place in the Bible where the word was used to describe the
state of man beyond death. Next I looked for the word
torment, and found that was limited, and that there was no
torment mentioned beyond the day of judgment. I then looked
at the words destroy, destruction, death, second death, perish,
consumed, perdition, burnt up, end, etc. I examined the
similitudes used to describe the end of the wicked, such as
chaff and stubble burnt up; dry trees cast into the fire, and
tares burnt up; the fat of lambs consumed, whirlwinds, a
dream, and noise. All these things proved to me that at the last
judgment, the wicked would be punished with everlasting
destruction, which would be their end. My mind was settled
upon the subject; but concluded to keep my discovery to
myself; as the people were almost distracted with having so
many new things; such as that God was one and not three, and
that all rules but the Bible was useless, and that salvation was
free for all. My first preaching and writing disturbed the clergy
and the wicked; the next disturbed the Baptists, and I was
about certain, if this were known, it would disturb my brethren
with whom I was connected. I kept it back as long as duty
would suffer me, and was constrained at last to make it
known, or preach no more. It made some stir, but people bore
it as well as could be expected. Soon after preaching it, I wrote
and published five sermons upon the subject, which has never
been answered to this day." The Life, Conversion, Preaching,
Travel, and Sufferings of Elias Smith,1886, Page 347, (Church
of Christ).
10. JOHN SCOTT: "Genesis 2:7 is the classic statement of the
uniting of flesh and spirit. Here, we have the creature of flesh
and bone created from the dust and then brought into a
living existence by the Lord blowing into man's nostrils the
breath of life. The phrase 'became a living soul' is the same
Hebrew phrase used in verse 19 referring to 'every living
creature,' that is, to the beasts and birds as other forms of life.
In this sense of the word then, man is not distinguished from
the animal world as far as life is concerned by the use of these
special terms...The nehphesh may even be said to die [Judges
16:30], but nehphesh is never used of the spirit of the dead; in
fact, nowhere is the suggestion made that the soul survives the
