Key Thought: Is there an immortal spirit or soul? We want to look at how the Old Testament defines human nature and the condition of human beings at death.
October 15, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 1:24-27, and Genesis 2:7,19.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What are the similarities between how God created animals and humans?
3. Personal Application: How close and personal did God get in creating man? In what ways were mankind made in the image of God?. Share your thoughts..
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “I believe Genesis is an allegory about how life came to be on earth. Man and animal are so similar, I think they evolved from common ancestors.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Ezekiel 18:4,20; Matthew 10:28.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these verses teach us about the true nature of man and the soul?
3. Personal Application: How do you respond to those who believe in near death experiences and have been visited by a departed loved one? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why is it important for Jesus to literally come a second time? When we die, we go to heaven anyway. So it is not necessary for Him to return.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Ecclesiastes 12:5-7.

1. Ask class members to share a short
2. Why is it not correct to say that death is just a part of life?
3. Personal Application: Have you ever had an experience in your family or life when this spiritual debate has been an issue? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “See, this verse says the body dies and the spirit returns to God who gave it. This says that we have two parts: the body and the spirit. So when we die, our spirit goes to heaven.” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Job 3:11-13, and Psalm 146:4..

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these texts tell us about what happens at death?
3. Personal Application: Is it better to be asleep and waiting for Jesus to return, or to be living through all this evil and misery and suffering until Jesus comes? Share your thoughts?
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

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The theme hymn for this quarter’s studies “On Death, Dying and the FUTURE HOPE” is 
Hymn 214 – We Have This Hope.

God performed so many miracles in the creation of our universe, including human beings:
Hymn 111 – It Took A Miracle, and truly 
This is My Father’s World – Hymn 98. These factors give me the wonder and admiration, and then 
I Sing The Mighty Power of God – Hymn 88. When I look at this world, there is so much at which to marvel: 
Hymn 93 – All Things Bright and Beautiful and 
Hymn 2 – All Creatures of Our God and King. Thanks and gratitude then pour from my heart: 
Hymn 560 – Let All Things Now Living.

With the many world views on death and dying, I find direct answers in 
Hymn 418 – Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders! It is a blessing to know that we are then sleeping/resting 
Under His Wings – Hymn 529.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Read Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20 and Matthew 10:28. How can these verses help us understand the nature of the human soul?

Human life in this sinful world is fragile and transitory (Isaiah 40:1-8). Nothing infected by sin can be eternal by nature. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12, NKJV). Death is the natural consequence of sin, which affects all life here.

Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com

On this matter, there are two important biblical concepts. One is that human beings and animals both die. As stated by King Solomon, “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. … All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20, , NIV).

The second concept is that the physical death of a person implies the cessation of his or her existence as a living soul (Heb. nephesh). In Genesis 2:16-17, , God had warned Adam and Eve that if they should ever sin, by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die.

Echoing this warning, the Lord reinforced the point in Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20: “The soul who sins shall die” (NKJV). This statement has two main implications. One is that since all human beings are sinners, all of us are under the unavoidable process of aging and dying (Romans 3:9-18, Romans 3:23). Another implication is that this biblical concept makes void the popular notion of a supposed natural immortality of the soul. If the soul is immortal and exists alive in another realm after death, then we don’t really die after all, do we?

In contrast, the biblical solution for the dilemma of death is not a bodiless soul migrating either into Paradise or into purgatory, or even into hell. The solution is indeed the final resurrection of those who died in Christ. As Jesus stated in His sermon on the Bread of Life, “everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40, NKJV).

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Read Genesis 1:24-27 and Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:19. What similarities and differences can you see between the way God created the animals and humanity? What does Genesis 2:7 tell us about human nature?

The Genesis account declares that on the sixth day of Creation week the Lord God brought to life land animals and the first human beings, a couple (Genesis 1:24-27). We are told that He “formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky” (Genesis 2:19, NIV). He also “formed a man from the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7, NIV).

Image © Review and Herald Publishing Assn. Goodsalt.com

Although both animals and man were alike made from “the ground,” the formation of the man was distinct from that of animals in two main ways. First, God shaped the man physically, and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7, NIV). He was a physical entity before he became a living one. Second, God created humanity as both male and female in the very image and likeness of the Godhead (Genesis 1:26-27).

Genesis 2:7 explains that the infusion of the “breath of life” into the physical body of Adam transformed him into “a living being” (Heb. Nephesh chayyah) or literally “a living soul” (KJV). It means that each of us does not have a soul that can exist apart from the body. Rather, each one of us is a living being or a living soul. The claim that this “soul” is a conscious entity that can exist separate from the human body is a pagan, not a biblical, idea. Understanding the true nature of humanity prevents us from accepting the popular notion of an immaterial soul and all the dangerous errors built upon that belief.

There is no conscious existence of any isolated part of the human being separated from the person as a whole. God created us in a fearful and wonderful way, and we should not speculate beyond what the Scriptures actually say about this specific matter. In fact, not only is the very nature of life a mystery (scientists still can’t agree on exactly what it means for something to be alive), even more mysterious is the nature of consciousness. How does the few pounds of material tissue (cells and chemicals) in our heads, the brain, hold and create immaterial things like thoughts and emotions? Those who study this idea admit that we really don’t know.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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