What Are We to Think of Jesus’ Statement About “Not Being Able to Kill the Soul”?

And do not be afraid of those who do kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul*; rather be afraid of Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell**.
Matthew 10:28, NBG 51
* soul = Greek: psuche
** hell = Greek: Gehenna = valley of Hinnom

Earlier, we already saw that Scripture speaks of dying souls (Ezek. 18:4, 20), but also of dead souls (Lev. 19:28). How, then, can there be talk here of “not being able to kill the soul”? The answer is that one can look at death in two ways. Objectively, that is, from the viewpoint of those left behind on earth. And subjectively, from the standpoint of the dead person himself. That is a world of difference!

For people on earth, death is a reality. But in the experience (> psyche) of the mortal, death does not “exist.” For dying and resurrection take place for him in a fraction of one second. For the one who dies, the next conscious moment is when the eyes are opened in the resurrection. The time between dying and resurrection is reckoned on earth. For the dead, the clock stands still; they are “out of time.”

Back to the above verse. If the disciples were killed as martyrs, they would—in their experience, the soul—awaken the very next moment in the glory of the coming eon. But those who, because of unbelief, perish in the valley of Hinnom (see the final verse of Isaiah!) are not merely killed, but will also have to miss the glory of the coming eon. And when they later (= after the thousand years, at the Great White Throne) rise for judgment, they will die “the second death.” For Him Who is capable of this, one should fear.

Share: