Letters
“THE HUMAN SOUL MORTAL”
October 17, 1949
Dear Brother:
Referring to yours of the 10th inst. on “dead souls”:
Argue as you may, the literal statement is there in the original Hebrew text, and not only that, but the Greek Septuagint Version has rendered the Hebrew literally into the Greek, at Numbers 6:6, as a dead psyche (psychei teteleutekuiai). True, the Hebrew expression could GRAMMATICALLY be translated “soul of the dead”, as Rotherham shows in his marginal reading, but then we run up against the doctrinal error of the soul of a man surviving after he dies. The LXX translation, however, cannot grammatically be translated “soul of the dead”, but literally means “dead psyche”. Likewise, in all other places where the Scriptures speak of becoming defiled through touching the dead the Hebrew text uses the word (nephesh) for “soul” as the thing touched, and likewise the Greek LXX translates it by “psyche”. When you become defiled by touching a psyche, what kind of a psyche is it, or what kind of a nephesh? The context shows that death surrounds such psyche or nephesh. The translators from both the Hebrew and the Greek LXX get around the difficulty and hide the truth by rendering nephesh and psyche in such cases as “dead body”. (Numbers 9:6, 7, 10; 19:11, 13; Haggai 2:13) But here we get into difficulty when we come across Isaiah 10:18, which speaks of consuming “both soul and body”, as also at Matthew 10:28, which speaks of destroying both soul and body. Hence we are not exaggerating matters when we translate literally and use the Bible expression “dead soul”. Where the Bible uses the term nephesh or psyche by itself to mean soul, why, the context shows whether it is a living or a dead soul.
At any rate, the force of the original, literal expression of God’s Word is to prove that the pagan doctrine of the immortality of the human soul is a myth and wholly unscriptural. If you use the term “person” instead of a long definition or description of what a “soul” Scripturally is, it will help you over your mental difficulty on the matter.
Faithfully yours in Kingdom service,
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY
“FREE AT HOME FOR A YEAR TO CHEER HIS WIFE”
November 21, 1949
Dear Sister:
Answering yours of October 29:
The first year of an Israelite’s married life was used merely as an illustration, not to indicate any literal year such as 1918 to 1919. The point is that it would hardly be in keeping with this picture for Christ Jesus to be enthroned and get married in 1914 and immediately after this union with his bride begin the war in heaven lasting till 1918.—Deut. 24:5.
After the married Israelite had been exempted for the first year in order to stay at home and comfort his new wife he was conscripted for war duty and thus had to leave his wife and, likely, child. Since, as we understand, the marriage of the Lamb and his bride began in 1918 and the remnant have been gathered into the temple condition with him, then all these years since that date have been a time in which he could comfort his bride class. And certainly he has done so. Having now comforted her, he could be called to duty at Armageddon by his heavenly Father and Commander in Chief, even if this meant to turn aside from his marital arrangement with his bride class. Thus it would not be necessary for him first to glorify the remnant of his bride class and take them from the earth to heaven to be with him up there before he began the battle of Armageddon. Hence there is nothing in this picture that militates against the thought that the remnant of Christ’s bride will pass through Armageddon with the “other sheep” and will be here after Armageddon until Jehovah’s purposes for them on earth have been fully served. Revelation 2:26, 27 indicates that those of the bride class already glorified with the Bridegroom Christ will take part with him in the heavenly operations at the war of Armageddon.
Faithfully yours in Theocratic service,
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY
“IMMORTALITY IN THE SPIRIT REALM”
September 16, 1949
Dear Brother:
Answering yours of September 13:
The article “The Manifestation of Messiah’s Presence” in the August 1 issue of The Watchtower did not say, at paragraph 19, “the resurrection of those sleeping members of Christ’s body to immortal life in the spirit realm,” to imply that immortal life or immortality will also be enjoyed by mankind in the earthly realm in the everlasting new world.
Webster’s Dictionary may define “immortality” as “exemption from death; unending existence”, but the Holy Scriptures do not allow for such a broad definition. Revelation 2:11 states that only the faithful 144,000 members of Christ’s body will “not be hurt of the second death”, whereas the Scriptures show that the human dead in resurrection from the tombs in the new world under Christ’s kingdom will be liable to the second death, and at the end of Christ’s millennial reign they will be subjected to the loosing of Satan for a little season to determine whether they should be plunged into the second death, pictured by the lake of fire and brimstone. (Revelation, chapter 20) The resurrection argument of the apostle Paul at 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, shows that only the members of Christ’s body will be clothed upon with immortality and incorruptibility, and Romans 2:7 shows that these seek this and will get it as a particular reward.
If “immortality” meant merely exemption from death and unending existence, then 1 Timothy 6:14-16 would be wrong in saying that only the King of kings and Lord of lords has immortality or had it at the time that Paul wrote, for at that time the faithful angels of heaven were enjoying exemption from death and existence that is unending for their faithfulness.
So The Watchtower maintains its position that immortality will not be bestowed upon faithful men and women on earth in the new world, but only everlasting life for their loyalty and unbreakable devotion will be given them as a reward. They will always be fleshly mortals. Only the faithful church taken from among men will be immortal with their Head and Savior Jesus Christ, who is in heaven.
Joyfully yours in Kingdom service,
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY