davidic psalm: `The LORD says to my Lord: `Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under
your feet' (Matthew 22:43; cf. Psalm 110:1). Now, the words `my Lord' are a reference to David's Messiah.
This divine Messiah is invited to sit at the right hand of `the LORD' (God the Father). Here we have the first
person of the Trinity speaking to the second person of the Trinity. [Reymond, R.L., "Jesus. Divine
Messiah," Presbyterian & Reformed: Phillipsburg NJ, 1990, p.105]" (Rhodes, R., "Reasoning from the
Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses," Harvest House: Eugene OR, 1993, Reprinted, 2006, pp.161-162.
Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"In His discussion with the Pharisees, Jesus asked them that if the Messiah was the `son' or descendant of
David, `how is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls Him `Lord'?' (Matthew 22:43). It seems odd
that David would call his own son `my Lord.' Certainly the fact that the Messiah was David's son testified to
the humanity of the Messiah. But David's reference to `my .Lord' also points to the undiminished deity
of the Messiah, since `Lord' (Hebrew: adonai) was a title for deity. [Pentecost, J.D., "The Words and
Works of Jesus Christ," Zondervan: Grand Rapids MI, 1982, pp.391-392] The Messiah would be David's
son, but He would also be David's God. The Messiah would be both God and man. To drive this point home,
Christ continued to interrogate the Pharisees: `If then David calls Him `Lord,' how can he be his son?' (verse
45). The Pharisees were trapped, and they knew it. J. Dwight Pentecost, in his excellent volume The Words
and Works of Jesus Christ, explains: If the Pharisees answered that David called Him his Lord because He
is God, then they could not object to Christ, David's Son according to the flesh, claiming to be the Son of
God. If they agreed that Messiah was to be truly human and truly God, they must cease their objections to
Christ's claim concerning His person. The Pharisees realized the dilemma that faced them and refused to
answer. None could refute the wisdom with which He spoke, and `from that day on no one dared to ask him
any more questions' (v. 46). [Ibid., p.392] Obviously, far from showing that Christ is less than the Father,
Psalm 110:1 actually points to the undiminished deity of Jesus Christ." (Rhodes, R., "Reasoning from the
Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses," Harvest House: Eugene OR, 1993, Reprinted, 2006, p.162)
14/08/2008
"Is Jehovah in the `Old Testament' Jesus Christ in the `New Testament'? Matt. 4:10: `Jesus said to him:
`Go away, Satan! For it is written, `It is Jehovah ['the Lord,' KJ and others] your God you must worship,
and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.' (Jesus was obviously not saying that he himself was
to be worshiped.) John 8:54: `Jesus answered [the Jews]: `If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my
Father that glorifies me, he who you say is your God.' (The Hebrew Scriptures clearly identify Jehovah as
the God that the Jews professed to worship. Jesus said, not that he himself was Jehovah, but that Jehovah
was his Father. Jesus here made it very clear that he and his Father were distinct individuals.) Ps. 110:1: `The
utterance of Jehovah to my [David's] Lord is: `Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for
your feet.' (At Matthew 22:41-45, Jesus explained that he himself was David's `Lord,' referred to in this psalm.
So Jesus is not Jehovah but is the one to whom Jehovah's words were here directed.)" (Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society, "Reasoning from the Scriptures," [1985], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York:
Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1989, pp.197-198. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"Jesus' `I Am' Sayings Perhaps the greatest assertion among all of his claims not only to eternal pre-
existence but also to actually being the Yahweh of the Old Testament is that which is found in his `I am'
saying of John 8:58: `Before Abraham was, I am' (see Ex 3:14: `This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I
AM [the personal name of God] has sent me to you'). Most of Jesus' `I am' sayings,' it is true, he supplied
with a subjective complement of some kind ... But I agree with D. A. Carson that `two are undoubtedly
absolute in both form and content...and constitute an explicit self-identification with Yahweh who had
already revealed himself to men in similar terms (see especially Isa. 43:10-11).' [Carson, D.A., "I Am'
Sayings,"in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, p.541]
The two instances Carson refers to are in John 8:58 and 13:19, but there could well be other instances as
well, such as Jesus' `I am' usages in John 6:20; 8:24,28; and 18:5-8. In the case of John 8:58, standing before
men who already regarded him as demonic and who had told him as much, Jesus declared as we have
already noted: `Before Abraham was, I am,' invoking not only the term which Yahweh in the Old Testament
had chosen as his own special term of self-identification but claiming also in the process a pre-existence
appropriate only to one possessed of the nature of Yahweh. ... His meaning was not lost on his audience, for
`they took up stones to throw at him' (8:59). `They understood that Jesus ascribed divine existence to
himself and made himself equal with God.' [Berkouwer, G.C., "The Person of Christ," Eerdmans: Grand
Rapids MI, 1954, p.165] In the case of his `I am' in John 13:19 Jesus himself explicated its implications for his
unity with the Father and in turn his own Yahwistic identity when he declared in the following verse: `...he
who receives me receives him who sent me.' Perhaps these absolute `I am' sayings are the background to
Jesus' prayer to the Father in John 17:26: `I have manifested your name to those whom you gave me out of
the world.' But it must also be remembered that in all these declarations `the subject of the affirmation is the
actual person speaking; it is of himself who stood before men and spoke to them that Our Lord makes these
immense assertions, making `I am' also his own name and leading his audiences in the Gospels either to
believe in him or to accuse him of blasphemy." (Reymond, R.L., "Jesus, Divine Messiah: The New
Testament and Old Testament Witness," [1990], Mentor: Fearn UK, 2003, pp.234-235. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"`I Am' Sayings. A diversity of `I am...' formulae in the OT by which Yahweh repeatedly discloses himself.
... The disclosure of Exod. 3:14, often rendered `I am who I am' or `I am the existing one,' may well be an
instance of paronomasia; but more importantly, like the repeated `I am he' or `I myself am he' utterances
(Deut. 32:39; Isa. 41:4; 43:10, 13, 25; 45:18; 46:4; 48:12; 51:12; 52:6), Yahweh presents himself in antithesis to
the finite gods of the prevalent polytheism. In most instances the context precludes a rendering `I am this or
that,' but presupposes something like `I am the Absolute One.' Especially in Isa. 40ff., the surrounding
verses show that the meaning of God as the Absolute works out in an array of attributes: he is sovereign,
uncreated, unimaginable, personal, master of history, holy, and the universal monarch whose purposes
cannot ultimately be thwarted. Moreover, the formula here is self-revelatory: Yahweh is not addressed in
this way, but uses these expressions of himself, thereby demonstrating that he graciously chooses to reveal
himself to men." (Carson, D.A., "`I Am' Sayings.," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.541. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"In the NT, many `I am' sayings are supplied with a subjective completion (e.g., `I am the light of the world,'
John 8:12) and therefore do not qualify as `I am' utterances in the absolute sense. More difficult are the few
instances outside John's Gospel where the text offers a simple ego eimi (lit. `I am') but where the context
makes clear that the meaning is `It is I' or `I am he'-with the antecedent of the `I' or `he' apparent in the
surrounding verses. These are probably at best ambiguous self-disclosures of deity, hints for those familiar
with the OT; for many of Jesus' prepassion self-revelations adopt such a stance of planned ambiguity. For
instance, when Jesus walks to his frightened disciples across the surface of the water, he calms their fears
by saying, ego eimi. The contest demands the conclusion that Jesus is identifying himself ('It is I'),
showing that what they perceive is not a ghostly apparition (Mark 6:50). Yet not every' could be found
walking on water. it would be premature to discount all reference to OT theophany. Again, Jesus warns his
disciples against those who will lead many astray by claiming `I am' (Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8); but the context
demands this be interpreted as `I am the Christ' as Matt. 24:5 makes explicit. Jesus uses identical language at
his trial (Mark 14:61-62) and similar language after his resurrection (Luke 2.1:391, in each case bearing some
ambiguity." (Carson, D.A., "`I Am' Sayings.," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,"
Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.541. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"The Fourth Gospel raises new questions. Although many of Jesus' `I am' utterances recorded by John are
supplied with explicit predicates ('I am the true vine,' `I am the good shepherd,' `I am the bread of life;' `I am
the resurrection and the life'), two are undeniably absolute in both form and content (8:58; 13:19) and
constitute an explicit self -identification with Yahweh who had already revealed himself to men in similar
terms (see esp. Isa. 43:10-11). Jesus' opponents recognize this claim to unity with Yahweh (John 8:58-39); in
13:19-20, Jesus himself proceeds to make it explicit. These two occurrences of the absolute `I am' suggest
that in several other passages in John, where `I am' is formally absolute but a predicate might well be
supplied from the context (e.g., 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28; 18:5, 6, 8), an intentional double meaning may be
involved." (Carson, D.A., "`I Am' Sayings.," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,"
Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.541. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"What this reality means is indicated by another statement of Christ, an utterance which again elicits the
opposition of the Jews because this too upsets their historical delimitation. To the Jews it was a mysterious
and unacceptable statement: `Before Abraham was born, I am' (John 8:58). It was in absolute conflict with
their scheme of evaluation. Christ mentions `his day' as one which Abraham saw from afar and rejoiced over.
The Jews will have nothing of any connection between Abraham and the day of Christ and oppose it with a
query about his age. In response to this question Christ says: `Before Abraham was born, I am.' Hearing this
the Jews attempt to stone Christ: they understood that Jesus ascribed divine existence to himself and made
himself equal with God." (Berkouwer, G.C., "The Person of Christ," Vriend, J., transl., Studies in Dogmatics,
Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1954, p.165)
14/08/2008
"We are now thinking of the manner in which Christ speaks of himself in the currently much-discussed `I am'
texts. In the gospel Christ not only says in various ways what and who he is, as for instance the shepherd,
the vine, the light, the way, the truth, the life and the door, but he also says of himself: I am. Thus we read in
John 8:24: `... Except ye believe that I am (he), ye shall die in your sins.' In this unusual `I am' we have, says
Grosheide, a self-disclosure such as had not, till now, been given us. ` [Grosheide, Comm. op Johannes,
on John 8:24] I am: with these words any living man can indicate his earthly existence but the I am of
Christ transcends this by far and can become an object of decisive belief. The use of these words is
reminiscent of the divine utterances occurring in the Old Testament; for instance, `I am that I am' (Ex. 3:14) ;
or `See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me' (Deut. 32:39). For Christ, no less than for God,
the I am without a predicate is valid; and upon this extraordinary reality, also here, faith is focussed. [Cf.
Ps. 90:2; Isaiah 43:11, 15, 25; 44:6, 8, 24; 45:5, 18, 22] Christ repeats these words of the Father, taking them
from the Old Testament, as having unique knowledge of his being, a being which places man before the
decision of life and death." (Berkouwer, G.C., "The Person of Christ," Vriend, J., transl., Studies in
Dogmatics, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1954, p.168. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"In two passages in the Gospel of John in contexts that equate him with God, Jesus claims to have been
around in the days of the Old Testament. In the first of these passages, Jesus claims to have antedated
Abraham in a way that connotes eternal, divine preexistence: `Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he
would see my day; he saw it and was glad:' Then the Jews said to him, `You are not yet fifty years old, and
have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, `Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am:' So they
picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. (8:56-59 [NRSV]) At a
bare minimum, and beyond any reasonable doubt, Jesus here claims to have existed before Abraham was
born. ... Most biblical scholars agree, but go farther: Jesus' statement in John 8:58 expresses not only
existence prior to Abraham but also existence of a different order than that of Abraham. That is, they
understand Jesus to be affirming that his existence antecedent to that of Abraham was the eternal
preexistence of deity. John 8:58 contrasts Abraham, who `came into being' (genesthai, translated `was' in
the NRSV), with Jesus, who simply is (which Jesus states in the first person, `I am,' ego eimi). The
statement recalls a classic affirmation of the eternal being of God in the Old Testament: `Before the
mountains came into being [genethenai, the passive form of genesthai] and the earth and the world
were formed, even from age to age, you are [su ei, the second-person equivalent of ego eimi]' (Ps. 90:2
[89:2 in LXX]). The Greek sentence here reflects the same grammatical structure as John 8:58 and uses the
same verbs to make the same contrast between that which is created and temporal and the one who is
uncreated and eternal." (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the
Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, p.96)
14/08/2008
"The reaction of Jesus' critics to his statement-attempting to stone him (John 8:59)-confirms that they
thought he was making a divine claim. Had Jesus stated only that he had been alive longer than Abraham,
they might have regarded such a claim as crazy (as they apparently did with regard to his earlier comments,
vv. 48-57), but not as an offense meriting stoning. Of the offenses for which Jews practiced stoning, the
only one that seems to fit the context here is blasphemy. Claiming to be older than Abraham might have
been judged crazy, but it would not have been judged as blasphemy. Speaking as if one were Abraham's
eternal God, on the other hand, would be quickly deemed blasphemous by Jesus' critics, who of course did
not recognize his divine claims as valid." (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His
Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, p.97)
14/08/2008
"In another passage in his Gospel, John comments on the failure of many of the people to believe in Jesus
despite the many miracles they had witnessed him perform. Although he had performed so many signs in
their presence, they did not believe in him.... And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, `He
has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand
with their heart and turn-and I would heal them.' Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about
him. (12:37, 39-41) The quotation in this passage is from Isaiah 6:10, part of the passage in which Isaiah
recounts his call to the prophetic ministry. When John says that Isaiah `saw his glory,' he means the glory
of Jesus as the context makes clear vv. 36-38; see also 1:14). But in the context of Isaiah 6, the glory that
Isaiah saw was the glory of the Lord. `In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him;
each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two
they flew. And one called to another and said: `Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full
of his glory.' (vv. 1-3, emphasis added) Here again, John speaks of Jesus not only as having existed
during Old Testament times but also as having been the glorious Lord who spoke to and through the
prophets. Thus this passage is another affirmation in the New Testament of the divine preexistence of Jesus
Christ." (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of
Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, pp.97-98)
14/08/2008
"Jude: Jesus Saved Israel and Destroyed the Unbelievers A similar statement often overlooked in these
discussions comes in the short epistle of Jude. Jude warns his readers about those `who pervert the grace of
our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ' (Jude 4). Immediately after
that warning, he starts giving examples from Jewish history, beginning with the Israelites' apostasy in the
wilderness. `Now I desire to remind you, though you are fully informed, that the Lord, who once for all
saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.' (v. 5) After
speaking of Jesus Christ as `our only Master and Lord,' Jude could hardly have proceeded in the very next
sentence to refer to someone other than Jesus as `the Lord:' The Lord who delivered his people out of
Egypt, then, must be the Lord Jesus. In fact, this is probably what the original text of Jude explicitly said.
Many of the earliest manuscripts actually say `Jesus' instead of `the Lord' in verse 5, and this is most likely
the original reading. There are three principles of the discipline of textual criticism that, when considered
together, point to this conclusion. The first principle concerns the external evidence of the origins of the
manuscripts. All other things being equal, the earlier and more widely attested reading is to be preferred. In
this case both `Lord' and `Jesus' are among the earliest readings,' but `Jesus' is more widely attested. The
Vaticanus and Alexandrinus uncials (fourth and fifth centuries, respectively) both have `Jesus,' while the
Sinaiticus and C uncials (also of the fourth and fifth centuries) are the major witnesses for `Lord:' The
reading `Jesus,' though, has much greater support from the early translations of the New Testament into
other languages (such as Coptic, Ethiopic, and Latin) and better support from the early church's leading
biblical scholars, including Jerome (early fifth century) and possibly the third-century Origen. The reading
`Jesus,' then, clearly has the edge in terms of external evidence." (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E.,
"Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, pp.98-99.
Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"Refuge in the Son (Psalm 2) In his excellent volume, Christology of the Old Testament, E. W.
Hengstenberg soundly demonstrates that Psalm 2 is a messianic psalm-that is, it is a psalm that deals with
the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In this psalm, we find a reference to Christ's acting in the role of Savior. The
psalmist writes: `Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and
you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in
him' (Ps. 2:11-12, italics added). Hengstenberg provides convincing evidence that the `Son' in this verse is
not a reference to an earthly king, as some have supposed, but is a reference to the second person of the
Trinity, Jesus Christ." (Rhodes, R., "Christ Before the Manger: The Life and Times of the Preincarnate
Christ," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1992, pp.140-141. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"... yalad ... bear, beget, bring forth, gender. travail. In its narrowest sense yalad describes the act of
a woman in giving birth to a child (e.g. Ex 1:19; 1 Kgs 3:17-18), but it is sometimes used of the father's part in
becoming a parent (e.g. Gen 4:18; 10:8, 24, 26; 22:23, 253; 1 Chr 1:10-20, Prov 23:22). .... In most every instance
actual paternity is represented by the Hiphil and a more general relationship like relationship of peoples (the
Table Nations, Gen 10) uses the Qal. Thus Ps 2:7 is not causative, but refers to a relation of love [The Qal is
used. R.L.H.] ... The word is often used in a figurative sense. Thus it may refer to a city or nation as having
given birth to its inhabitants (e.g. Isa 23:4; 51:18; Ezk 16:20). It may refer to the wicked as having brought
forth evil, lies or stubble (e.g. Job 15:35; Ps 7:15; Isa 33:11). .... Once it speaks of the day as bringing forth the
events that will occur in it (Prov 27:1). God is spoken of as having given birth to Israel (Deut 32:18). ... The
word does not necessarily point to the generation immediately following. In Hebrew thought, an individual
by the act of giving birth to a child becomes a parent or ancestor of all who will be descended from this
child. Just as Christ is called a son of David and a son of Abraham, yalad may show the beginning of an
individual's relationship to any descendant. ... The word is used in several important theological
connections. yalad in Ps 2:7 (note that it is not Hiphil) refers to the relationship of love between the
Father and the Son. " (Harris, R.L., Archer, G.L. & Waltke, B.K., eds, "Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament," Moody Press: Chicago IL, 1980, Twelfth Printing, 1992, Vol. I, pp.378-379. Emphasis original)
14/08/2008
"Psalm 2 is properly classified as a Messianic psalm because of the usage of it in the New Testament. This
psalm is quoted seven times by the apostles, and in each instance it is applied to the Messiah. [Acts 4:24-
28; 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Rev. 2:27; 12:5; 19:15] The Church Fathers regarded the psalm as Messianic as did
Jewish expositors even after the Jews' rejection of Jesus, which might have tempted them to seek another
interpretation. It is thus clear who the central figure and subject of this psalm is. The king who in this psalm
is the object of fiercest hostility from man and the highest honors from God was not David himself, but the
Messiah, he in whom prophecy and history of the old world were to find their goal. ... Psalm 2 pictures God's
anointed king ruling upon Mt. Zion in spite of the efforts of Gentile rulers to overthrow him. What historical
background, if any, prompted the writing of this psalm cannot be determined. ... The psalm is personal
Messianic prophecy. The New Testament so interprets it (Acts 4:25-27; 13:33). The titles anointed one
(Christ) and son of God which are used in this psalm were applied by the Jews of Jesus' day to the coming
Redeemer (John 4:25; 1:49). Taken in its most literal sense the psalm fits perfectly with what is known of the
life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth." (Smith, J.E., "What the Bible Teaches About the Promised Messiah:
An In-depth Study of 73 Key Old Testament Prophesies About the Messiah," Thomas Nelson Inc:
Nashville TN, 1993, pp.154-155)
15/08/2008
"Matthew 6:9 `You must pray, then, this way: `Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.' `
(NWT) Jehovah's Witnesses point out that God's name must be sanctified, and thus they `prove' that we
must use the name Jehovah, in order for our prayers to be heard by God. But is that what Jesus taught?
Did he begin his own prayers with the expression `Jehovah God,' as the Witnesses do? Not at all! While
expressing concern in the prayer that God's name be sanctified or hallowed (treated as sacred or holy), Jesus
taught his disciples to pray to `our Father,' not to `Jehovah God.' He said, `You must pray, then, this way:
"Our Father... ."' Many of Jesus' own personal prayers are also recorded in the Bible, and in these he sets
the same example: `Father, I thank you...' (John 11:41, NWT). `Abba, Father, all things are possible to
you...' (Mark 14:36, NWT). `Father, the hour has come ...' (John 17:1, NWT). Witnesses might object by
saying, `Jesus had a close, special relationship with the Father. That's why he did not address him as
'Jehovah.' We might acknowledge that there is some truth to that, but Jesus' purpose was to bring all of his
disciples into a close, special relationship with God, too. `No one comes to the Father except through me,'
Jesus taught (John 14:6, NWT). Of Christians who come to the Father through Jesus, the Bible says: `... you
have received the Spirit bf adoption by whom we cry out, `Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are children of God' (Rom. 8:15-16, NKJV). It is obvious that Jesus' words at Matthew
6:9 definitely do not teach a need to use the name Jehovah in prayer." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses
Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, pp.52-53. Emphasis
original)
15/08/2008
"Prayer The Watchtower Society has taught its followers that they must address all their prayers to
`Jehovah God,' using this modern transliteration of the ancient Hebrew Tetragrammaton. (You Can Live
Forever in Paradise on Earth, pages 44 and 228) However, is that what Jesus taught? The four Gospels
record sufficient details of Jesus' earthly life for us to follow Him as our exemplar in the matter of prayer.
Many of Jesus' prayers are recorded. Did He pray to `Jehovah God?' No, the pattern Jesus set is this: `Abba,
Father, all things are possible to you.' - Mark 14:36 NWT. `Father, I thank you.' - John 11:41 NWT. `Father,
the hour has...' - John 17:1 NWT. `You must pray, then, this way: 'Our Father...' - Matthew 6:9 NWT. The
pattern Jesus set was to address God as `Father.' In fact, even the New World Translation does not
contain any examples of Christ praying to `Jehovah'-in spite of the fact that the name `Jehovah' is inserted
by the translators in hundreds of verses. Jehovah's Witnesses might object by saying, `Jesus had a close,
special relationship with the Father. That's why He did not address Him as 'Jehovah.' True, Jesus was in a
close relationship with the Father, but his purpose was to bring all of His disciples into a close, special
relationship with God, too. `No one comes to the Father except through me,' Jesus taught. (John 14:6 NWT)
Of Christians who come to the Father through Jesus, the Bible says, `you have received the Spirit of
adoption by whom we cry out, `Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God.' (Romans 8:15,16 NKJV) How many of us grew up calling our earthly father `Francis' or
`William' or `Ralph' or whatever his name may have been? Even if we were adopted, we learned to call him
`Dad' or `Papa'-an intimate expression similar to `Abba, Father.' Their insistence on using the name Jehovah
instead reveals that Jehovah's Witnesses know God only from a distance." (Reed, D.A., "Answering
Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1996, Second printing, 1998, pp.182-183.
Emphasis original)
15/08/2008
"The real problem in the verse [John 8:58] is the verb Ego Eimi. Dr. Robertson, who is quoted as
authoritative by the NWT (p. 775), states that eimi is `absolute.' [Robertson, A.T., "Grammar of the Greek
New Testament in the Light of Historical Research," B&H Publishing, 1947, p.768] This means there is no
predicate expressed with it. This usage occurs four times (Jn 8:24, 58; 13:19; 18:5). In these places, the term is
the same used by the Septuagint at Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 43:10; and 46:4, to render the Hebrew phrase
`I (am) He.' The phrase occurs only where Jehovah's Lordship is reiterated. The phrase then is a claim to full
and equal deity. The incorrect and rude rendering of the NWT only serves to illustrate the difficulty of
evading the meaning of the phrase and the context. The meaning of the phrase in the sense of full deity is
especially clear at John 13:19, where Jesus says that He has told them things before they came to pass, that
when they do come to pass the disciples may believe that Ego Eimi. (I AM). Jehovah is the only one who
knows the future as a present fact. Jesus is telling them beforehand that when it does come to pass in the
future, they may know that `I AM' (Ego Eimi), that He is Jehovah!" (Martin, W.R. & Klann, N.,
"Jehovah of the Watchtower," Bethany House Publishers: Bloomington MN, 1953, Reprinted, 1981, p.53.
Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"[Genesis ]18:2 three men. At least two of the `men' were angels (see 19:1; see also note on 16:7). The
third may have been the Lord himself (see vv. 1,13,17,20,26,33; see especially v. 22)." (Barker, K., ed., "The
NIV Study Bible," Zondervan: Grand Rapids MI, 1985, p.32. Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"[Genesis ]18:1. ... Jehovah appeared. Even though Abraham did not instantly recognize the celestial
visitor as the Lord, it soon became clear to him that the chief visitor of the three messengers was Jehovah
himself. He was `the angel of Jehovah,' who appears several times in the earlier pages of Genesis." (Pfeiffer,
C.F. & Harrison, E.F., eds., "The Wycliffe Bible Commentary," Oliphants: London, 1962, Reprinted, 1963,
p.24. Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"Not that one literally seals the Bible but that he could become responsible for its continuing as a sealed
book if he did not offer people Bible-study aids and call back and help them to gain understanding. Why is
this so? Because the Bible is an organization book. It was produced by God's spirit bearing along men of
faith who were, every last one of them, associated with God's organization-either the typical or the Christian
organization. Jehovah is a God of unity and harmony. He wants his earthly servants united, and so he has
made understanding the Bible today dependent upon associating with his organization, even as in the days
of Jesus and his apostles only those who came in touch with God's organization received an understanding
of the Scriptures." ("The Bible Spread by Jehovah's Witnesses," The Watchtower, October 1, 1960,
p.668)
16/08/2008
"Consider some of the other `twisted things' used to mislead God's people today. On occasion opposers will
question the various teachings that Jehovah's people hold in common. Often this becomes a debate about
words, just as it was in the first century. (1 Timothy 6:3, 4) They may also question the need for an
organization to direct the minds of God's people. Their view is, God's spirit can direct individuals without
some central, organized body of men giving direction. They will declare that all one needs to do is to read
the Bible. But Christendom has been reading the Bible for centuries. And look at the indistinct trumpet call
coming from Christendom today! See the confusion and misunderstanding as to the true message contained
in God's Word! What a contrast this is to the foretold peace and unity among true Christians who not only
read the Bible but search out and zealously apply its teachings!-Ephesians 4:3-6." ("What Is Our Position
Toward Opposers of the Truth?," The Watchtower, March 1, 1983, pp.21-26, p.25)
16/08/2008
"Trying to decide whether language in Scripture is literal or symbolic has always proven difficult. In spite of
this, there is overwhelming evidence ... that the New Testament pictures of hell are metaphors and not literal
descriptions. First, the biblical writers do not intend their words to be taken literally. Jude calls hell the
`blackest darkness' (Jude 13) when only moments earlier in verse 7 he pictures it as an `eternal fire.' The same
is true for Matthew, who often uses the opposite images of fire (Matt. 3:10, 12; 25:41) and darkness (8:12;
22:13; 25:30) when describing hell. If we extend this to the broad sweep of New Testament theology, we can
hardly miss the incongruent images of blackest darkness in Jude and Revelation's vast `lake of fire' (Rev.
19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). Second, physical fire works on physical bodies with physical nerve endings, not
on spirit beings. We see in Matthew 25:41 that the eternal fire was created for spirit beings like the devil and
his angels. The fire must in some sense be a spiritual fire, which is another way of acknowledging it to be a
metaphor for God's punishment of the wicked. Third, the New Testament descriptions of heaven and hell are
symbolic pictures, not itemized accounts of eschatological furniture. The writers use the most powerful
symbols available in the first century to communicate their meaning. Heaven is pictured as an ancient city,
adorned with the treasures of the world. It comes complete with golden streets, pearled gates, jewel-laden
walls, and sparkling rivers. Even the most lowly have plenty of food, spacious living quarters, and eternal
rest. Hell is the opposite. There the wicked suffer in darkness and fire, afflicted by maggots and tormented
with blows. There they weep and gnash their teeth. Like stars, they wander in eternal night, a symbol of
ultimate remorse, where joy and hope are forever lost. Fourth, in ancient times teachers often used words
symbolically to underscore their points (rabbinic hyperbole, as we now call it). To be a disciple you must
`hate' your father and mother (Luke 14:26), `gouge out' an offending eye (Matt. 5:29), let the dead `bury their
own dead' (Luke 9:60). Such colorful language was understood by all to be hyperbole, picturesque speech to
bring home the urgency of the situation. The same is true with the images of hell recorded in the New
Testament. Their purpose is not to give the reader a detailed, literal picture of torment, but a symbolic one. ...
To say that the wicked would `suffer the punishment of eternal fire' (Jude 7) is consistent with saying they
will be cast into the `blackest darkness' (Jude 13). Both are metaphors for the inexpressible judgment of
God." (Crockett, W.V., "Response to John F. Walvoord," in, Crockett, W.V., ed., "Four Views on Hell,"
Zondervan: Grand Rapids MI, 1992, Reprinted, 1996, pp.29-31)
16/08/2008
"HELL. `Hell' in the NT renders the Gk. word transliterated as `Gehenna' (Mt. 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,
33; Mk. 9:43, 45, 47; Lk. 12:5; Jas. 3:6). The name is derived from the Heb. ge(ben)(bene) hinnom, the
valley of (the son[s] of) Hinnom, a valley near Jerusalem (Jos. 15:8; 18:16) where children were sacrificed by
fire in connection with pagan rites (2 Ki. 23:10; 2 Ch. 28:3; 33:6; Je. 7:31; 32:35). ... In later Jewish writings
Gehenna came to mean the place of punishment for sinners Assumption of Moses 10:10; 2 Esdras 7:36). It
was depicted as a place of unquenchable fire-the general idea of fire to express the divine judgment is found
in the OT (Dt. 32:22; Dn. 7:10). The rabbinic literature .. and the Apocryphal books affirm belief in an eternal
retribution (cf. Judith 16:17; Psalms of Solomon 3:13). The teaching of the NT endorses this past belief.
The fire of hell is unquenchable (Mk. 9:43), eternal (Mt. 18:8), its punishment is the converse of eternal life
(Mt. 25:46). There is no suggestion that those who enter hell ever emerge from it. However, the NT leaves
the door open for the belief that while hell as a manifestation of God's implacable wrath against sin is
unending, the existence of those who suffer in it may not be. It is difficult to reconcile the ultimate fulfilment
of the whole universe in Christ (Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20) with the continued existence of those who reject him. ...
On the other hand Rev. 20:10 does indicate conscious, never-ending torment for the devil and his agents,
albeit in a highly symbolic passage, and some would affirm that a similar end awaits human beings who
ultimately refuse to repent. In any case, nothing should be allowed to detract from the seriousness of our
Lord's warnings about the terrible reality of God's judgment in the world to come." (Innes, D.K., "Hell," in
Douglas, J.D., et al., eds., "New Bible Dictionary," [1962], Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester UK, Second edition,
1982, Reprinted, 1988, pp.472-473. Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"NT imagery concerning eternal punishment is not uniform. As well as fire it is described as darkness (Mt.
25:30; 2 Pet. 2:17), death (Rev. 2:11), destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord (2 Thes. 1:9;
Mt. 7:21-23), and a debt to pay (Mt. 5:25-26). In 2 Pet. 2:4 only, we find the verb tartaroo, translated in RSV
`cast into hell', and rendered by the Pesh. `cast down to the lower regions'. Tartaros is the classical word
for the place of eternal punishment but is here applied to the intermediate sphere of punishment for fallen
angels." (Innes, D.K., "Hell," in Douglas, J.D., et al., eds., "New Bible Dictionary," [1962], Inter-Varsity Press,
Leicester UK, Second edition, 1982, Reprinted, 1988, p.473)
16/08/2008
"Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the
soul that sinneth, it shall die. (KJV) `So,' says the Jehovah's Witness, `the soul dies. This verse proves that
there is no conscious life after death.' Does it? Not at all! First, look at the context. What is the writer talking
about? The Israelites were grumbling against God, quoting a proverb that said: `The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge' (v. 2)-they were complaining that punishment for what a
father did fell upon his offspring. Verse 4 is God's reply: The one who sins is the one who will die. .. So, the
context reveals that the inspired Word was not speaking here about the condition of the dead. The word
soul is used in many different senses throughout Scripture. It sometimes refers to a person's life,
sometimes to the person himself ... and sometimes it refers to the inner part of man that lives on after death.
Jehovah's Witnesses deny this last use of the word soul. They say that man totally ceases to exist at
death, that when the body dies, there is nothing left. But there are many Scripture verses that prove them
wrong. For example, ask them to turn to Luke 12:4-5. Their own New World Translation says, `. .. Do not
fear those who kill the body and after this are not able to do anything more. But I will indicate to you whom
to fear: Fear him who after killing has authority to throw into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear this One.'
Therefore, a man's body can be killed. He is dead. But something can be done to him after he is dead. He can
then be thrown into Gehenna. Now if, as the Witnesses say, the man ceased to exist when his body was
killed, what would be left afterwards to be thrown into Gehenna? Likewise, in 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle
Paul wrote of the body as `the earthly tent we live in,' adding that he `would rather be away from the body
and at home with the Lord,' and warning that `we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that
each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body' (vv. 1, 8-10, RSV). If the
Jehovah's Witnesses were correct, what part of Paul could leave his body and go to be with the Lord? You
might also ask the JW to read Revelation 6:9-11 in his own Bible. There it speaks of `the souls of those
slaughtered,' asking God when their blood would be avenged. It adds that `a white robe was given to each
of them; and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the number was filled also of their fellow slaves
and their brothers who were about to be killed as they also had been.' Yes, these souls had been killed, but
they are depicted as being in God's presence and engaging in conversation with him." (Reed, D.A.,
"Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006,
pp.45-46. Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"Luke 16:22-24, 27 `Now in course of time the beggar died and he was carried off by the angels to the
bosom [position] of Abraham. Also, the rich man died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes,
he existing in torments, and he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in the bosom [position] with him. So he
called and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this blazing fire.... send him to the house of my father, for I
have five brothers, in order that he may give them a thorough witness, that they also should not get into
this place of torment.' (NWT) Jehovah's Witnesses believe their organization's teaching that hades is
simply the grave and that there is no conscious existence for the dead until a future resurrection. But, since
Jesus' words in the verses above do speak of such conscious existence, the Watchtower Society has to
do something to negate those words. So they point out that the account is a parable, or illustration, and
apply a purely symbolic meaning to everything in the story. In the Watchtower's interpretation, Lazarus
pictures Jesus' disciples, the rich man pictures the Jewish religious leaders, Abraham pictures Jehovah God,
the death of each pictures a change of conditions for each group while here on earth, and the torments of
the rich man picture the public exposure of Jewish religious leaders by the Apostles' preaching. Therefore,
Jesus was not really talking about the condition of the dead in Luke 16, according to the Watchtower
Society." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986,
Thirty-first printing, 2006, p.63. Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"Christians, too, will generally agree that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is one of Jesus' many
parables. But an examination of the Lord's other parables reveals that all of them were illustrations based on
real-life situations. For example, a prodigal son returned home after squandering his money; a man found a
buried treasure in a field, hid it again, and sold everything he had in order to buy that field; a king put on a
wedding feast for his son; a slaveowner traveled abroad and then returned home to his slaves; a man
constructed a vineyard, leased it out to others, but had difficulty collecting what they owed him; and so
on." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-
first printing, 2006, pp.63-64)
16/08/2008
"Young men really did leave home and squander their inheritance, and Jesus used his audience's familiarity
with such circumstances to illustrate things relating to the kingdom. People really did find buried treasure,
put on wedding feasts, leave slaves in charge while traveling abroad, lease vineyards, and so on, and Jesus
used his listeners' familiarity with these situations to illustrate spiritual things. So, if the story of the rich man
and Lazarus is like all the rest of Jesus' parables, it also must use a real situation to illustrate spiritual things.
People must really have a conscious existence after death, and some of them must really be `in torments,'
deeply regretting their past life. Regardless of what the parable illustrates, the basic story, like the other
stories Jesus told, must be taken from real life." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by
Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, p.64)
16/08/2008
"Remembering what the Bible reveals to us about Jesus' mercy and compassion and love, we know that God
is not a cruel, unfeeling monster who delights in tormenting people. If we truly know him, we realize that he
is more kind and loving than we are. So, if we are unable to reconcile God's goodness with Jesus' teaching
on the condition of the dead, the problem must lie with us, in our limited comprehension, rather than with
God. Abraham faced a similar problem when he learned that God was about to rain fire and brimstone on
Sodom and Gomorrah. He questioned God, even asking, `Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' (Gen.
18:25). Therefore, a person who is upset by Jesus' teaching should follow Abraham's example by taking the
matter to God in prayer and asking for help to trust in him fully, even in matters that are beyond human
understanding." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI,
1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, p.64)
16/08/2008
"But the solution is not to be found in denying what the Bible plainly says. Although Jesus Christ was by
far the most loving and compassionate person ever to walk the earth, he also had the most to say about the
unpleasantness facing people after death. He said, for example: `The Son of man will send his angels, and
they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of
fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' (Matt. 13:4142, RSV). `But he will say, " tell you, I do not
know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!"There you will weep and gnash
your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you
yourselves thrust out.' (Luke 13:27-28, RSV). `So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and
separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash
their teeth.' (Matt. 13:49-50, RSV). `Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot, and cast
him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."' (Matt. 22:13, RSV). `The master of
that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut
him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.' (Matt. 24:50-51, NIV). `The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and
at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. That
servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be
beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be
beaten with few blows... .' (Luke 12:46-48, NIV)." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by
Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, p.65)
16/08/2008
"`And throw the good-for-nothing slave out into the darkness outside. There is where his weeping and the
gnashing of his teeth will be.' (Matt. 25:30, NWT). `... but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is
betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.' [Author's note: If he had not been
born, the betrayer would have been nonexistent. But nonexistence was better than the punishment now in
store for him. So, the Watchtower must be wrong in its teaching that Judas' death plunged him into eternal
nonexistence.] (Matt. 26:24, RSV). `... it is finer for you to enter one-eyed into the kingdom of God than with
two eyes to be pitched into Gehenna, where their maggot does not die and the fire is not put out.' (Mark
9:47-48, NWT). `Rejoice in that day and leap, for, look! your reward is great in heaven.... But woe to you rich
persons, because you are having your consolation in full. Woe to you who are filled up now, because you
will go hungry. Woe, you who are laughing now, because you will mourn and weep.' (Luke 6:23-25, NWT).
`Moreover, I say to you, my friends, Do not fear those who kill the body and after this are not able to do
anything more. But I will indicate to you whom to fear: Fear him who after killing has authority to throw into
Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear this One.' (Luke 12:4-5, NWT). And in the revelation that Jesus gave to the
aged apostle John, the Lord's angelic messenger says, `If anyone worships the wild beast and its image, and
receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the anger of God that is
poured out undiluted into the cup of his wrath, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the sight
of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever,
and day and night they have no rest. .. . (Rev. 14:9-11, NWT)" (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered
Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, pp.66-67)
16/08/2008
"Conclude by asking the Jehovah's Witness, `If someone never read any Watchtower Society publications,
but only read Jesus' words, what would he believe on this subject? What did Bible readers believe for
centuries before Watchtower founder `Pastor' Russell came along in the late 1800s and taught his no-hell
doctrine?' The Lord used figurative language-darkness, fire, torment, exclusion-but the point is clear: Jesus
taught that disobedient mankind faces some sort of unpleasantness after death, and that he came as Savior
to rescue us from such a fate." (Reed, D.A., "Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse," Baker: Grand
Rapids MI, 1986, Thirty-first printing, 2006, p.67)
16/08/2008
"Hell There can be no punishment after death in the Jehovah's Witness scheme of things because the
dead cease to exist. They are gone, vanished without a trace. There is no soul or spirit remaining to
experience punishment. If that were true, however, what sense would there be to this warning spoken by
Jesus Christ? `And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no
more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath
power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.' (Luke 12:4-5) If the Witnesses were correct, someone
whose body had been killed would no longer exist, hence would have nothing to fear from men or from God.
Once you pass out of existence, there is no longer anything that anyone can do to you. You simply do
not exist. However, Jesus warned that there is indeed more that God can do to a person after the person has
been killed. What? God can cast the person into hell (Gehenna in Greek), Jesus said." (Reed, D.A.,
"Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1996, Second printing,
1998, p.133. Emphasis original)
16/08/2008
"The Watchtower Society has assured its followers that this does not involve anything unpleasant
happening to a person after death; instead, it represents `complete and everlasting destruction' or `death
from which there is no resurrection.' (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, page 87) If this were so,
however, what reason would there be for someone to fear being thrown there after being killed-after already
ceasing to exist, in the JW interpretation? Pointing out that Jews who rejected the law of Moses `died
without mercy,' the writer of Hebrews added, `How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be
punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot ... ? ... It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God.' (Hebrews 10:28-31 NIV) Does mere nonexistence fit this description?" (Reed, D.A.,
"Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1996, Second printing,
1998, pp.133-134)
16/08/2008
"Luke does not leave us wondering what Jesus meant when telling us to fear God more than we fear men
`that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.' (Luke 12:4) Chapter 16 of Luke's gospel
includes Jesus' story of the rich man and Lazarus. After the rich man `died and was buried' it came about that
he was `in torment' crying for pity `because I am in agony in this fire' in `this place of torment.' (verses 22-24,
28) The Watchtower Society tries to dismiss the account of the rich man and Lazarus as a fanciful
illustration that says nothing at all about the afterlife. They declare each element of the story to be
completely symbolic: Abraham represents God, the rich man represents the Jewish religious leaders, Lazarus
represents followers of Jesus, and their deaths represent the changes that took place when God removed his
favor from the former and bestowed it on the latter. The Jewish leaders `suffered torments when Christ's
followers exposed their evil works.' (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, page 89) However, even if
this parable were meant to convey such symbolic meaning, what about the story itself? Jesus' other parables
all use true-to-life circumstances to illustrate a point or to teach a lesson. People really did dig in fields and
hide buried treasure, prodigal sons really did leave home and squander their money, employers really did
hire men to work in vineyards, and so on. If the same pattern holds true, then regardless of any symbolic
meaning that might also be attached to it, the story of the rich man and Lazarus would also be based on
realistic events: some people such as Abraham and Lazarus are rewarded in the afterlife, while others such
as the rich man find themselves in a place of torment." (Reed, D.A., "Answering Jehovah's Witnesses:
Subject by Subject," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1996, Second printing, 1998, p.134)
16/08/2008
"Unfortunately, just as Jehovah's Witnesses deny what the Bible says about punishment after death, there
are other religious people who go overboard in the opposite direction, allowing their imagination to run wild
with sadistic glee as they picture devils with pitchforks having a grand time inflicting every brutal torture
imaginable on helpless men, women, and children. This approach is every bit as unscriptural as the course
JWs take. Revelation 20:10 makes it plain that the devil himself is among those undergoing punishment-not
ruling over an evil empire in hell. Moreover, the specifics of who else gets thrown into Gehenna and what
happens to them there should be imagined-if we must dwell on the subject at all-in the light of all that we
know about God's goodness, rather than in the light of Dante's Inferno, Renaissance paintings, or modern
works of fiction." (Reed, D.A., "Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject," Baker: Grand Rapids
MI, 1996, Second printing, 1998, pp.134-135)
16/08/2008
"A favorite Jehovah's Witnesses tactic is to draw on the more sadistic popular images of hell, ask you to
picture children trapped there and subjected to endless excruciating pain, and then ask, `How could God do
such a thing?' However, if Jesus says that wicked men are put outside in the dark to weep and gnash their
teeth, we have no business turning this into a picture of children undergoing fiendish torture. If our
sensibilities are offended by our concept of hell and who goes there, then perhaps our concept is wrong.
God is the one who gave us our sensibilities, our compassion, our fellow-feeling, our inclination to be
merciful. He excels over us in all these qualities. The Bible makes it clear that wickedness will be punished
after death, righteousness will be rewarded, and Christians have the assurance of eternal life with Christ. But
details beyond this are either lacking altogether or are expressed in symbolic language subject to
interpretation. Jesus had more to say about hell than anyone else in the Bible, but he is also revealed as far
more compassionate and tenderly affectionate than any of us could claim to be. The important thing to
remember is that the Judge of all the earth will indeed do what is right, what is fair, and what is good.
(compare Genesis 18:23-33) The solution is not to explain away Scripture to the point of denying its plain
meaning, but rather to trust God like little children." (Reed, D.A., "Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject
by Subject," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1996, Second printing, 1998, pp.135-136)
17/08/2008
"The mistranslation of sheol and hades by the King James translators is the basis for much of the
argumentation in the Witness rejection of the doctrine of eternal punishment. Actually, over half of the chapter
dealing with hell in the book Let God Be True, [Ibid., pp.88-99] is built on the mistranslation of these two words
and the misunderstanding of orthodoxy. The best way to clear up this problem, and most of the Witnesses' other
arguments from Scripture, is to accept the readings of the American Standard Version which leave the words
untranslated." (Gruss, E.C., "Apostles of Denial: An Examination and Expose of the History Doctrines and Claims
of the Jehovah's Witnesses," Presbyterian & Reformed: Phillipsburg NJ, 1970, Eleventh printing, 1986, p.162)
17/08/2008
"To further clarify this subject and to see the term-switching of the Witnesses, it would be good at this point to
define the meaning of several terms they misapply. The Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word hades, never
speak of eternal hell. These two words simply denote the place of the departed. The eternal state of the wicked
after the resurrection is designated in the Scriptures as `Gehenna' or `Lake of Fire.' These terms designate the
condition of eternal punishment or `hell.' `Tartarus,' used only once (in II Pet. 2:4) is not `hell,' although it is so
translated in both the ASV and the KJV. This seems to be a separate place of detention for the fallen angels."
(Gruss, E.C., "Apostles of Denial: An Examination and Expose of the History Doctrines and Claims of the
Jehovah's Witnesses," Presbyterian & Reformed: Phillipsburg NJ, 1970, Eleventh printing, 1986, pp.162-163)
17/08/2008
"Moreover, as language cannot describe the severity of the divine vengeance on the reprobate, their pains
and torments are figured to us by corporeal things, such as darkness, wailing and gnashing of teeth,
unextinguishable fire, the ever-gnawing worm (Matth. viii. 12; xxii. 13; Mark ix. 43; Isa. lxvi. 24). It is certain
that by such modes of expression the Holy Spirit designed to impress all our senses with dread, as when it is
said, `Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared: he hath made it deep and large; the pile
thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it' (Isa. xxx. 33).
As we thus require to be assisted to conceive the miserable doom of the reprobate, so the consideration on
which we ought chiefly to dwell is the fearful consequence of being estranged from all fellowship with God,
and not only so, but of feeling that his majesty is adverse to us, while we cannot possibly escape from it.
For, first, his indignation is like a raging fire, by whose touch all things are devoured and annihilated. Next,
all the creatures are the instruments of his judgment, so that those to whom the Lord will thus publicly
manifest his anger will feel that heaven, and earth, and sea, all beings, animate and inanimate, are, as it were,
inflamed with dire indignation against them, and armed for their destruction. Wherefore, the Apostle made
no trivial declaration, when he said that unbelievers shall be ` punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power' (2 Thess. i. 9). And whenever the prophets strike
terror by means of corporeal figures, although in respect of our dull understanding there is no extravagance
in their language, yet they give preludes of the future judgment in the sun and the moon, and the whole
fabric of the world. Hence unhappy consciences find no rest, but are vexed and driven about by a dire
whirlwind, feeling as if torn by an angry God, pierced through with deadly darts, terrified by his thunderbolt,
and crushed by the weight of his hand; so that it were easier to plunge into abysses and whirlpools than
endure these terrors for a moment. How fearful, then, must it be to be thus beset throughout eternity!"
(Calvin, J., "Institutes of the Christian Religion," [1536], Beveridge, H., transl., Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI,
Vol. II., XXV.III.12, 1964, pp.275-276)
17/08/2008
"Matthew 11:23 - `Hades' (ades, Greek; ... She·ol', Hebrew; Shioul', Syriac; in·fer'nus, Latin). This
word we have transliterated from the Greek into the English for the ten times it occurs. (Matthew 11:23;
16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14) It literally means `the unseen place'.
Peter's use of it at Acts 2:27, 31 shows it is the equivalent of the Hebrew word She·ol', which occurs 65 times
in the Hebrew Scriptures and is applied to the common grave of mankind. With good reason that, for
according to the root words from which it may be derived She·ol' means either `the hollow place' or `resting-
place'. In the common grave mankind rests in the unseen place or place hollowed out for their burial. The
corresponding Latin word in·fer'nus (sometimes in'fe·rus) means `that which lies beneath; the lower region',
and it well applies to the grave. It is thus a fit equivalent of the Greek and Hebrew terms. In the inspired
Scriptures these words are always associated with death and the dead, never with life and the living. For
instance, Revelation 20:13: `Death and Ha'des gave up those dead in them.' In themselves the words contain
no thought or hint of pleasure or of pain; which fact befits the Bible description of the dead." (Watchtower
Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, p.772. Emphasis original)
18/08/2008
"Matthew 5:22 - `Gehenna" (Geenna, Greek; Gehenna, Latin; ..., Ge'i-Hin·om', Hebrew) The name
means `valley of Hinnom", for it is the Greek form of the Hebrew Ge'i-Hin·om'. (Joshua 18:16, LXX) It
occurs 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, and we transliterate it that many times in our translation.
(Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6) This valley lay to the west
and south of ancient Jerusalem. (Joshua 15:8; 18:16; Jeremiah 19:2,6) Under the later kings of Judah it was
used for the idolatrous worship of the pagan god Molech, to which god human sacrifices were offered by
fire. (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31,32; 32:35) To prevent its use again for such religious purposes,
faithful King Josiah had the valley polluted, particularly the part called To'pheth, and it came to be the
dumping place and incinerator for the filth of Jerusalem. (2 Kings 23:10) Here the bodies of dead animals
were thrown to be consumed in the fires to which sulphur or brimstone was added to assist the burning.
Occasionally the bodies of executed criminals were thrown in who were thought too vile to have a
resurrection from the dead and hence a decent burial and memorial tomb. If such dead bodies landed in the
fire they were consumed that way, but if their carcasses landed upon a ledge of the deep ravine their
putrefying flesh collected worms or maggots, which did not die until they had consumed the fleshy parts,
leaving only the skeletons lying to corrode away. No living animals or human creatures were pitched into
Gehenna to be burned alive or tormented. Hence the place could never symbolize an invisible region where
human souls are tormented in literal fire and attacked by undying immortal worms for ever and ever. (Isaiah
66:24) Because the dead criminals cast here were denied a decent burial in a memorial tomb, which
symbolizes the hope of a resurrection, Gehenna was used by Jesus and his disciples to symbolize
everlasting destruction, annihilation from God's universe, or `second death', an eternal punishment. Hence
to be sentenced to have one's dead body cast into Gehenna was considered the worst kind of punishment.
From the literal Gehenna and from its significance the symbol of the `lake burning with fire and sulphur' was
drawn, at Revelation 19:20; 20:10,14,15; 21:8." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation
of the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950,
pp.766-767)
18/08/2008
"2 Peter 2:4 - `Tar'ta·rus' (here derived from the Greek verb tar·ta·ro'o) `Tar'ta·rus' is included in the
Greek verb (tar·ta·ro'o), and so in rendering the verb we have used the phrase, `by throwing them into
Tar'ta·rus.' In the ancient poet Homer's Iliad the word tar'ta·ros denotes an underground prison as far
below Ha'des as the earth was below heaven. Those confined in it were not human souls, but the lesser
gods, spirits, namely, the Titans and Cronus, who had rebelled against Zeus (Jupiter). It was the prison
established by the mythical gods for the spirits whom they had driven from the celestial regions, and so it
was below the Ha'des where human souls were supposed to be confined at death. Thus tar'ta·ros was the
lowest of the lower regions, and was a place of darkness. It enveloped all the underworld the same as the
heavens enveloped all that was above the earth. We note, therefore, that tar'ta·ros was reputed to be a place
for confining, not human souls, but Titan spirits, and that it was a place of darkness and of abasement. The
word occurs in the pre-Christian Greek Septuagint Version (LXX) of the Scriptures. At Job 40:15 (BAC, LXX)
we read concerning the monster behe'moth: `And when he has gone up to a steep mountain, he causes joy
to the quadrupeds in the deep [en to tartaroo].' At Job 41:22,23 (BAC, LXX) we read concerning le·vi'a·than:
`He makes the deep boil like a brazen caldron; and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment, and the lowest
part of the deep [ton de tartaron tes abassou, the tar'ta·ros of the abyss] as a captive: he reckons the deep
as his range.' The use of tar'ta·ros in these verses makes it plain that the word was used to signify a low
place, yes, the `lowest part' of the abyss. Therefore it denotes a place or position of abasement. The inspired
Scriptures do not consign any human souls to tar'ta·ros, but consign there only the `angels that sinned',
namely, spirit creatures. Their being cast into tar'ta·ros denotes for them the deepest abasement while they
are still alive, this in punishment for their sin of rebellion against the Most High God. The apostle Peter
associates darkness with their low condition, saying further: God `delivered them to pits of dense darkness
to be reserved for judgment'. (2 Peter 2:4) Doubtless, the pagans in their mythological traditions concerning
Cronus and the rebellious Titan gods copied the inspired Scriptures. Peter's use of the verb tar·ta·ro'o
meaning to `cast into tartarus' does not signify the `angels that sinned' were cast into the pagan
mythological tartarus; but that they were debased by Almighty God from their heavenly place and privileges
and were delivered over to dense mental darkness concerning God's bright purposes. Also they had only a
dark outlook as to their own eternal destiny, which the Scriptures show is everlasting destruction with their
ruler, Satan the Devil. In the inspired Scriptures, therefore, tar'ta·ros bears no relationship to Ha'des, which
corresponds with the common grave of the human dead. The sinner angels and the dead human souls are
not associated together in tar'ta·ros as a place of eternal conscious torment of creatures. Technically,
therefore, tartarus will pass away when the Supreme Judge destroys the rebellious angels at present
occupying that low, dark place or position." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "New World Translation of
the Christian Greek Scriptures," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1950, pp.785-
786)
18/08/2008
"Knowing these things, what will you do? It is obvious that the true God, who is himself `the God of truth'
and who hates lies, will not look with favor on persons who cling to organizations that teach falsehood.
(Psalm 31:5; Proverbs 6:16-19; Revelation 21:8) And, really, would you want to be even associated with a
religion that had not been honest with you?" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Is This Life All There
Is?," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1974, p.46)
18/08/2008
"[Jn 8:]24. For except ye believe (ean gar me pisteusete). Negative condition of third class with ean
me and ingressive aorist active subjunctive of pisteuo, `For unless ye come to believe.' That I am he
(hoti ego eimi). Indirect discourse, but with no word in the predicate after the copula eimi. Jesus can
mean either `that I am from above' (verse 23), `that I am the one sent from the Father or the Messiah' (7:18,
28), `that I am the Light of the World' (8:12), `that I am the Deliverer from the bondage of sin' (8:28, 31f., 36),
`that I am' without supplying a predicate in the absolute sense as the Jews (Deut. 32:39) used the language
of Jehovah (cf. Isa. 43:10 where the very words occur hina pisteusete - hoti ego eimi). The phrase ego
eimi occurs three times here (8:24, 28, 58) and also in 13:19. Jesus seems to claim absolute divine being as in
8:58." (Robertson, A.T., "Word Pictures in the New Testament: Volume V: The Fourth Gospel & the Epistle
to the Hebrews," Broadman Press: Nashville TN, 1932, p.146. Emphasis original)
18/08/2008
"[Jn 8:]58. Before Abraham was (prin Abraam genesthai). Usual idiom with prin in positive sentence
with infinitive (second aorist middle of ginomai) and the accusative of general reference, `before coming
as to Abraham,' `before Abraham came into existence or was born.' I am (ego eimi). Undoubtedly here
Jesus claims eternal existence with the absolute phrase used of God. The contrast between genesthai
(entrance into existence of Abraham) and eimi (timeless being) is complete. See the same contrast
between en in 1:1 and egeneto in 1:14. See the contrast also in Psa. 90:2 between God (ei, art) and the
mountains (genethenai). See the same use of eimi in John 6:20; 9:9; 8:24, 28; 18:6." (Robertson, A.T.,
"Word Pictures in the New Testament: Volume V: The Fourth Gospel & the Epistle to the Hebrews,"
Broadman Press: Nashville TN, 1932, pp.158-159. Emphasis original)
19/08/2008
"In Old English versions the word hell is used to name the place, in German versions Hoelle, in
Portuguese inferno, in Spanish infierno, and in French Enfer, and in Greek ha'des. In the old
Hebrew Scriptures it is the word sheol that is translated by these words in the different languages. ...
Throughout those sacred Hebrew Scriptures this word sheol occurs 65 times. In the King James
Version the English translators rendered it 31 times `hell', 31 times `grave', and only 3 times `pit'. ... But the
very fact that the King James Version renders the one Hebrew word sheol three different ways shows that
hell, grave and pit mean one and the same thing." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Let God Be
True," [1946], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1952, pp.88-89)
19/08/2008
"Even in the foreign languages the various translators do not agree among themselves in translating the
Hebrew word sheol and its Greek equivalent ha'des. But the very fact that the King James Version
renders the one Hebrew word sheol three different ways shows that hell, grave and pit mean one
and the same thing. Since hell means mankind's common grave or the pit of burial, it could not at the same
time mean a place of fiery torture or a place of two compartments, one of bliss and one of fiery torment."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Let God Be True," [1946], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn
NY, Second edition, 1952, pp.89-90)
19/08/2008
"The immediate future for a person after death is in the grave. The languages in which the Bible was written
had words for the place of the dead, mankind's common grave. In Hebrew it was termed Sheol. It was
called Hades in Greek. These words have been translated in some Bibles by terms such as `grave,' `pit' or
`hell.' Regardless of how they are rendered, the meaning of the original-language terms is not a hot place of
suffering but is the grave of the unconscious dead. We read: `All that your hand finds to do, do with your
very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [hell, Douay Version; the
grave, Authorized Version], the place to which you are going.' - Ecclesiastes 9:10. The apostle Peter assures
us that upon death even Jesus went to the grave, to Sheol, Hades or hell. - Acts 2:31; compare Psalm
16:10." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Happiness-How to Find It," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society
of New York: Brooklyn NY, 1980, p.117)
19/08/2008
"Webster's Dictionary says that the English word `hell' is equal to the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek
word Hades. In German Bibles Hoelle is the word used instead of `hell'; in Portuguese the word used is
inferno, in Spanish infierno, and in French Enfer. The English translators of the Authorized Version,
or King James Version, translated Sheol 31 times as `hell,' 31 times as `grave,' and 3 times as `pit.' The
Catholic Douay Version translated Sheol 64 times as `hell.' In the Christian Greek Scriptures (commonly
called the `New Testament'), the King James Version translated Hades as `hell' each of the 10 times it
occurs.-Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14. ... The
question is: What kind of place is Sheol, or Hades? The fact that the King James Version translates the
one Hebrew word Sheol three different ways shows that hell, grave and pit mean one and the
same thing. And if hell means the common grave of mankind, it could not at the same time mean a place of
fiery torture. Well, then, do Sheol and Hades mean the grave, or do they mean a place of torture? ... Before
answering this question, let us make clear that the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades mean
the same thing. This is shown by looking at Psalm 16:10 in the Hebrew Scriptures and Acts 2:31 in the
Christian Greek Scriptures, which verses you can see on the next page. Notice that in quoting from Psalm
16:10 where Sheol occurs, Acts 2:31 uses Hades. Notice, too, that Jesus Christ was in Hades, or hell. Are we
to believe that God tormented Christ in a hell of fire? Of course not! Jesus was simply in his grave."
(Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth," [1982], Watchtower Bible
& Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1989, pp.82-83)
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"In all the places where Sheol occurs in the Bible it is never associated with life, activity or torment. Rather,
it is often linked with death and inactivity. For example, think about Ecclesiastes 9:10, which reads: `All that
your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor
wisdom in Sheol [grave, King James Version; hell, Douay Version], the place to which you are going.' So the
answer becomes very clear. Sheol and Hades refer not to a place of torment but to the common grave of
mankind. (Psalm 139:8)" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth,"
[1982], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1989, p.83)
19/08/2008
"Eccl. 9:10: "All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor
knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going." (It is not into another body but into
Sheol, the common grave of mankind, that the dead go.)" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Reasoning
from the Scriptures," [1985], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, Second edition,
1989, p.320)
19/08/2008
"Jehovah clearly explained what death would mean for the sinner Adam. God said: `In the sweat of your face
you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust
you will return.' (Genesis 3:19) Adam would return where? To the ground, to the dust from which he had
been created. At death Adam would simply cease to exist! ... In this regard, human death does not differ
from that of the animals. They too are souls, and the same spirit, or life force, energizes them. (Genesis 1:24)
At Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20, the wise man Solomon tells us: `As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all
have but one spirit, so that [in death] there is no superiority of the man over the beast ... They have all come
to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust.' Man was superior to the beasts in that he was
created in God's image, reflecting the qualities of Jehovah. (Genesis 1:26, 27) Yet, at death humans and
animals alike return to the dust. ... Solomon further explained what death means, saying: `The living are
conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.' Yes, the dead know
absolutely nothing. In view of this, Solomon urged: `All that your hand finds to do, do with your very
power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are
going.' (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) Where do the dead go? To Sheol (Hebrew, she'ohl'), the common grave
of mankind. Our dead loved ones are not conscious of anything. They are not suffering, and they cannot
affect us in any way." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life ,"
[1984], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1995, pp.82-83)
19/08/2008
"Solomon further explained what death means, saying: `The living are conscious that they will die; but as for
the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.' Yes, the dead know absolutely nothing. In view of this,
Solomon urged: `All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising
nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.' (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) Where do the
dead go? To Sheol (Hebrew, she'ohl'), the common grave of mankind. Our dead loved ones are not
conscious of anything. They are not suffering, and they cannot affect us in any way." (Watchtower Bible &
Tract Society, "Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life ," [1984], Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of
New York: Brooklyn NY, Second edition, 1995, pp.82-83)
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"What Are Sheol and Hades? IN ITS original languages, the Bible uses the Hebrew word she'ohl' and its
Greek equivalent hai'des more than 70 times. Both words are related to death. Some Bible translations render
them as `grave,' `hell,' or `pit.' However, in most languages there are no words that convey the precise sense
of these Hebrew and Greek words. The New World Translation therefore uses the words `Sheol' and
`Hades.' What do these words really mean? Let us note how they are used in different Bible passages.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 states: `There is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to
which you are going.' Does this mean that Sheol refers to a specific, or individual, grave site where we may
have buried a loved one? No. When the Bible refers to a specific burial place, or grave, it uses other Hebrew
and Greek words, not she'ohl' and hai'des. (Genesis 23:7-9; Matthew 28:1) Also, the Bible does not use the
word `Sheol' for a grave where several individuals are buried together, such as a family grave or a mass
grave.-Genesis 49:30, 31. To what kind of place, then, does `Sheol' refer? God's Word indicates that `Sheol,'
or `Hades,' refers to something much more than even a large mass grave. For instance, Isaiah 5:14 notes that
Sheol is `spacious and has opened its mouth wide beyond bounds.' Although Sheol has already swallowed,
so to speak, countless dead people, it always seems to hunger for more. (Proverbs 30:15, 16) Unlike any
literal burial site, which can hold only a limited number of the dead, `Sheol and the place of destruction
themselves do not get satisfied.' (Proverbs 27:20) Sheol never becomes full. It has no limits. Sheol, or Hades,
is thus not a literal place in a specific location. Rather, it is the common grave of dead mankind, the figurative
location where most of mankind sleep in death." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "What Does the Bible
Really Teach?" Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 2005, p.212. Emphasis
original)
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"Jehovah has entrusted his Son with `the keys of death and of Hades,' granting him the power to resurrect.
(Revelation 1:17, 18) With those keys, the glorified Jesus will unlock the gates of Hades and thus release all
those being held in mankind's common grave.-John 5:28, 29." (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Come Be
My Follower," Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York: Brooklyn NY, 2007, p.22)
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"Hell. Generally speaking the word `hell' is used in Scripture to refer to a place of future punishment for
the wicked dead. However, there are other meanings also. There are times when the word is used to refer to
the grave, or to the place of the dead. Also, `hell' is used to speak of the place of disembodied spirits
without any implication of either their bliss or torment. One Hebrew word and two Greek words are each
translated `hell' in the English translations of the Bible. These constitute the main teaching on the subject
of hell and damnation. The Greek tartaroo appears once and is translated `hell' in the AV (II Pet. 2:4). In
the Greek mind, this place was below Hades, where divine punishment was endured comparable to that in
Hades." (Lightner, R.P., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand
Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.506. Emphasis original)
19/08/2008
"The Hebrew se'ol is variously translated as `the grave;' `hell,' and `the pit:' The word appears only once
outside the OT, in Jewish Elephantine papyri, where it means grave. Derivation or etymology of the word is
uncertain. In the OT it is used to refer to the grave several times (Job 17:13; Ps. 16:10; Isa. 38:10). It is also
used for the place where the dead, both good and bad, abide (e.g., Gen. 37:35; Job 14:13; Num. 16:33; Ps.
55:15; Prov. 9:18). Darkness, gloom, forgetfulness, and distance from God are also implied in the word (Ps.
6:5; Isa. 38:18)." (Lightner, R.P., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker:
Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.506. Emphasis original)
19/08/2008
"Jacob, at death, went down into Sheol (Gen. 37:35), but so did the wicked Korah and Dathan (Num. 16:30).
Such teaching has led to the view that Sheol had two compartments-an upper and lower level. It is thought
that Christ delivered the righteous in the upper level at the time of his resurrection (I Pet. 3:19; Eph. 4:9-10).
Those who reject the two-compartment view of Sheol generally hold that Sheol had a double meaning. The
word originally meant simply `the grave.' Later it was more specialized and used to refer to hell. Hell does
seem to be more in view in the later passages, but a few of the earlier ones seem to have this idea also."
(Lightner, R.P., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI,
1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.506. Emphasis original)
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"The Greek word hades parallels the Hebrew Sheol. In the LXX, which is the Greek translation of the OT,
`Hades' usually appears as the rendering of `Sheol.' Hades is used in the NT to refer to the underworld, the
region of the departed. It defines the intermediate state between death and the future resurrection. Of the
eleven times the word is used in the NT, it is rendered as `hell' by the AV with one exception (I Cor. 15:55,
where `grave' appears). On the one hand, Hades seems to be the gathering place of all souls (see Acts 2:27,
31, where it is the Greek translation of `Sheol' in Ps. 16:10). In Luke 16:23-26 all the dead are located in the
underworld, but the word `Hades' itself is used only of the place where the wicked are punished." (Lightner,
R.P., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984,
Seventh Printing, 1990, p.506. Emphasis original)
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"Wherever the righteous dead went before Christ's resurrection-Hades or heaven-we know from Paul's
testimony that to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ (II Cor. 5:8). Those who die in the
Lord in this age go immediately into the presence of the Lord. Those who die without Christ go to Hades,
where there is torment (Luke 16:9-31). They will later be brought from Hades to appear before the great white
throne of judgment, after which they will all be cast into the lake of fire and experience eternal damnation
(Rev. 20:11-15)." (Lightner, R.P., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker:
Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.506. Emphasis original)
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"Gehenna, from the Greek geenna, is the eternal abode of the wicked. Whereas Hades is the intermediate
state, Gehenna is eternal hell. Wherever it is used in the NT, it always means the place of eternal damnation.
The valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem was the place where human sacrifices were offered to the pagan
god Moloch in the days of Ahaz and Manasseh (II Kings 1:6:3; 21:6). The dead bodies were thrown and
burnt there. The prophets warned of judgment to come because of such sins (Jer. 7:32; 19:6; cf. Isa. 31:9;
66:24), and because of these threats, the valley came to be a symbol for eternal judgment." (Lightner, R.P.,
"Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh
Printing, 1990, p.506. Emphasis original)
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"The scriptural teaching of hell goes beyond these three words, however. Frequently, especially in the
Gospels, hell is seen as `unquenchable fire' (Matt. 3:12; cf. 5:22; 18:9), `damnation' (Matt. 23:33), `furnace of
fire' (Matt. 13:42, 50), `blackness and darkness' (Jude 13), a `lake which burneth with fire and brimstone' (Rev.
21:8), a place `prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matt. 25:41)."(Lightner, R.P., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed.,
"Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.506)
19/08/2008
"Gehenna. The Greek transliteration of the Aramaic gehinnam, which itself goes back to the Hebrew
ge hinnom `Valley of Hinnom' (also `valley of the son (sons) of Hinnom'; cf. II Chr. 28:3; II Kings 23:10,
etc.). Original reference was to a valley to the south and west of Jerusalem. Near where this valley joined the
Kidron Valley, on the south and east, was Topheth, early site of Baal worship and the abominable practice
of sacrifice of children to Molech (cf. II Kings 16:3 and 21:6 for involvement respectively of Ahaz and
Manasseh; and II Kings 23:10 for condemnation by Josiah, the reformer king). In Jer. 7:32 and 19:6 is the
prophecy that this place of shame will become the place of punishment by God." (Cruz, V., "Hell," in Elwell,
W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990,
p.439. Emphasis original)
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"Because of such associations, by the first century B.C. gehenna came to be used metaphorically for the hell
of fire, the place of everlasting punishment for the wicked. This understanding is discernible in Jewish
apocalyptic literature (e.g. II Esd. 7:36). Talmudic literature abounds in references to gehenna with
fascinating opinions - e.g., that the depth of gehenna is immeasurable or that the sinner is relegated to a
depth commensurate with his wickedness. References to a fiery hell are found in both Philo and Josephus
and also in the Qumran literature." (Cruz, V., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984, Seventh Printing, 1990, p.439)
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"Of the twelve occurrences of gehenna in the NT eleven are in the Synoptic Gospels and one in James. All
the Synoptic references are to words of Jesus and have the same meaning as above. In addition to the word
itself, scholars agree that there are several occurrences of the concept, e.g., Matt. 25:41 and Rev. 20:4.
Gehenna shares some common ground with Hades/Sheol; however, the latter is more consistently the
interim abode of both good and bad souls after death prior to judgment, while gehenna is the final and
everlasting place of punishment for the wicked following the last judgment. The numerous references to
gehenna tell forcefully against a doctrine of universalism. Attempts to soften or ignore this material
concerning the lot of those who refuse to repent of sin constitute distortion of the biblical witness." (Cruz,
V., "Hell," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1984,
Seventh Printing, 1990, pp.439-440)
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"Hell. l. The place of the dead. It is one rendering of Heb. She'ol and Gr. Haides. A.R.V. of O.T.
places Sheol in the text in Dent. 32:22; Ps. 55:15; 86:13, while A.V. has hell. In N.T. R.V. puts Hades in the text
(cf. Ps. 16:10 with Acts 2:27). The two words are also rendered grave in A.V. (Gen. 37:35; Isa. 38:10, 18; Hos.
13:14; and A.V. of I Cor. 15:55; in R..4., death). The etymology of the words is in doubt. Sheol is represented
as insatiable (cf. Prov. 27:20, R.V.; 30:15, 16). Hades, when pronounced without the aspiration, means the
unseen. Both words denote the place of the dead. The evidence is not clear, but it may be safely affirmed
that for centuries the Hebrews shared the common Semitic conception of Sheol. This conception was vague
and undefined. There was consequently room for the imagination to play, and fancy was fond of supplying
all manner of details; and care must be taken not to confound fancies with faith. The ancient Hebrews, like
other Semites, thought of Sheol as beneath the earth (Num. 16:30-8.3; Ezek. 31:17; Amos 9:2). They pictured
it as entered through gates (Isa. 38:10), a dark, gloomy region, where the inhabitants pass a conscious, but
dull, inactive existence (II Sam. 22:6; Ps. 6:5; Eccl. 9:10). They regarded it as the place whither the souls of all
men without distinction go (cf. Gen. 37:35; Ps. 31:17; Isa. 38:10), where punishments may be suffered and
rewards enjoyed, and from which a return to earth was not an impossibility (I Sam. 28:8-19; Heb. 11:19). It is
important to note, however, that in authoritative Hebrew doctrine Sheol was open and naked to God (Job
26:6; Prov. 15:11), that God was even there (Ps. 139:8), and that the spirits of his people, and their condition
in that abode, were ever under his watchful eye. This doctrine of God's knowledge of his people after death,
presence with them, and unceasing love for them, involved the blessedness of the righteous and the woe of
the wicked after death, and 2 places of abode for them, the righteous being with the Lord and the wicked
being banished from his presence. This doctrine lay also at the basis of the related teaching of the eventual
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. The doctrine of future glory, and even of the resurrection
of the body, was cherished in OT. times (Job 19:25-27; Ps. 16:8-11; 17:15; 49:14, 15; 73:24; Dan. 12:2, 3): A
foundation for it was early afforded by the translation of Enoch and Elijah; it is not certain to what extent, if
any, the Hebrews were influenced by the Egyptians, who had definite teaching regarding the future life and
the relation of morality in the present life to happiness beyond the grave. But it remained for Christ to bring
immortality to full light, and, by revealing the bliss of the saved soul even out of the body in his presence, to
dispel all gloom from the future abode of his saints (Luke 23:43; John 14:73; II Cor. 5:6-10; Phil. 1:23)."
(Gehman, H.S. & Davis, J.D., "The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible," [1898], Collins: London, 1924,
Revised, 1944, p.235. Emphasis original)
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"Hell. ... 2. The place of woe. In this sense it is the rendering of Gr. Geenna. in Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28;
18:9; 22:15, 33; Mark 9:47; Luke 12:5, and James 3:6. This word is the Gr. form of Heb. Ge Hinnom, valley
of Hinnom, where children were burnt to Molech. From the horrible sins practiced in it, its pollution by
.Josiah, and perhaps also because offal was burnt in it, the valley of Hinnom became a type of sin and woe,
and the name passed into use as a designation for the place of eternal punishment (Matt. 18:8, 9; Mark 9:43).
From the scenes witnessed in the valley, imagery was borrowed to describe the Gehenna of the lost (Matt.
5:22; cf. ch. 13: 42; Mark 9:48). In II Peter 2:4, `to cast down to hell' is the rendering of the verb tartaroo,
meaning `to cast down to Tartarus.' The Tartarus of the Romans, the Tartaros of the Greeks, was their place
of woe, situated as far below Hades as Hades was below heaven. Gehenna and Tartarus are both the place
of punishment for the lost." (Gehman, H.S. & Davis, J.D., "The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible," [1898],
Collins: London, 1924, Revised, 1944, pp.235-236. Emphasis original)
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"In this twentieth century an independent study has been carried on that does not blindly follow some
traditional chronological calculations of Christendom, and the published timetable resulting from this
independent study gives the date of man's creation as 4026 B.C.E. According to this trustworthy Bible
chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand
years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975 C.E. ... So six thousand years of man's existence on earth
will soon be up, yes, within this generation. ... How appropriate it would be for Jehovah God to make of this
coming seventh period of a thousand years a sabbath period of rest and release, a great Jubilee sabbath for
the proclaiming of liberty throughout the earth to all its inhabitants! ... The blessed time for its introduction
is fast approaching. Shortly, within our own generation, the symbolical trumpet will be sounded by divine
power, proclaiming "liberty in the land to all its inhabitants," (Leviticus 25:8-10) ... The long-awaited time for
this is at hand!" (Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, "Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God,"
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: Brooklyn NY, 1966, pp.28-30)
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"But the fact that the Greeks used the term soul in an unscriptural way does not necessarily imply that every
use of the word soul to indicate the continued existence of man after death is wrong. The New Testament
itself occasionally uses the Greek word for soul, psyche, in this way. Arndt and Gingrich, in their
GreekEnglish Lexicon of the New Testament, suggest that psyche in the New Testament may mean life,
soul as the center of man's inner life, soul as the center of life that transcends the earth, that which
possesses life, a living creature, soul as that which leaves the realm of earth at death and lives on in Hades.
[University of Chicago Press, 1957, pp. 901-902]" (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster
Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.94)
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"There are at least three clear instances in the New Testament where the word psyche is used to
designate that aspect of man which continues to exist after death. The first of these is found in Matthew
10:28, `Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul (psyche); rather fear him who can
destroy both soul and body in hell.' What Jesus is saying here is this: there is something about you which
those who kill you cannot touch. That something must be an aspect of man which continues to exist after
the death of the body. Two more instances of this usage of the word are found in the book of Revelation
`When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls (psychas) of those who had been slain for
the word of God and for the witness they had borne' (6:9); `I saw the souls (psychas) of those who had
been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God' (20:4). In neither of these two passages
can the word souls refer to people still living on the earth. The reference is obviously to slain martyrs; the
wore souls is used to describe that aspect of these martyrs which still exists after their bodies have been
cruelly put to death. We conclude, therefore, that it is not illegitimate or unscriptural to use the word soul to
describe that aspect of man which continues to exist after death. It should be added that the New Testament
sometimes uses the word spirit (pneuma) to describe this aspect of man: for example, in Luke 23:46, Acts
7:59, and Hebrews 12:23." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978,
British Edition, 1979, pp.94-95)
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"According to the Old Testament human existence does not end at death; after death man continues to exist
in the realm of the dead, commonly called Sheol. George Eldon Ladd suggests that `Sheol is the Old
Testament manner of asserting that death does not terminate human existence.' [Ladd, G.E., "A Theology of
the New Testament," Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1974, p.194]" (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future,"
Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.95)
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"In the King James Version the Hebrew word Sheol is variously translated as grave (31 times), hell
(31 times), or pit (3 times). In both the American Standard Version and the Revised Standard Version,
however, Sheol has been left untranslated. While granting that the word does not always mean the same
thing, Louis Berkhof suggests a threefold meaning for Sheol: state of death, grave, or hell. [Berkhof, L.,
"Systematic Theology," Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1953, pp.685-686] That Sheol may mean either the state of
death or the grave is well established; but that it may mean hell is doubtful. " (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible
and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.96)
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"(1) Generally Sheol means realm of the dead, to be understood figuratively as designating the state of
death. Sheol is often used simply to indicate the act of dying: `I [Jacob] shall go down to Sheol to my son,
mourning' (Gen. 37:35); `if harm should befall him [Benjamin] ... , you would bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to Sheol' (Gen. 42:38). In I Samuel 2:6, in fact, bringing down to Sheol is parallel to bringing someone
into the state of death: `The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up:' The various
figures which are applied to Sheol can all be understood as referring to the realm of the dead: Sheol is said to
have bars (Job 17:16), to be a dark and gloomy place (Job 17:13), and to be a monster with an insatiable
appetite (Prov. 27:20; 30:15-16; Isa. 5:14; Hab. 2:5). When we think of Sheol in this way, we must remember
that both the godly and the ungodly go down into Sheol at death, since both enter the realm of the dead."
(Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.96.
Emphasis original)
19/08/2008
"(2) Sheol may sometimes be translated grave. A clear instance is Psalm 141:7, `As a rock which one
cleaves and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.' This does not seem
to be a common meaning of the word, however, particularly not because there is a Hebrew word for grave,
qebher. Many passages in which Sheol could be translated by grave also yield good sense if one renders
Sheol as realm of the dead." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK,
1978, British Edition, 1979, p.96. Emphasis original)
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"Both Louis Berkhof and William Shedd suggest that sometimes Sheol may mean hell or the place of
punishment for the ungodly. [Berkhof, L., "Systematic Theology," Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1953, p.685]
But the passages which are adduced in support of this interpretation are not convincing. One text cited in
this connection is Psalm 9:17, `The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.' But there is
no indication in the text that punishment is involved. And one finds it difficult to believe that the Psalmist is
here predicting the everlasting punishment of every single member of these wicked nations (goyim). The
passage, however, makes excellent sense if one renders Sheol in the usual way, as referring to the realm of
death. The Psalmist is then saying that ungodly nations, though they now boast of their power, shall be
wiped out by death. Another passage adduced by Berkhof is Psalm 55:15, `Let death come upon them; let
them go down to Sheol alive.' In the light of the principle of parallelism which is generally characteristic of
Hebrew poetry, it would seem that the second line is only repeating the thought of the first line: death (or
desolation, the marginal reading) will come upon these my enemies. Going down to Sheol alive would then
mean sudden death, but would not necessarily imply eternal punishment. Still another text cited by Berkhof
in this connection is Proverbs 15:24, `The wise man's path leads upward to life, that he may avoid Sheol
beneath.' But here again the obvious contrast is between life and death, the latter represented by the word
Sheol." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition,
1979, pp.96-97)
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"It has not been definitely established, therefore, that Sheol can designate the place of eternal punishment.
But there does begin to emerge already in the Old Testament the conviction that the lot of the wicked and
the lot of the godly after death is not the same. This conviction expresses itself first in the belief that,
though the wicked will remain under the power of Sheol, the godly will eventually be delivered from that
power. For example, in Psalm 49:14 we note that the wicked `are appointed as a flock for Sheol; death shall be
their shepherd' (ASV). These words suggest the thought that death shall keep them and never let them go.
The godly, however, shall be redeemed from the power of death: `But God will redeem my soul from the
power (literally, from the hand) of Sheol; for he will receive me' (v. 15). A sharp difference between the lot of
the wicked and the lot of the godly after death is here revealed. The godly, it is said, will be redeemed from
the power of death-a statement which at least suggests, without clearly affirming it, the promise of
resurrection from the dead. ... At this point we may see at least a hint of the thought that Sheol could
designate a place of punishment for the wicked-in the sense that the ungodly shall remain in Sheol, whereas
the godly shall be delivered from that realm." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster
Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.97)
19/08/2008
"A passage with similar import is Psalm 16:10, `For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou
suffer thy holy one to see corruption' (ASV). The meaning would seem to be: You, Lord, will not abandon
my soul (or me) to the realm of the dead permanently, and you will not permit me to see corruption. The
Apostle Peter quotes this passage in his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:27, 31), and applies it to the resurrection
of Christ, affirming that by means of these words David was predicting that resurrection. The question is,
What did this passage mean to David when he wrote it? It may have meant simply his confidence that,
though he was in mortal danger at the time, God would not let him die. In Acts 2:30-31, however, Peter says
about David, `Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would
set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he
was not abandoned to Hades [the New Testament equivalent of Sheol], nor did his flesh see corruption:' If
the words of Psalm 16 could indeed be interpreted as a prediction of Christ's resurrection, they could also
have meant for David the hope of his own resurrection. In view of Peter's use of the passage, we certainly
cannot exclude the Second interpretation.' The two passages just quoted indicate that the hope of
deliverance from Sheol for God's people was already present in Old Testament times." (Hoekema, A.A., "The
Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, pp.97-98)
19/08/2008
"We may further note some other Old Testament passages which indicate that the lot of the godly after
death is better than the lot of the wicked. The simple statement about Enoch already suggests this thought,
`Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him' (Gen. 5:24). The words of Balaam in Numbers
23:10 also imply that there is a difference between the lot of the godly and the lot of the wicked after death:
`Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his:' A similar contrast is described in two other
passages from the Psalms. Psalm 17:15 reads, `As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; when I
awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form:' Though the primary reference of these words is
probably to fellowship with God in this life, it is certainly not unwarranted to see in them a reference to life
after death. In contrast with the lot of the wicked, to which he has referred in the preceding verse, the
Psalmist hopes to behold the form or likeness (temunah) of God when he awakes from the sleep of death.'
Psalm 73:24 reads, `Thou dost guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards thou wilt receive me to glory (or
`honor): ` The word kabhodh, here rendered glory or honor, has no preposition before it, and can
perhaps be thought of as an accusative of manner; it is variously translated `to glory,' `into glory,' `in glory,'
or `with glory.' In the light of the entire Psalm, which contrasts the lot of the wicked with that of the godly,
we may say that Asaph's faith here sees beyond the grave. Asaph is confident that, although the wicked
now seem to prosper, they shall eventually perish (vv. 19, 27), but that he, though now suffering many
chastenings (v. 14), will be received into glory after this life. That this is a permissible interpretation of the
passage is evident from verse 26, `My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and
my portion for ever.'" (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978,
British Edition, 1979, pp.98-99)
19/08/2008
"The New Testament, like the Old, teaches that man is not annihilated at death but continues to exist, either
in Hades or in a place of blessedness sometimes called Paradise or Abraham's bosom. Hades is the usual
Septuagint translation of Sheol. The meaning of Hades in the New Testament, however, is not exactly the
same as that of Sheol in the Old Testament. Sheol in the Old Testament, as we saw, stood for the realm of
the dead or, occasionally, the grave. During the Intertestamentary Period, however, the concept of Sheol
underwent certain changes. In the rabbinical literature of this period, and in some apocalyptic writings, the
view began to emerge that there is a spatial separation in the underworld between the godly and the
ungodly; in some writings the word Hades began to be used exclusively for the place of punishment for
ungodly souls in the underworld. The New Testament use of the word Hades to some extent reflects this
development." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British
Edition, 1979, pp.98-99)
19/08/2008
"Most commonly, Hades in the New Testament designates the realm of the dead. It is so used in Acts
2:27 and 31, in Peter's Pentecost sermon: `For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One
see corruption.... He [Christ] was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption:' In this passage
Hades is the Greek equivalent of Sheol in Psalm 16:10, and simply stands for the realm of the dead. Peter
sees these words fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ: Christ was not abandoned to the realm of the dead,
neither did his flesh see corruption." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter
UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, pp.98-99. Emphasis original)
19/08/2008
"Hades is used several times in the book of Revelation; here it also means the realm of the dead. In 1:18
Hades is pictured as a prison with doors: `I [Christ] have the keys of Death and Hades.' In 6:8 Hades is again
described as in close conjunction with death: `And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was
Death, and Hades followed him.' In 20:13 Hades is pictured as a realm which gives up its dead: `And the sea
gave up the dead in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they
had done.'" (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition,
1979, pp.99-100)
19/08/2008
"Hades also means the realm of the dead in Matthew 11:23, `And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to
heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.' These words are an echo of Isaiah 14:13 and 15, where the
prophetic word comes to the king of Babylon, `You said in your heart, `I will ascend to heaven... : But you
are brought down to Sheol.' The preceding verses vividly describe the entrance of the king into the realm of
the dead. Similarly Jesus here says to Capernaum that, though in its pride it now exalts itself to heaven, it
shall descend to the realm of the dead (the place of humiliation and abandonment) because it refused to
repent at the words of Jesus. That this descent into Hades implies further judgment is clear from verse 24,
`But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.'"
(Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.100)
19/08/2008
"Another passage where Hades designates the realm of the dead is Matthew 16:18, Jesus' words to Peter
after the latter had made his great confession: `And upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail against it' (ASV). The expression `the gates of Hades' is the Greek equivalent of the
Hebrew phrase `the gates of Sheol:' The last-named expression is found in Isaiah 38:10, where Hezekiah,
expecting to die soon, is reported as saying, `I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.'
A similar phrase, `the gates of death,' is found in Job 38:17 and Psalm 107:18. These expressions picture the
realm of the dead as a heavily fortified prison with strong gates, within which the dead are confined. In
Matthew 16:18 Christ promises that his church will never be overwhelmed or conquered by death, since he
himself is the conqueror of death. Death can never wipe out Christ's church. Even though the members of
the church must die one by one, the church will continue to exist throughout eternity." (Hoekema, A.A.,
"The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.100)
19/08/2008
"There is one New Testament passage, however, where the word Hades is used, not just as a designation of
the realm of the dead, but as a description of the place of torment in the intermediate state: the Parable of the
Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. It is not said that Lazarus entered Hades when he died, but rather
that he was `carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom' (v. 22). Of the rich man after death, however, it is
said that `in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes... :' Here Hades stands for the place of torment
and suffering after death, whereas `Abraham's bosom' is a place or condition of happy existence (see also v.
25). As was pointed out above, this shift in the meaning of Hades parallels a similar shift in certain Jewish
writings of that time. One could object that this is a parable, and that one does not go to parables to obtain
direct doctrinal teaching about conditions after death. Though this is true, the parable would be utterly
pointless if there is not in actual fact a difference between the lot of the godly and that of the ungodly after
death. The point of the parable turns on the future misery of the rich man and the future comfort of Lazarus."
(Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979,
pp.100-101)
19/08/2008
"In this parable, then, Hades is the place or condition of suffering and punishment for the ungodly. It
should further be noted that the parable does not picture conditions as they will be after the resurrection. In
verses 27-28 the rich man refers to his five brothers who are still living on the earth-this situation would be
impossible if the resurrection had already occurred (cf. also v. 31). We conclude, then, that both the
sufferings associated with Hades and the comforts associated with Abraham's bosom, as described in this
parable, occur in the intermediate state." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press:
Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.101)
19/08/2008
"Summing up, what can we learn about the intermediate state from the biblical use of the concepts Sheol and
Hades? We may note the following points: (1) Persons do not go totally out of existence after death but go
to a `realm of the dead:' (2) In this realm of the dead the ungodly shall remain, with death as their shepherd.
The New Testament adds the detail that after death the ungodly will suffer torment, already before the
resurrection of the body (Luke 16:19-31). (3) God's people, however, knowing that Christ was not abandoned
to the realm of the dead, have the firm hope that they too shall be delivered from the power of Sheol. The
New Testament again carries this hope one step further when it suggests that after death the godly are
comforted (Luke 16:25). In each case we note that the New Testament complements and expands on Old
Testament teachings." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978,
British Edition, 1979, p.101)
19/08/2008
"As we saw, the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus depicts the rich man as suffering torment in Hades
after death. Perhaps the clearest New Testament passage dealing with the state of the ungodly dead during
the intermediate state is II Peter 2:9, `The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the
unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment' (NIV). Peter has been expounding
the severity of divine judgment over the angels that sinned, over the ancient world, and over Sodom and
Gomorrah. According to verse 4 God cast the angels that sinned into hell (Greek, Tartarys), to be kept
until the judgment. In verse 9 Peter is speaking about unrighteous men. These, he says, God knows how to
keep or hold under punishment until the Day of Judgment-literally, while being punished. The Greek word
used here, kolazomenous, is a present passive participle from the verb kolazo, to punish. The present
tense of the participle conveys the thought that this punishment is a continuing one (note the NIV
translation, quoted above). The words eis hemeran kriseos, until or for the Day of judgment, tell us that
what is described here is not the final punishment of the ungodly, but a punishment which precedes the
judgment day. It cannot be maintained, further, that the punishment here spoken of is administered only
during this present life, since the words `until the day of judgment' clearly extend the punishment until that
day. This passage, therefore, confirms what we have learned from the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus,
and tells us that the ungodly undergo continuing punishment (the nature of which is here not further
described) between their death and the Day of Judgment." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future,"
Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, pp.100-102)
19/08/2008
"We now go on to ask, What does the New Testament teach about the condition of the believing dead (or,
to use a biblical expression, `the dead in Christ') between death and the resurrection? Three important
passages come up for consideration here. The first of these contains Jesus' words to the penitent thief. To
understand their thrust, we must look at the thief's prayer as well as at Jesus' promise: `And he [the penitent
thief] said, `Jesus, remember me when you come into (mg., in) your kingdom.' And he [Jesus] said to him,
`Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise' (Luke 23:42-43). Earlier, this thief had rebuked his
fellow malefactor and had expressed penitence for his wrongdoings. Now he turned to Jesus in faith and
anticipation. As someone presumably reared in the Jewish faith, the thief believed in a Messiah who would
some day, perhaps at the end of the world, establish a glorious kingdom. Being now convinced that Jesus
was that Messiah, he turned to him and asked, `Remember me when you come into (or in, as some
manuscripts read) your kingdom:' The thief did not expect to be so remembered until some time in the far
distant future. But Jesus' reply promised him even more than he had asked for: `Today you will be with me in
Paradise.' The word paradise is used only here and in two other New Testament passages, II Corinthians
12:4 and Revelation 2:7. In the II Corinthians passage Paul tells us that he was caught up into Paradise in a
vision; the expression Paradise is parallel to third heaven in verse 2. Here, therefore, Paradise means heaven,
the realm of the blessed dead, and the special habitation of God. In Revelation 2:7 we read about the tree of
life which is in the Paradise of God-here again Paradise refers to heaven, though to the final state rather than
to the intermediate state. We conclude that Jesus promised the penitent thief that the latter would be with
Christ in heavenly bliss that very day. This promise, needless to say, did not exclude Jesus' remembering the
thief at the time of his Second Coming, when he would indeed come finally into his kingdom, but it affirmed
that already on that day, immediately after his death, the penitent thief would share heavenly joy with Christ.
These words of Jesus give us a brief but memorable glimpse into the state of God's people after death.
Surely soul-sleep is here excluded, for what would be the point of saying these words if the thief after death
would be totally unaware of being with Christ in Paradise?" (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future,"
Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, pp.102-103)
19/08/2008
"A second significant passage on the intermediate state is found in Philippians 1:21-23, `For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall
choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is
far better.' In verse 20 Paul had expressed his confidence that Christ would be magnified in his body whether
by life or by death. In verse 21 he makes the bold assertion that for him to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Why does Paul here call death gain? One could argue that he is thinking only of the day of resurrection and
saying nothing about the intermediate state. Verse 23, however, sheds further light on the matter. There he
says, `My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.' Analysai (to depart) is an aorist
infinitive, depicting the momentary experience of death. Linked to analysai by a single article is the
present infinitive, einai (to be). The single article ties the two infinitives together, so that the actions
depicted by these infinitives are to be considered two aspects of the same thing, like two sides of the same
coin. What Paul is saying here is that the moment he departs or dies, that very same moment he will be with
Christ." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition,
1979, pp.103-104)
19/08/2008
"Paul does not tell us here exactly how he will be with Christ. If he were referring only to the resurrection
at the last day, he could have made this plain-see his unambiguous allusion to the resurrection of the body
in 3:20-21. Here, however, he is simply thinking of the moment of his death. The moment I die, Paul says, I
will be with Christ. This condition, he adds, will be `far better' than the present, clearly rejecting the thought
that after death he will enter into a state of soul-sleep or nonexistence. For how could soul-sleep or
nonexistence be `far better' than the present state, in which he does have conscious, though imperfect,
fellowship with Christ? Again we have light on the intermediate state-not a great deal of light, but enough to
give us comfort. One could say, in fact, that there is a striking parallel between what Paul says here and what
Jesus said to the penitent thief: ``With Christ'-this is all Paul knows about the intermediate state. It does not
surpass what Jesus said to the dying thief (Luke 23:43)." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future,"
Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British Edition, 1979, p.104. Emphasis original
19/08/2008
"We turn now to the third significant New Testament passage on the intermediate state, II Corinthians 5:6-8.
Fully to understand these verses, however, we must begin at the beginning of the chapter. Verse 1 reads,
`For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens:' It would seem clear that by `the earthly tent' which is to be destroyed
Paul means the present mode of existence on earth, full of tribulation and suffering (see chap. 4:7-17), a mode
so temporary that it can be compared to living in a tent. The chief problem of interpretation here is to
determine what is meant by `the building from God, the house not made with hands:' There have been, in the
main, three views: (1) The building from God means a kind of intermediate body between the present body
and the body of the resurrection; at death believers receive this intermediate body, but at the Parousia this
intermediate body will be replaced and surpassed by the resurrection body. (2) The building from God is the
resurrection body which we shall receive at the Parousia. (3) The building from God describes the glorious
existence of the believer in heaven with Christ during the intermediate state. We need not spend much time
with the first view, since the `building from God' is said to be eternal, whereas the intermediate body
envisioned in this interpretation would be only temporary. Besides, there is no reference in the Bible to such
an `intermediate body:' The only contrast Paul deals with in I Corinthians 15 is that between the present
body and the resurrection body. This leaves us with a choice between (2) the resurrection body and (3) the
glorious existence of believers after death in the intermediate state. It is indeed very difficult to make a
choice between these two. There are elements in this verse and in this chapter which do indeed suggest the
thought of the resurrection body: for example, the idea of being clothed upon with or putting on our
heavenly dwelling (v. 2), and the statement that when we are further clothed, what is mortal will be
swallowed up by life-a statement which reminds us of the imagery of I Corinthians 15:53, `This perishable
nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality:' On the other hand,
there are elements in the chapter which seem to point to the intermediate state: for example, the house not
made with hands is said to be in the heavens. Surely we are not to think, are we, of our resurrection bodies
being stored away for us somewhere in heaven? Another difficulty with the second interpretation is the
present tense of `we have' (echomen) in verse 1. If Paul had been thinking of the resurrection body, why
did he not say, `we shall have'? Though one can argue plausibly for either interpretation (2) or (3), neither
view is completely satisfactory. Very impressive, therefore, is Calvin's treatment of the verse in question.
After having stated some of the difficulties of the passage, Calvin says, in his commentary on II Corinthians,
`... I prefer to understand it [v. 1] as meaning, that the blessed condition of the soul after death is the
commencement of this building, and the glory of the final resurrection is the consummation of it.' Calvin's
interpretation, in other words, combines (2) and (3) above. `Intermediate state' and `resurrection body' are
here understood not as an either-or but as a both-and. This view of the passage, it seems to me, does most
justice to Paul's words, and helps us to understand the future of the believer as a unitary experience, though
divided by the resurrection into two phases. Both of these phases, however, involve an experience of
heavenly glory." (Hoekema, A.A., "The Bible and the Future," Paternoster Press: Exeter UK, 1978, British
Edition, 1979, pp.104-106. Emphasis original) [top]
Copyright © 2008-2009, by Stephen E. Jones. All rights reserved. These my quotes may be used for
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Created: 4 August, 2008. Updated: 10 April, 2009.