The Nature of Man and Death

VERLE STREIFLING, PhD | Minister, Author, And Missionary

In her Dec 12 1844 vision, Ellen White records Jesus and her ‘winging our way upward’ in heaven, and “here we saw good old Father Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Daniel, and many like them”. (A Word to the Little Flock p.16, 1847). This was before accepting the sanctuary and investigative judgment teaching, by Bro. Crosier, that she established by vision Feb 1845. “The Lord shew me in vision, more than one year ago, that Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the sanctuary, &c; and that it was his will, that Brother C. should write out the view which he gave us in the Day-Star, Extra, February 7, 1846.” (ibid, p.12)

But these views created conflict, for if the investigative judgment were true, then how were these many saints in heaven before their cases were reviewed, and before the resurrection? Her Dec 1844 vision supported the Evangelical view of death. Was this unbiblical? Or was the Investigative judgment view wrong, which she endorsed in Feb 1845? To hold their new accounting for Oct 22 1844, this part of her 1844 vision was expunged from later publication, and Ellen urgently recalled “any or all of my first views as published prior to 1851” (Selected Messages, bk 1, p.63)

…if the investigative judgment were true, then how were these many saints in heaven before their cases were reviewed, and before the resurrection?

Her ‘visions’ raise the issue if the Evangelical view of the nature of man and death is Biblical. Why is this view held by so many, but the Adventist’s view after 1844 and their investigative judgment is held by so few? Does Scripture support the Evangelical’s view?

Principles of Bible Interpretation

In addressing this, we should note some principles of Bible interpretation needed to avoid error. First, the Bible alone is our authority for faith and practice. It should be its own interpreter, giving its definitions of its terms. Then the New Testament must define the old—since it is God’s clearer and final revelation. The Bible must overrule our false logic from our fallen intellects, and we should use many scriptures for a point, rather than a few proof texts that may be capable of differing interpretations.

We must observe important contexts as when, where, who, how, why, etc., the cultural, covenant and historic contexts, as well as the literary genre. Poetic writing must not be used to overturn direct discourse, for example; and figures of speech need be identified and rightly interpreted. Also the original languages must be correctly translated. It’s wrong to rely on mistranslated Hebrew or Greek, as ‘hades’ being rendered ‘grave’ at 1 Cor 15:54 KJV, when the word ‘mnameon’ is ‘grave’ or ‘sepulcher’.

Sound doctrine must present antitheses and harmonize them with one’s thesis itself, so the unity of Scripture is preserved. This unity of Scripture will also account for the different dispensations and God’s greater self-revelation in the new covenant setting.

Humans Are Body and Soul

God made man with essentially two parts: an inward man (called the ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’), and an outward man (the body), so that the spirit is the real person which dwells within the body. Paul explicitly states “though our outward man is perishing, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day”, defining the outward as that which is seen and temporary, while the inward is unseen, but eternal, in 1 Cor 4:16-18.

James 4:5 says “The spirit who dwells in us, yearns to envy” while Eph 3:16 says we are “strengthened in the inner man”. Peter calls this the “hidden man of the heart”, using ‘heart’ figuratively for ‘spirit’ (1 P 3:4); and Daniel says “I was grieved in my spirit within my body” (7:15). 

Zech 12:1 says God forms man’s spirit within him, and 1 Cor 2:11 asks “what man knows the things of man except the spirit of man which is in him?” and many other Scriptures as Acts 17:16; Job 14:22; Ps 42:6; Ezek 11:19 and 36:26 predicting the rebirth of one’s spirit (John 3:6), concur. In Psalm 103:1 David exclaims “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all my innermost being bless His holy name!” 

From these we better understand Gen 2:7 KJV “God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul”. This more accurately says “God breathed into man the living spirit and man became a living creature”, for the Heb. ‘nephesh’ is ‘creature’ in Gen 1:21,24,28,30. John 3:7, 8 tells of the spirit’s new birth as “The Spirit He breathes upon whom He wills…” (Alford’s NIV Interlinear, or the Renaissance NT, Dr. Randy Yeager). In John 20:22 Jesus breathed on his disciples, saying to them “Receive ye the Holy Spirit”, effecting their new birth, and becoming alive again, unto God. 

We show the Holy Spirit is a person since he has essential personal attributes, namely mind, will, emotions and communicates. So do the angels, and so too the inward man, (his spirit), is the real person for having these same personal attributes, also applied to his heart when it’s figuratively used for his spirit.

