"the dead know not any thing"

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What is "a living soul"?

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• "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." {Genesis 2:7}.

• The breath of life from God is the spirit from God, for it is written: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." {Ecclesiastes 12:7}

• The spirit which God gave every man is all that comprises life and intelligence of that person.

• Prior to the body receiving the breath of life, the soul is considered non-existent.  

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What is a "soul in hell"?

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• When a man first dies, his spirit SLEEPS inside his body. And it is in this condition, his soul is described as in hell. 

  • Acts 2:27 "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."​

  • Acts 2:31 "...that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption."

  • John 11:11-13 "These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep."

  • Another word to describe hell is the grave. See Revelation 20:13: "death and the grave delivered up the dead..." (Margin.)

  • When the soul is in hell, it is not destroyed, his spirit is sleeping and "the dead know not any thing" {Ecclesiastes 9:5}. 

  • "When he closed his eyes in death upon the cross, the soul of Christ did not go at once to Heaven, as many believe, or how could his words be true—“I am not yet ascended to my Father”? The spirit of Jesus slept in the tomb with his body, and did not wing its way to Heaven, there to maintain a separate existence, and to look down upon the mourning disciples embalming the body from which it had taken flight. All that comprised the life and intelligence of Jesus remained with his body in the sepulcher; and when he came forth it was as a whole being; he did not have to summon his spirit from Heaven. He had power to lay down his life and to take it up again." {Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3, Page 203}

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How and when a soul is destroyed?

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• When a soul is destroyed it will cease its  existence. "...they shall be as though they had not been" {Obadiah 16}

• The soul is destroyed in hell, along with death and hell. 

  • Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."​

  • Revelation 20:13-14 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

  • It is only after the 1,000 years, that Satan, his angels, death, and hell are destroyed by the lake of fire. It is only here when: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:7

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When God imparts the spirit to a body, the soul comes into existence. When the spirit returns to God AFTER the body is destroyed by the lake of fire, the soul ceases to exist. When the spirit in the body sleeps, the soul is described as in hell (margin: grave). While the soul is in the grave, and the spirit is asleep in the body, God alone can communicate with the sleeping spirit, see the following examples:

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• Genesis 4:10 "And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

• Revelation 6:9-11 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

• John 5:28 "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice..."

• In all resurrections that took place in the bible, with the exception of Jesus, God spoke to the sleeping spirit and the dead came back to life. 

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