Thomas Williams

“ Can you be fully persuaded that when it is said the enemies of the Lord shall be consumed like the fats of lambs and burns up root and branch it means that it is the body only that is consumed and destroyed, while the man, the responsible man, is not? Such a position would place the punishment upon that which, according to the theory held, is in no way responsible, while the responsible man would be exempt. If the soul is the man separate from the body, and the body is not the thinking part of man, why should it be said that the body becomes unconscious? ”

“ Now, a great many people will, when they are confronted with testimonies to prove that man is mortal, that he dies and is unconscious, and that the wicked are destroyed, proceed to theorize that such testimonies refer to the body only--not to the soul or real man. But, reader, can you satisfy yourself in the belief that God has taken so much pains to tell us that the body, as a mere house in which the man resides, dies? that when the Scriptures speak of the dead knowing "not any thing" it is simply the body that is unconscious, while the real man continues alive and conscious? ”

“ It is the man, which is a being of bodily form, made and kept alive by the Spirit of God, which gives life to all living beings, that dies, becomes unconscious in death, is raised from the dead, judged according to his deeds, given eternal life if worthy, punished with eternal death--the opposite of eternal life--if unworthy.
You will, however, ask, What is the soul? Why is it that it is claimed that the soul is immortal? And so we will briefly deal with the question of the soul. ”