So passages as Eph 4:23 ‘the spirit of our mind’ and 1 Cor 2:11 or Ps 139:4 saying his spirit knows him; or Job saying the Almighty gives man’s spirit understanding and God’s “as a man thinks in his heart” and many others as Gen 6:5; 8:21; 17:17; Ex 35:35; 36:2; Deut 4:39 all show man’s heart can think, love, hate, etc., proving man’s spirit has his mind with knowledge, and thus is his person.

Man’s spirit also has its will. David sang “I will bless the Lord…My soul will make its boast in Thee”. Here “I” is equated with “My Soul” in the couplet, and “will” shows his soul could purpose its actions. So also Heb 4:12; 1 Cor 14:25; Jer 30:24; Isa 14:13; Gen 8:21; 27:41 and scores of others show one’s heart or spirit has its own will, as another essential personal attribute, thus being the real person.

Our spirit also has emotions. It cleaves (Gen 34:8); longs for (42:21); abhors (Lev 26:11); loves (1 Sam 18:1), etc. About 80 such samples occur in Scripture, and 100 more speaking of man’s heart. 2 Pet 2:8 tells Lot “tormented his righteous soul day by day” when in Sodom. Thus one’s soul can be righteous or wicked, as Micah 6:7 “Shall I give…the fruit of my body, for the sin of my soul?” or Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked”.

The Spirit believes in Christ (Rom 10:9+10; 6:17; 1 Cor 7:37; Acts 8:37; Lk 24:25); it worships God (Ps 103:1; Deut 6:5; etc.). Indeed, the true worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth as Jesus said in Jn 4:23, 24 and Paul repeats in Phil 3:3; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16 and 1 Cor 14:15+16. True worship must be from the heart (soul or spirit) as opposed to mere lip service (Mt 15:8; Mk 7:6; Isa 29:13).

Man’s spirit also communicates with God. Rom 8:16 says “The Spirit Himself, bears witness with our spirit” and Job 32:8 “There is a spirit in man and the Spirit of the Almighty gives him understanding”.

Paul says speaking in tongues is “not speaking to man, but to God…in the spirit” (1 Cor 14: 1, 2, 28). In Matt 17, Mk 9 and Lk 9 Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, long since dead, at his transfiguration. And God says “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind” in Jer 17:10. 

Angels, who are spirits, have the form or shape of a being (person). So too, men’s spirits have form or shape.

Angels, who are spirits, have the form or shape of a being (person). So too, men’s spirits have form or shape. Zech 12:1 says “Thus says Yehweh who forms the spirit of man within him”. ‘Forms’ is from the Hebrew word used in Genesis, when God formed man’s body. The disciples saw Moses and Elijah in the form of men (Lk 9:32). 1 Sam 28:11-16 says “When the woman saw Samuel…she said to Saul ‘I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.’ So he asked ‘what is its form?’ The Bible says Samuel talked to Saul, giving a true prediction of Saul’s death.

Because one’s spirit has a form, it communicates, believes in Christ and worships God, it has mind, will and emotions, etc., it is therefore the real person, which dwells within his body, called a ‘house of clay’.

Thus ones body (the outward man) and his soul or spirit (the inward man) are not the same. Man is made in God’s image. God, who is spirit, has a soul (Isa 1:14; Lev 26:11; Jer 4:31; 5:9; etc, Zch 11:8; Mt 12: 18; Heb 10:38), but His soul is not a body, so neither is man’s. Jesus said “Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul” (Matt 10:28) “…fear him rather who after he has killed the body has the power to cast (the soul) into hell” (Lk 12:5). And Micah 6:7 reads “Shall I give my firstborn… the fruit of my body, for the sin of my soul?” showing the two are juxtaposed. Some reason from Ezek 9:5 ‘the soul that sins, shall die’, that the body that dies is the soul. Many scriptures as above, dispel this fallacy. While the soul is where sin occurs, its death is being cast into gehenna where it is eternally separated from God—not annihilated. Quoting Isa 66:24, Jesus describes this as “where their worm dies not, neither shall their fire be quenched” in Mk 9:44, 46. Jehovah’s Witnesses delete these from their Bibles. But the Gospel is, the soul who receives Christ, is regenerated by the Spirit, has eternal life, has passed from death to life, and the soul never dies though the body may yet perish in the grave. (Jn 3:16,17; 5:24; 11:25,26; 1Jn 5:11–13).

