Will the Holocaust Dead Return?
IS THERE hope for the millions of victims who died in the Holocaust? Could it be expected that God might perform some supreme act of justice in behalf of these victims of Nazism?
The Hebrew Scriptures offer a hope that sustained the faithful prophets and servants of God thousands of years ago. Was it based on the ancient Greek concept of an immortal soul that would survive the dead person? Hardly, since the Hebrew writings and teachings precede Greek philosophy by centuries.
Human Soul Mortal
The Hebrew account in Genesis tells us regarding the creation of the first man: “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being [Hebrew, leneʹphesh].” (Genesis 2:7, Tanakh) The Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917 says “soul” for leneʹphesh. Thus, a soul, or neʹphesh, is a being, a creature, whether animal or human.
Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures is immortality ever attributed to neʹphesh. In fact, the word “immortal” does not even appear in the Hebrew Scriptures. On the contrary, the Hebrew Bible indicates that neʹphesh is the person, the living soul. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20) Therefore, death is the end, at least temporarily, of the person as a living soul. It is a state of total inactivity, like a deep sleep, as the psalmist David expressed it: “Look at me, answer me, O Lord, my God! Restore the luster to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.”—Psalm 13:4, Tanakh.
Following the same simple logic, the Hebrew Scriptures tell us: “The dead know nothing; they have no more recompense, for even the memory of them has died. Whatever it is in your power to do, do with all your might. For there is no action, no reasoning, no learning, no wisdom in Sheol [mankind’s common grave], where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, Tanakh) This agrees with Job’s sentiment in the midst of suffering: “Why did I not die at birth? . . . For now would I be lying in repose, asleep and at rest.” (Job 3:11, 13, Tanakh) Certainly, Job was not thinking in terms of being “palpably alive” as an immortal soul after death, as the “Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism” asserts.
Does that mean, then, that death signifies total oblivion? Very few people today can recall the names of their ancestors back five or ten generations, but what about God? Does he recall them? Will he recall them? Will he recall the millions of victims of Nazi persecution? The millions who have died in senseless wars? The prophet Daniel believed that God can remember the dead. His prophecy indicated that there would be a resurrection of the dead, for he said: “Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence.”—Daniel 12:2, Tanakh.
A future resurrection to earthly life was the true hope of the faithful prophets and kings of ancient Israel. They had no concept of flitting about as an immaterial immortal soul in the hereafter. That same hope of a resurrection to perfect life on earth applies today. How do we know that?
Hope for Holocaust Victims
Over 1,900 years ago, a Jewish teacher offered such a hope when he said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28, 29) The expression “memorial tombs” implies that those in them are retained within God’s memory until the day of their resurrection and restoration to life on earth.
Therefore, in this sense the “Statement of Principles” issued by Conservative Judaism in the United States is true: “The image of olam ha-ba (a hereafter) can offer hope that we will not be abandoned to the grave, that we will not suffer oblivion.” God’s loving-kindness and justice mean that those resurrected will have the opportunity, by obeying God, to choose everlasting life under the Kingdom rule of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
So how does all of this affect millions of Jews, Slavs, and other victims of the Holocaust? They are in God’s memory, awaiting the resurrection, when they will be given the choice—obedience to God with life in view or disobedience to him with adverse judgment in view. It is our hope that millions of them will make the right choice!
Whether Jewish or non-Jewish, if you would like to know more about this hope for the dead, contact the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, or write to the publishers of this magazine for a copy of the 256-page illustrated book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth ($1.50 for the small size, $3.00 for the large edition).
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The Bible promises that there will be a resurrection and that “the former things will not be called to mind.”—Isaiah 65:17