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thief-like character of the day of the Lord. The outside world ("they") would be saying
"peace and safety", but the saints ("ye") would not be overtaken as by a thief, not because
they would not be there, but because they would be fully aware of the character of the
days in which they were living. They were not appointed to wrath (5: 9 and 1: 10), but
tribulation has always been associated with the endeavour to live godly, and according to
II Thess. 1: 5-7 will continue to be the lot of the Lord's people until He comes and metes
out judgment to the oppressor.
You say, "I presume that the us refers to the members who will form the Bride".
Again it is not clear from your letter, although of course you may be quite clear in your
own mind just what you believe the Bride to be. Let us state that we do not believe the
Church of the One Body as revealed in Ephesians is the Bride. That Church is one new
man. The Bride we believe to be a company of overcomers, and not the Church
universal, and to be distinguished in turn from the position of Israel as the restored Wife.
Should there arise further questions in your mind as a result of what we have written,
please write again, and let us seek to help you. We must, however, ask you, together with
all readers to bear with us, as the trying circumstances under which we now labour quite
prevent any attempt to reply to questions by post, and make even the ordinary demands of
correspondence nearly impossible.
pp. 60 - 63
No. 23.--T.S.D., U.S.A.
"We were wondering if it would be too much to ask you if you had any
light from the Word concerning the soul having a separate existence apart
from the spirit and the body."
To answer your question it becomes necessary briefly to summarize the teaching of
Scripture as to what is meant by the soul. The Hebrew word usually translated "soul" is
nephesh, the Greek word psuche.
Nephesh is used both of man and the lower animals; we find it in Gen. 1: 20 and 30
translated "life". "The moving creature that hath life"; "Beast. . . fowl. . . creeping
thing wherein there is life".
In Gen. 1: 21, 24, "Every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought
forth"; "The living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing".
The above references, occurring as they do in the inspired record of creation, and
therefore conveying a primitive meaning, will be sufficient to show that the soul is not
confined to man.