The Inward Man Leaves the Body

Thus man’s spirit is his inward man, which leaves the body at death, so the body is dead. As James 2:26 says “The body without the spirit is dead”. In 1Kings 17:17 the boy was dead for there was ‘no spirit left in him’, and in Gen 35:18 we read of Rachel ‘her soul was departing (for she died)’. Paul describes death as ‘we depart and go to be with Christ which is far better’ (Phil 1:21-24) and ‘we rather to be absent from the body, and be present with the Lord’ (2 Cor 5:8). From this we easily understand Eccl 12:5-7 saying “the dust (the body) returns to the earth…but the spirit returns to God who gave it”, or Ps 90:10 poetically “The years of our days are 70 or 80 years…soon they are cut off, and we fly away!” Paul wrote ‘the time of my departure is at hand’ (2 Tim 4:6) and Peter ‘I must soon put off this tent’(2 Pet 1:14).

On the other hand, the dead body is resurrected by the spirit’s return into the body. In 1 Kings 17:17 the prophet prayed “Let this child’s soul come back to him”, and we’re told “the soul of the child returned to him and he revived”. Also of Jairus’ daughter “Then her spirit returned and she arose immediately”. So we see that while the body is dead, the spirit remains alive as Jesus explained “I am the God of Abraham …Isaac…Jacob. God is not God of the dead, but of the living”. (Matt 22:32; Mk 12:27; Lk 20:38). While their bodies were dead, their spirits were alive for “the inward man… is eternal” (2 Cor 4:16–18).

Thus the body is our outward man, it is seen, temporary, an earthly house, or a tent of flesh, and while we are in the body we are absent from the Lord. Conversely, our spirit is the inward man, unseen, eternal, a spiritual body, renewed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, a building from God, eternal in heaven and when it is absent from the body it is present with the Lord. With all this we’ve found the spirit has mind, will, emotions, communicates, believes in Christ, worships God and has form and shape, being the real person, and it stays alive while the body is dead. 

So being with Christ in heaven, the believer’s spirit is still very conscious of where it is, and who it is with. In Rev 6:9–11 the souls of those slain for the Word of God are in heaven asking God to recompense their death, and in Rev 15:1–3 we see those who were martyred in heaven, before the 7 last plagues are poured out in ch 16, and they are worshipping God! While Moses and Elijah had died, yet they spoke with Christ of his coming death, at His transfiguration. Paul told of being caught up to the ‘third heaven’ and what he saw, when speaking of his being stoned to death. Samuel correctly foretold Saul’s death (above); and of the Rich man and Lazarus, we know Jesus would not use false teaching to promote God’s Truth, for He’d be judged a sinner (Rom 3:5–8). Here ‘Abraham’s bosom’ describes his immediate presence, as Christ being ‘in the bosom of the Father’ (Jn 1:18).

Ecclesiastes 9:5 Explained

Some ignore the context of Eccl 9:5 ‘the dead know not anything’ to conclude death is unconsciousness. But ‘dead’ applies to the body, (James 2:26) not the soul (above), which is eternal. If this be extrapolated to the whole person, Ecclesiastes is still speaking of the context “Under the Sun” meaning ‘on the face of the earth’. The departed soul knows what’s in heaven—but not on the earth. Yet forcing literal interpretation on this text brings error, for it also says ‘neither have they any more reward’. Interpreting the first part, without its context ‘under the sun’, requires the same for the second part—thus repudiating the resurrection of the dead and heavenly rewards like the Saducees. But Eccl says by context they’ll have no more reward ‘under the sun’ or ‘on the face of this earth’.

Eccl 9:5 ‘the memory of them is forgotten’ is taken to mean ‘their own memory is non-existent’. Rather the text says ‘the remembrance of them is forgotten’, so they will no longer be remembered. Also Psalm 146:4 saying ‘In that day their thoughts perish’ does not mean they cease thinking, but rather ‘their plans’ or counsels (Heb. eshtonaw) will come to nothing, as the man planning to tear down his barns to build bigger, when God said ‘this day your soul will be required of you’. We see the weakness of using poetic texts to dispute the direct discourse of many Bible passages. 

Psalm 49:19 ‘You will redeem my soul from the grave’ is misused to show the soul is the body. But the Heb ‘sheol’ is equivalent for the Gk ‘hades’ speaking of the place for the dead inside the earth. It is not the literal grave for which the Heb ‘qeborrah’ or the Gk ‘mnameon’ is used. In Acts 2:31,32 Jesus’ soul was not left in hell (hades), neither did His body see corruption in the sepulcher (mnameon). ‘Hades’ was mistranslated as ‘grave’ in 1 Cor 15:54 KJV. The new text reads “O Death’ (Gk ‘ho thanatos’) where is your victory?” Speaking of David’s not being in heaven, ‘for his sepulcher is here to this day’ in Acts 2, Peter spoke of his body in ‘mnameon’, not of his soul which is in heaven (Eph 4:8; Ps 68:18; Heb 12:24). 

