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What Is a Soul?
DUST + BREATH = SOUL Note: The Biblical definition of a soul is simply a breathing being. Notice that the text does not say that man was given a soul, but rather he became a soul. A soul is not something a person has, it is the entire person. Souls have blood. (Jeremiah 2:34) Not only are people souls, but so are fish and animals. (Revelation 16:3) The Hebrew word for soul, nephesh, is variously translated “person” (Genesis 14:21), “self” (Leviticus 11:43), “life” (Psalm 31:13), “me” (Judges 16:30), “creature” (Genesis 1:21), “beast” (Leviticus 24:18), “man” (2 Kings 12:4), “thing” (Ezekiel 47:9), and “fish.” (Isaiah 19:10) When translated “body” the nephesh is usually dead. (Leviticus 21:11) The Greek word for soul, psuche, has the same meaning. In Matthew 16:25 Jesus commends anyone who will lose his soul (psuche) for Christ’s sake. It is often translated simply as “life” (Matthew 2:20). It means “person” (Acts 7:14). “My soul” and “your soul” are idiomatic expressions meaning “I” and “you” (Matthew 12:18; 2 Corinthians 12:15, margin).
SOUL - BREATH = DUST Note: “If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.” Job 34:14, 15.
Note: A soul is like the light that results when a light bulb is connected to a power source. The breath of life, is the electric current. Electricity will produce light only while it is flowing through the bulb. When the filament in the bulb breaks, the electrical circuit is broken, and the light goes out. Just as the light cannot exist unless there is both electricity and a bulb, so there must be both the breath of life and a functional body in order for there to be a living soul.
Note: everyone will come back to life at their proper resurrection, but not before that time.
Note: Christians will have nothing to do with magic, fortune telling, horoscopes or séances; or games, books, movies or toys containing elements of witchcraft or spiritualism.
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