The Jehovah's Witnesses
deny the teaching of eternal punishment in Hellfire for the unsaved dead, and teach that death is a termination of existence and Hell is the common grave of mankind
and a state of unconsciousness. What does the Bible teach?
In the Bible the word
soul is used to denote mere animal or physical life, as Watchtower literature
points out, but it usually means the internal, immaterial aspect or ego of man,
and the Bible makes a distinction between the body and the soul. Also, while
the Bible does say that animals have souls, it does not say or indicate that
they are immortal. Need proof? Simply look up occurrences of the word soul in
the NWT and pay attention to wording, grammar, and context.
"Look! All the
souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the
son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die."
(Ezekiel 18:4 NWT) Ezekiel 18:4 is a favorite JW proof text. The soul does die
in the same sense that Adam and Eve died the very day they ate the forbidden
fruit. (Genesis 2:17; 5:3-5) Death means separation: Physical death is the
separation of the soul and body. (Genesis 35:18) Spiritual death is separation
from God. (Romans 5:12, 17; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; I Peter 4:6)
Watchtower literature
also says that the spirit is merely one's breath. In Acts 7:59 was Stephen
asking Jesus to take away his bad breath?
"For the living know
that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more
reward, because all memory of them is forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5 NWT)
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might, for there is no
work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave, where you are
going." (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NWT) Ecclesiastes 9:5 & 10 are two more
favorite JW proof texts. Hell is a place of unconsciousness and inactivity when
it comes to bodily senses and the affairs of this world. (Isaiah 63:16; John
9:4; Revelation 14:13) While Ecclesiastes 9:5 & 10 may not prove there is
conscious existence after death, do these passages prove that there is no
conscious existence after death? Will all receive the same fate or destiny,
whether they are faithful or wicked? "All have the very same outcome, the
righteous and the wicked, the good and the clean and the unclean, those sacrificing
and those not sacrificing. The good one is the same as the sinner; the one who
swears an oath is the same as the one who is cautious about swearing an
oath." (Ecclesiastes 9:2 NWT) Does the phrase “the remembrance of them has
been forgotten” in Ecclesiastes 9:5 mean there will be no resurrection after
this life for anyone? Ecclesiastes 9:5 & 10 and their context deal with the
inevitability of physical death.
The word rendered
destruction in II Thessalonians 1:9 is the Greek word olethros. Olethros means
a ruin of one's state of being, and is used in I Timothy 6:9. Olethros does not
mean a termination of existence.
The word rendered
destruction in Matthew 10:28 is the Greek word apollumi, which means ruin or loss
of well-being. This word is used in Luke 5:37 regarding the destruction of
wineskins, and does not mean a termination of existence.
The word rendered
everlasting in II Thessalonians 1:9 and Matthew 25:41 & 46 is the Greek
word aioonios, which means never ceasing.
Watchtower publications
say Hell is the common grave of mankind, and this was true in the Old
Testament. The word Hell is the rendering of the Hebrew word Sheol, and the
Greek words Hades, Gehenna, and Tartaroo. The verb Tartaroo means cast down to
Tartarus; Tartarus means the deepest or lowest places. (II Peter 2:4 NWT) Sheol
is the unseen state or world of the dead, whether lost or saved. (Genesis
37:35; Psalm 31:17; Isaiah 38:10) Hades is the unseen world of the dead,
usually of the lost, and corresponds to Sheol. (Luke 16:23; Revelation
20:13-14) Hades is a place of disembodied souls of the dead. (Acts 2:31; Psalm
16:10) Paradise refers to a division of Hades (Sheol) reserved for the saved
dead. (Job 3:13-19; Luke 23:43) At the time of the resurrection of Christ,
Paradise was changed from beneath into heaven. (Isaiah 42:6-7; II Corinthians
12:2-4; Ephesians 4:8-9)
Watchtower publications claim that the
account of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a parable and does not relate an actual
occurrence. (Luke 16:19-31) If this account is a parable (even though the
context gives no indication of this), keep in mind that a parable is an example
or picture which verifies something, and a symbol is a small representation of
a greater reality. Watchtower literature says the Rich Man represents false
religious leaders and Lazarus represents true Christians. If this is the case,
then who are the Rich Man's five brothers and why did he want Lazarus to
witness to them? (Luke 16:27-31)
Gehenna (Valley of
Hinnom) is a valley near Jerusalem where Solomon and others built high places
and sacrificed children to Moloch and Chemosh by burning them alive. (I Kings
11:7; II Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 32:35) Gehenna eventually became a
city dump and incinerator. (II Kings 23:10) Gehenna was considered an
abomination and came to signify Hell in the modern sense of the word, and is
used in the Bible to mean Hell. Were the Scribes and Pharisees thrown into the
literal Valley of Hinnom? (Matthew 23:15, 33) Who is referred to in Luke
12:4-5, and why should anyone fear someone who can do more to him after the
body is killed if death is a termination of existence? Is there still fire
burning in the literal Valley of Hinnom? (Mark 9:47-48) Are there worms that
never die in the literal Valley of Hinnom? (Mark 9:44, 46, 48) The Old
Testament refers to the lost in Hell as worms or maggots, so we can assume that
this is what Christ was meant. It is obvious that Gehenna is the Lake of fire
and brimstone. (Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 21:8) The Lake of fire is called the
second death because it is the final judgment of the unsaved dead after they
have been physically resurrected. It is the conclusive and permanent separation
from God. (Matthew 7:23; Hebrews 6:2; II Peter 2:4-9; Revelation 20:11-15)
Why fire? Fire is
purifying. (Numbers 31:23; I Peter 1:7; Revelation 3:18) Everything
contaminated by sin must be purified, and those not washed in the blood of the
Lamb must be purified by fire. But fire will not atone for sin or remove the
sins of the lost, which is why the fire is eternal. (Matthew 3:12; 25:41, 46;
II Thessalonians 1:7-9)
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