I often hear ‘If the soul goes to heaven at death, there’s no need of the resurrection!’ But one’s logic must not overturn the Scripture. God made man as a being with a body, and while the soul is presently redeemed, Paul says in Rom 8:21-23 we’re all still waiting for the ‘redemption of our body’ as we still groan to be delivered from this bondage of corruption. This deliverance will be realized when Jesus comes for His Church, as Paul declares in 1 Cor 15.

God Will Bring With Him Those Who Sleep

Scripture shows the souls of those who’ve died in Christ, who are with Him in heaven, will return with Him for their resurrected bodies. 1 Ths 4:14 says “…even so God will bring with Him, those who sleep in Jesus.” Since ‘bring’ is associated with ‘come’, while ‘take’ fits with ‘go’, this speaks of when Jesus comes from heaven, rather than taking saints back to heaven with him. 1 Ths 3:13 “…at the coming of our Lord…with all His saints” uses the Gk ‘haggios’ speaking of people, rather than ‘angelos’ which as ‘saints’ refers to angels. Paul assured the Colossians “When Christ who is our life shall appear, you also shall appear with Him in glory” (3:4). Jude 14 “Behold the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints” echos Zech 14:5 “The Lord my God will come, and all the saints with you”. 

Why are they coming too? 1 Ths 4:13-18 says God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus, He will descend from heaven with a shout, and the dead will be raised.. By Bible definition, ‘the dead’ speaks of ‘the body without the spirit is dead’. In 1 Cor 15, ‘the dead’ refers to ‘the body’ so the bodies of those who died will be raised, when reunited with their spirits which Jesus brings with Him when He comes from heaven. These bodies are raised different from how they died. 1 Cor 15:35–58 asks “How are the dead raised? With what body…the body is sown in corruption, it is raised in Incorruption, it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in Glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in Power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a Spiritual body…the dead will be raised incorruptible, we shall be changed…incorruptible, mortal will put on immortality”

Those teaching ‘soul sleep’ know it’s contrary to many Scriptures, as is so vividly portrayed in the SDA’s Clear Word Bible with over 50 passages changed by additions, deletions or rewording…

Those teaching ‘soul sleep’ know it’s contrary to many Scriptures, as is so vividly portrayed in the SDA’s Clear Word Bible with over 50 passages changed by additions, deletions or rewording, so readers won’t see what God says of man and death. For example, to the words ‘depart and be with Christ’ are added ‘sentenced to death, and in the next moment of consciousness see Christ”(Phil 1:23). James 2:26 ‘the body without the spirit is dead’ is changed to ‘a person’s body is useless without breath’. At Jn 3:6, ‘that which is born of the flesh is fleshly, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit’ is changed to ‘that which is physical is one thing and that which is spiritual is another’. 1 Ths 5:10 “…that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” has “…whether we’re alive or dead when He comes, we belong to Him and He will take us home to be with him forever”. Finally, Lk 20:38 “For He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him” adds “they believed that God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, and deletes “for all live to Him”.

I’ve tried to briefly sketch an Evangelical view of man and death. As space disallows depth of presentation, there are still some unanswered questions. A reader wishing more detail will find a thorough work by Dr. Robert Morey, Death and the Afterlife, with an excellent appendix dealing with the theses of the ‘soul sleep’ view; and Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology will be a good help to those seeking it. They also have good work on the related issues of ‘hades’ ‘sheol’ and hell, or ‘gehenna’.

The many scriptures shared in this article lend support to Ellen White’s vision of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Noah and many other saints in heaven, Dec 12, 1844, before she endorsed the investigative judgment. Yet this judgment was to have begun on the Day of Atonement that year, so they should not have been in heaven after Oct 22, 1844 at all—or better said after Sept 23, the real Day of atonement, that year (see Whitewashed, Rev. Sydney Cleveland). So we now have the puzzle of “how and when were these saints expelled from heaven, and to where, to await their investigation, and subsequent resurrection from the dead?” †

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[2006] Verle Streifling was raised in a devout Adventist family and graduated from Adventist schools. At age 26 he was born again, and intensive Bible study and the Holy Spirit led him out of Adventism and into Evangelical Christianity. In 1984 he was ordained for ministry, and by 1990 he earned his Ph.D. Over the past 25 years he has written numerous tracts and articles, a number of booklets and manuscripts, and his Bible Answers for Sabbath Questions is now being edited for publication. He and his wife plan to retire into full-time ministry in the Philippines next year.