The Final Destination of the Human Soul

By Anthony Bright Atwam

There are many beliefs and theories about the human soul and many great thinkers have sought to understand this aspect of the human personality. All the major theories and beliefs about the human soul are of the view that the human soul is immortal, that is the soul lives forever. If the human soul is immortal, where does it go after death?

In this book, the author discusses the final destination of the human soul and the means by which people can be saved and be sure of where their soul will depart to after death to rest peacefully. It is appointed unto man to die once and after that to face judgment. He recommends this book to everyone, singles, marriage couples, non Christians, church goers, people of other faith, older people and the youth.

The human personality is made up of body, spirit and soul. The body needs food, water, exercise, emotional satisfaction, but what about the soul and the spirit? It is no good we ignore addressing these issues or to simply dismiss them as myth or nonsense; because eternity is part of the human personality. We need to know where exactly our soul will depart to after death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491891032

Anthony Bright Atwam

The Author, ANTHONY BRIGHT ATWAM, an ordained minister, holds a Masters degree and is the founder and Overseer of Central Harvest Church. He is also the founder and Director of Jubilee Bible College. Anthony received his call to ministry in 2003, since then, he has diligently endeavoured to follow this call through church planting, preaching, teaching, counselling, raising and training of leaders. Anthony believes that individuals, families and nations will benefit greatly if they turn to God for help than to live their lives without the influence of God. In view of this, it is his ambition in life to study the Holy Scriptures, practice it, teach others, train more Pastors & missionaries, and help plant churches worldwide. His research interests are in the areas of Practical Theology, Christian spirituality, Engaging Evangelism and Ministerial Formation. He is married to Enyonam; they have three children, Anthony Jr., Nathan & Dorcas. They live in London, United Kingdom.

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© 2014 Anthony Bright Atwam. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/07/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9101-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9102-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9103-2 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing house. All rights reserved.

Contents

Dedication & Thanks

1. The Final Destination of the Human soul

1.1 Introduction

2. Some Beliefs about the human soul

2.1 Some Ancient Theories of the Soul

2.2 What some scientists say about the human soul

2.3 Jesus’ views on the subject of the human soul

2.4 Why should God save humanity?

2.5 Where is this world heading to?

3. Understanding the anatomy of the Human personality

3.1 Introduction

3.2 What the Human Personality needs

4. What happens when someone dies

4.1 Righteous souls in heaven

4.2 A window into life after death

4.3 Introduction to Midrash

5. How to be saved and go to heaven after death

5.1 The four main requirements for Salvation

5.2 After salvation what next: some guidelines for effective & strong spiritual life.

5.3 Salvation of the human soul and Miracles

6. Is there only one way to heaven or to be saved?

6.1 Introduction

6.2 What about other religions?

6.3 What about those who died before Jesus’ Ministry

7. Jesus Christ—the only saviour of the world

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Jesus’ Personality and what he has done

7.3 Jesus’ plan to save the whole world-

7.4 The Kingdom of God

7.5 An analysis of the nature of God’s kingdom & what we should do

7.6 The testimonies about Jesus Christ—Biblical & non Biblical

7.7 Can Christians be demonised?

7.8 Jesus’ cleansing of the temple:

7.9 Idolatry in the church

8. How many people are going to be saved?

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Personal assessment of the state of your soul

9. Barriers to your salvation & how to overcome them

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Personal Barriers to your salvation

9.3 Barriers from Friends & Family could rob you of salvation

9.4 Barriers from Bad people in the church

9.5 Barriers from outside the church.

10. Backsliding: You may lose your salvation if you backslide

10.1 What is backsliding?

10.2 Can a Christian Backslide?

10.3 History of Backsliders

10.4 The dangers of Backsliding

10.5 Signs of Backsliding & how to avoid backsliding

11. Consulting books

Dedication & Thanks

First, I thank God the maker of Heaven and Earth for helping me to discover him. You gave me the strength and the insight to write this book. May your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

Thanks also to my wife Enyonam Bright Atwam, my children Anthony Jr., Nathan and Dorcas for your love, support and patience.

To the entire leadership team and members of Central Harvest Church, God bless you for your love, prayers and support. We are going to heaven together!

Thanks to my former alliance family, IPHC-British conference, for your nurturing, love and support.

Finally, thanks to my father the late Rev S.P. Bright and my mother Mrs Rita Bright for bringing me to this world.

Chapter 1

The Final Destination of the Human soul

1.1 Introduction

When the subject of the human soul is discussed in any religion, school of thought, or systems of beliefs, the general view or conclusion is that the human soul is immortal meaning, the human soul does not die, but lives forever even after a person is dead. However, only few religions or philosophers talk about the final destination of the human soul, many of them are not even sure where the soul goes after death.

This is one of the main reasons for writing this book; to discuss the various theories and beliefs about the final destination of the human soul after death and, to encourage people to begin to think about where their soul will depart to when they die. Many people do not even know where their soul will depart to after death; it is possible that this issue has never crossed their mind, maybe you are one of these people. Many people these days are only concerned about their physical body without any regard to their soul and spirit.

The gospel of Jesus Christ can have positive effects on every aspect of the human personality and the society as a whole. Unfortunately some of the people who have been entrusted with the message of salvation have relegated this message to the background of their activities if not abandoned totally and are mainly concerned about the temporary benefits of the gospel message. However, there are many reasons why this is so. But if I may ask, where will your soul go after death?

Benevolent services such as charity work, musical shows, coffee mornings, running of orphanages are very good, but they are not good enough to save the human soul from hell. People can only be saved when they put their faith in Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, be baptized and live a godly life till death.

It will be good to know where your soul is going after death. Not every dead person’s soul rests in peace after death, but your soul could have a perfect resting place after death if you begin to work towards it.

In many ways, and by different people, various attempts have been made throughout the history of this world to understand the nature of the human soul, and its final destination after death. For example, there are claims that the timing of disembodiment in which the spirit leaves the body has been captured by a Russian Scientist Konstantin Korotkov, who photographed a person at the moment of his death with a bioelectrographic camera. But what many religions, philosophers, ordinary people and scientists have not been able to figure out is where the human soul goes when a person dies. This book provides the answer.

Coming back to our preamble, where does the human soul go after death if it is immortal? Where will your soul depart to when you die? Certainly, when someone dies we do not see that person again and so, if the soul does not die, where does it go? This also raises another question, is there life after death elsewhere? Of course we cannot ignore asking ourselves such questions nor dismiss these questions as myth or nonsense. There is a physical life, and there is a spiritual life.

In order to achieve the aim of this book, the book has been structured into ten chapters. Chapter two discusses some of the various beliefs and theories about the human soul from the days of ancient Greek, Plato, Socrates and many more other philosophers and religions. Specific beliefs such as the Dharmic and Abrahamic traditions are also discussed. The works of two scientists on the nature of the human soul are also discussed, although neither of them was able to come up with the exact place the human soul departs to after death. Nevertheless, their work gives us something to reflect on scientifically about the subject of discussion. By far, having looked at various theories and arguments, it is only the teachings of Jesus Christ on the subject of the human soul which this writer finds convincing and practical for recommendation. The reader is particularly encouraged to pay special attention to Jesus’ teachings in this book.

But we cannot eliminate the work of the men and women who tried to work out theories concerning the nature of the human soul no matter how shallow or unconvincing their work may be. Sometimes God permits great light to shine upon the minds of some people, revealing to them many of the deep things about the world we live in. Sometimes, these chosen men are not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full glory of the noontide sun to those who have long dwelt in darkness, it would, if presented all at once, cause them to turn away.

Therefore God reveals deep things to people be it scientist, philosophers, religious leaders, little by little, as it could be received by the people. From century to century, other faithful men and women are to follow and to lead the world on a farther search of the truths about the world we live in. This is exactly what the writer of this book is trying to do, to continue with the work of searching for spiritual truth, particularly regarding the salvation and the final destination of the human soul.

There is nothing new under the sun, everything we are doing now is only a continuation of what our forefathers and mothers started. Jesus makes this point clear by saying that: I [Jesus] sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." (John 4:38). Therefore, spiritual searchers in the twenty first century should not focus primarily on criticizing the beliefs, lifestyles, achievements and practices over the past centuries, nor consider them as primitive, but rather we should acknowledge their contributions in our success stories.

Whatever our fore fathers and mothers did and discovered in their days was enough to bring joy and happiness to them irrespective of how they ended their adventures, whether good or bad. Whatever every generation is able to achieve or accomplish, depends upon the light they received from heaven.

For example, the prophets¹, who prophesied of the grace (divine blessing) which was intended for you, searched and inquired earnestly about this salvation. They sought [to find out] to whom or when this was to come, which the Spirit of Christ working within them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow [them]. It was then disclosed to them that the services they were rendering were not meant for themselves and their period of time, but for you and I. [It is these very] things which have now already been made known plainly to you by those who preached the good news (the Gospel) to you by the [same] Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Into these things [the very] angels long to look!

And so, the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah of this world was something every spiritual searcher was looking forward to because Jesus is the light of the world (John 12: 46). It is therefore not a surprise that the Magi (the three wise men) came all the way from the far East to Bethlehem to worship Jesus at the time of his birth (Matthew 2:1-12). The prophet Isaiah includes many direct predictions of the coming Messiah, including this passage, which established the fact that the Messiah will be a light to people:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:2).

Light has to do with good deeds, righteousness, truth and understanding (Ephesians 5:9). May your whole personality—body, spirit and soul, be illumined with the light of heaven as you read this book.

The popular view among many religions is that the human personality is made up of body, spirit and soul. The body needs food, water, exercise, emotional satisfaction etc. But what about the soul and the spirit? Many people have somehow neglected the welfare of their spirit and their soul and are only concerned about their physical body. Because of this, such people do not have inner peace or satisfaction and keep asking themselves why, why!

There are also, some people who do not have any source of divine help, or faith in any ‘God’ at all. This can be very dangerous, sometimes. A friend of mine called me on one of the days I was editing this book, and complained that ‘as a wife and a mother she feels that she is a failure’ because she has not been able to raise her child up well and feel powerless to do anything to help the child morally. There are many people who feel the same as this friend of mine. This is one of the many dangers of not having any source of divine help. It is important to have some kind of help from above, where you can draw strength in times of difficulty. When I say, strength from above, I mean strength from God, the one who created the universe. The prophet Isaiah reminds the people, the importance of drawing strength from above as follows:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:28-31).

How do you renew your strength when life has taken its toll on you? There are many ways people renew their strength. Please learn how you can receive spiritual strength from God, through faith. As Harvey Cox, rightly makes the point: It is true that for many people faith and belief are just two words for the same thing. But they are not the same… we can believe something to be true without it making much difference to us, but we place our faith only in something that is vital for the way we live. The human personality needs help from heaven, without this, it is possible the soul can be a restless wonderer. Please put your faith in the great God, and your life will never be the same. All these and many more vital life issues are discussed in detail in chapter three.

The salvation of the human soul becomes even more important when one considers what happens to the soul of someone after death. It is reported in Jewish writings² that, the disciples of one of the chief instructors, Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zaccai who was also known as the Mighty Hammer found himself weeping at the end of his life, when he was on his deathbed. They asked him why he was weeping and he replied, "I am about to meet Ha Shem, blessed be His name, and there are two roads before me—one to paradise and one to Gehenna. And I don’t know to which of these two roads he will sentence me to. That is why I’m weeping." The founder of Rabbinic Judaism said he had no assurance of the salvation of his soul and the exact destination his soul will be allowed to depart to. But his classmate, Rabbi Sha’ul of Tarsus said,

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

The former did not attend to the salvation of his soul, whilst the latter attended to the salvation of his soul. And so Rabbi Paul was not afraid of death because he knew with certainty where his soul was going. This is my wish for all readers of this book, that their soul will find a resting place in paradise.

When someone dies, there is a judge who will show the dead person’s soul where he or she should go, either paradise (i.e. God’s presence) or Gehenna (i.e. Hell). The whole of chapter four discusses the after death life and the final condition and destination of the human soul. In this chapter we will see the after death life of two people, one although poor made the salvation of his soul a priority and enjoyed a peaceful and glorious after death life, while the other person although rich did not make sure his soul was saved before he died, and so his soul did not have a restful place and life after death.

One of the main lessons in chapter four is that, the salvation of the human soul is a free gift to all who will receive it. You don’t have to be rich or poor to inherit eternal life. The writer is able to discuss all these issues in that chapter because he received them from Jesus Christ. These issues are not the writers own ideas or theories. Jesus Christ is the only one in the history of mankind who died and rose again, who has been to the spirit world and also been to heaven, and so he is able to tell us exactly what happens when someone dies (1 Peter 3:18-20).

There are four main requirements one needs to satisfy in order to attain comfort and rest for their soul before and after death, and all four of these requirements are discussed in chapter five. One can easily miss out on eternal life in heaven even if only one of these requirements is not satisfied. For example, on water baptism which is one of the requirements for salvation, Dr Luke reports that when the people rejected the baptism of John, they rejected the purpose of God for themselves (Luke 7:30). Have you done your water baptism? Have you repented from your old life? Are you living a godly lifestyle? Is Jesus Christ your Lord and saviour? Which of these four requirements have you not fulfilled? In addition to these four main requirements for the salvation of the human soul, there are certain spiritual qualities which one must add to their faith in increasing measure in order to be effective, productive and strong. These spiritual qualities can be obtained by participating in certain spiritual activities. Find out more about all of these in chapter five of this book.

Do all religions lead to heaven or does only one religion lead to heaven? Some Christians believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven, by making reference to Jesus’ word in John 14:6—I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. Other religions and even some Christians believe that there could be many ways to heaven; the whole of chapter six has been dedicated to discuss this ‘tension’ thoroughly. Some people are even offended by the claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven; this book can be of great help to such people.

If Jesus Christ is the only saviour of the world, then what are some of the reasons why he is the only saviour of mankind? What makes Jesus Christ, special among all the great men and women who have ever lived? Chapter seven of this book looks at these reasons in detail. Jesus’ personality and what he has done for humanity, as well as his plan to save the world, are all discussed in chapter seven, including an introduction to the study of all the kingdoms and world super powers which have ever existed or ruled the world; with a special essay on the last kingdom that will exist on this earth-the kingdom of God.

Chapter eight discusses the number of people who will be in heaven. This is a great concern to many Christians and non-Christians alike. The author’s position on this issue is that people should not worry about the exact number of people who will be in paradise but rather people should make every effort to make it to heaven themselves. The chapter offers some guidelines the reader can use to make a personal assessment of the state of their soul. As Thomas A’ Kempis rightly remarked centuries ago in his book, The Imitation of Christ:

A soul that loves God is not satisfied with anything less than God. God alone is eternal, infinite, present everywhere. He alone can comfort the soul and make the heart glad.

If your soul desires God, it is one of the signs that your soul is in a good state, and it is likely that your soul will be with the Lord in paradise, provided you continue to serve and worship God to the end. But if your heart is lukewarm or bitter towards God or your heart has no place for God, then it could mean that your soul will not spend eternity in heaven, where God’s throne is. If one does not want to serve and worship God whilst on this earth, why would the person want to be with God in heaven after death? Chapter eight of this book can help you make a proper assessment of the condition of your soul.

Good things in life do not come easily or unchallenged. There are some obstacles or barriers which can make it difficult for people to embark on any spiritual journey or exercise. Some of these obstacles and how you can overcome them have been discussed thoroughly in chapter nine of this book. Friends, colleagues and family members could be a source of problem in your walk with God if not handled wisely. Sometimes, Satan places his agents in the church to drive people who are turning to the Lord back into the world. The reader should bear in mind that Satan does not want people to go to heaven; his aim is to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came that we might have life abundantly (John 10:10). As you read this book, be determined to submit yourself to the Lord, resist the devil and repent from anything that does not enhance your personality and personal progress (James 4:8).

The definition of a ‘backslider’ is not someone who has left the church. Leaving the church is the result of being a