Soul of Man

Soul and spirit

You exist....and you will ALWAYS exist from now on. The question is "where ".

Our soul and body are connected through parts of the brain. We are not our brain. Your brain simply relays thoughts and desires of the soul TO THE BODY. If I see a glass of water and I want to pick it up and drink it, it is not my body that desires to pick up the glass (although the body may be relaying information to the brain so that the soul knows that the body requires hydration). If a person is without hands to fulfill the desire and pick up the glass, that in no way effects the desire because our soul is (not completely) separate from our body.

God creates the soul "out of nothing" (ex-nihilo- Asah in the Hebrew) But our bodies are formed (Banah/Yatzar in the Hebrew ) out of what already exits, primarily carbon and hydrogen I think. Dirt- snakes and snails and puppy dog tails- all things have things in common.

Our souls aren't subject to Time like our bodies. Although we mature, our soul doesn't get old and die like our bodies. Our souls will live forever somewhere in a constant state of learning.. Our souls are who " WE" are. So "we" will live forever somewhere absent from the body. For Christians, Paul said " To be absent from the body is to be with Christ". He also said "For me to die is gain", because he knew that separation is a connection to what is next.

Here are some things the Bible says about places and souls absent from the body before Christ, because it changed with Christ's work. You can also read my article on the essence of God as it relates to this as well.

The Realm of the Dead...

Sheol:
    The Hebrew word Sheol is found 66 times in the Old Testament. While the OT consistently refers to the body as going to the grave, it always refers to the soul or spirit of man as going to Sheol.
    The meaning of Sheol moves between the ideas of the grave, the underworld, the state of death, and the state of punishment... it sometimes sounds like "hell", and often sounds like "limbo" or "purgatory" from where you can come out.
    This word, "Sheol" is translated differently in the Bibles: As Sheol, grave, die, realm of the dead, hades, underworld, pit, hell etc...

    Hades:
    A Greek word in the New Testament, it corresponds to the Hebrew term Sheol in the OT.
    In the Septuagint, Hades is found 71 times. It is the Greek equivalent for Sheol 64 times... like Sheol, Hades sometimes sounds like "hell" and other quotations sound like "limbo" or "purgatory" from where you can come out.
    Jesus went to Hades:
    David foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. (Act.2:31, Ps.16:10).

    While Sheol and Hades often describe the temporary abode of the dead, Gehenna, Hell, Infernus, and the Abyss and the Pit of the NT are always the place of eternal punishment created for Satan and his own.

    Tartarus:
    A Greek word used only one time in the Bible, not to be translated Sheol, grave or hell.
    The Greeks held Tartarus, to be "the fabled place of punishment in the lower world." This is partially true.
    For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to (Tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment... (2Pet.2: 4).

    Limbo:
    A Latin word, from limbus, meaning literally "hem" or "border,". (Italian lembo, English limb or limbo, Spanish limbo).
    It is a place after death of "waiting"!... their condition is one of happiness, there is not suffering, it is temporary, not eternal... from there, you may go to Heaven.
    The word is not in the Bible! and in my opinion does not exist. It's idea contradicts the Bible and can only be compared to perhaps Abrahams bosom.
    Two kinds of Limbo:
        1- "Limbo of the Just", where people were until the Resurrection of Christ (Mat.27:52-53)
        2- "Limbo of the Children", of those children who die without Baptism, without grievous personal sin, and are excluded from the beatific vision on account of original sin alone.

   Purgatory:
    The word "Purgatory", from Latin, "purgare", means to make clean, to purify.
    It is place of suffering, but it is temporal, not eternal... in fact, for sure your are going to eternal Heaven from there, sooner or later.
    The word is not in the Bible... according to some demoniations, without the doctrine of Purgatory all prayers for your loved ones deceased are obsolete... because if they are saved, they don't need any prayer, and if they are not saved, in hell, all the prayers are good for nothing. Basically it is my belief that nothing of this sort exists. But you will hear the word so it is included here concerning places of departed souls.

    Much confusion has been caused through the early translators of the Bible persistently using the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades and Gehenna by the Anglo-Saxon word hell. The simple transliteration of these words by the translators of the revised editions of the Bible has not cleared up this confusion.

    It should be pointed out that the original languages in which the Scriptures were written used several words in reference to the abode of the dead. The Hebrew sheol referred to the place of the dead. Its New Testament counterpart is Hades, sometimes translated "Hell" (speaking of punishment) or "grave" (when referring to the souls of the righteous).
      Gehenna is the place of torment, usually spoken of as "hell" in common usage today. The Greek tartarus (2 Pet. 2:4) is thought by many to refer to the nether world. But in actuality is the place where God has kept those that sinned in the days of Noe (Noah).
      At times, sheol is translated "grave," or "pit" or "hell". Translations can vary on the rendering of the word, but usually marginal helps can clarify any confusion that might arise.

Basically just as there are 3 heavens, there is in a since three distinct places on the other side of the spectrum. But "hell" is separate. I will try to illustrate....

Now Is anything different since Christ's coming here and ascending to heaven? The answer in the Bible is YES, some things have changed. Let's look at John Ch. 14...

			This timeline drawing should help you get an idea of how it relates to "Time-Space". Although I wrote the keywords in Greek, at the bottom is translation help. Luke 16 & Psalms 49:15-20 give us a good idea of how souls without the Spirit are unable enter the "present" . Rather they are condemned to " the generation of their fathers where they shall not see light" This also helps to explain what Paul meant when he said that there is a specific place for those who were lost before the time of the Flood.