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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: What does it mean? What does it mean? Matthew 7: 13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it. People read the above, which is a part of the Sermon on the Mount, and never seem to take the time to understand it. Or is it just that no one wishes to understand it? Do you believe in hell, and a fiery torment of the departed souls of the dead who were evil in life? If you do, that is interesting, because so do most all of the inhabitants of the earth, because such is taught in the vast majority of the religions of the earth. And of the others, those who do not teach such, most teach that the souls of the dead are reincarnated. Where is the narrow gate leading off into life? Why, in the Bible, of course, because the common beliefs of the world are not found in the Bible. This is an interesting site; The Big Religion Chart http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm The ReligionFacts "Big Religion Chart" is an attempt to summarize all the complexities of religions and belief systems into tiny little boxes on a single, quick-reference comparison chart. Yes, of course this is impossible. As we always warn with our comparison charts, this is no substitute for reading about religions in greater detail, talking with religious adherents, etc. But this religion comparison chart can (hopefully) be a useful and accessible way to "get the gist" of some unfamiliar groups and compare basic beliefs and practices of the world's religions and belief systems. It is truly quite instructive to see how common are the general beliefs throughout the religions, with nearly all having as a common theme a soul that is separate from the body after death. Is this a teaching from the Bible? The original-language terms (Heb., ne´phesh [–4;–8;?]; Gr., psy•khe´ [ÈÅÇ®]) as used in the Scriptures show “soul” to be a person, an animal, or the life that a person or an animal enjoys. Is this all? The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “Nepes [ne´phesh] is a term of far greater extension than our ‘soul,’ signifying life (Ex 21.23; Dt 19.21) and its various vital manifestations: breathing (Gn 35.18; Jb 41.13[21]), blood [Gn 9.4; Dt 12.23; Ps 140(141).8], desire (2 Sm 3.21; Prv 23.2). The soul in the O[ld] T[estament] means not a part of man, but the whole man—man as a living being. Similarly, in the N[ew] T[estament] it signifies human life: the life of an individual, conscious subject (Mt 2.20; 6.25; Lk 12.22-23; 14.26; Jn 10.11, 15, 17; 13.37).”—1967, Vol. XIII, p. 467. Soul. Important to understand this subject it is. The Human Soul. Precisely the same Hebrew phrase used of the animal creation, namely, ne´phesh chai•yah´ (living soul), is applied to Adam, when, after God formed man out of dust from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, “the man came to be a living soul.” (Ge 2:7) Man was distinct from the animal creation, but that distinction was not because he was a ne´phesh (soul) and they were not. Rather, the record shows that it was because man alone was created “in God’s image.” (Ge 1:26, 27) He was created with moral qualities like those of God, with power and wisdom far superior to the animals; hence he could have in subjection all the lower forms of creature life. (Ge 1:26, 28) To take this a step further; Soul—A Living Creature. As stated, man “came to be a living soul”; hence man was a soul, he did not have a soul as something immaterial, invisible, and intangible residing inside him. The apostle Paul shows that the Christian teaching did not differ from the earlier Hebrew teaching, for he quotes Genesis 2:7 in saying: “It is even so written: ‘The first man Adam became a living soul [psy•khen´ zo´san].’ . . . The first man is out of the earth and made of dust.”—1Co 15:45-47. And this is why, after Adam sinned, Almighty God told Adam that out of dust he came and to dust he shall return. What does the Bible say about the dead? “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. Also, their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion anymore to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun.”—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. Why do people believe in an immortal soul? According to the Bible account, Satan tried to deceive the first human pair about death by contradicting God’s warning that disobedience would bring death. (Genesis 3:4) With the passing of time, though, it became clearly apparent that humans die just as God said they would. Thus, over the centuries Satan responded with yet another lie—that some spirit part of man survives the death of the body. Such a deception fits Satan the Devil, whom Jesus described as “the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) On the contrary, God’s answer to death is an encouraging promise. What is that promise? It is the promise of a resurrection for many. The Greek word translated “resurrection” is a•na´sta•sis. It literally means “a standing up again,” and it refers to a raising up from death. Yes, man lies down in death, but God by his power can raise a person up again. Man loses life, but God can give him life again. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, said that “the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” (John 5:28, 29) The apostle Paul expressed his “hope toward God . . . that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) Job, a faithful servant of God in pre-Christian times, also declared his hope in a resurrection: “If an able-bodied man dies can he live again? All the days of my compulsory service I shall wait, until my relief comes. You [God] will call, and I myself shall answer you.”—Job 14:14, 15. Does not the clear promise of the resurrection give the lie to the idea that the dead are alive in a spirit form? If the dead were alive and enjoying existence in heaven or some spirit world, what would be the purpose of the resurrection? Would they not have already received their reward or destiny? A study of God’s Word reveals that the dead are really dead, unconscious, asleep until the great awakening by resurrection in a new world—a paradise—promised by our loving Father, Jehovah. The Bible is the only place where this is taught, and, all other religions of the earth are shown to have a common root when compared to Bible teachings. Matthew 7: 15 “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to YOU in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits YOU will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? 17 Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; 18 a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. 19 Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Really, then, by their fruits YOU will recognize those [men]. Look around you at the world. Look at the role that religion plays in the wars and genocides now occurring. Look at your own beliefs, and see how they are reflected in what is happening to so many world wide, and decide who is responsible for the pain and suffering; Almighty God, or disbelieving/disobedient people. When you think this through, then go back to that chart I mentioned at the beginning of this post, and look up Jehovah’s Witnesses, compare their pratices (which are Biblical, I assure you from personal knowledge), then think about this: Matthew 7: 13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it. You have been given a free will that you can make this decision. It is the only decision that you truly have in this life; to obey Jehovah God, or not. It is your choice. Please, chose wisely.
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