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together the seven occurrences of the word "soul" in the Revelation. We do not believe
that in such a book as the Revelation we shall find teaching concerning the nature of the
soul, and as Moses Stuart remarks, "It would be as apposite to undertake a demonstration
that the trees and brambles can talk, from the fable of Jotham, as it would to undertake
the proof of the material nature of the soul from the representation before us". The seven
occurrences of psuche are
"The souls of those who had been slain" (6: 9).
"The creatures, which were in the sea, and had life died" (8: 9).
"And they loved not their lives unto the death" (12: 11).
"And every living soul died in the sea" (16: 3).
"And bodies and souls of men" (18: 13).
"The fruits that thy soul lusted after" (18: 14).
"The souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus" (20: 4).
The way in which the word is brought in 6: 9 and 20: 4, together with 12: 11,
should cause us to hesitate to generalize the passages, and in effect to render the word
unnecessary. We believe a richer lesson lies awaiting us than can be discovered by
considering this word merely as a figure of speech. There is a most definite doctrine of
Scripture concerning the soul that has not received sufficient notice. We do not refer to
the teaching of the Word as to the nature of the soul, but the teaching concerning the
losing and saving of the soul:--
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and
follow Me. For, whosoever shall save his soul shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his
soul for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 16: 24-26).
In Heb. 10: 39 we read, "But we are not of those shrinking back unto destruction; but
of faith unto obtaining (as to a purchased possession, Eph 1: 14) of soul". This is directly
connected with, "taking joyfully the spoiling of your good, knowing in yourselves that ye
have in heaven a better and an enduring substance", and is illustrated by the examples of
Heb. 11: (see 8, 9, 10, 24-26), and in Heb. 12: 2 by the greatest example of all. The
giving up in this life is rewarded by the joy in the next life. The losing of the soul here
ensures the finding of it there. I Pet. 1: 9 links the salvation of the soul with the theme of
suffering followed by glory, "of which salvation", "the sufferings for Christ and the
glories that should follow", and "the grace that is to be brought at the revelation of
Jesus Christ".
It is because the apostle had to teach this truth, that he tells us that he saw not the dead
bodies, but the souls of the martyrs under the altar. Here, these suffering saints "lost their
souls" for Christ's sake. In 20: 4 John again saw "the souls" of these martyrs
glorified--they had "found them", as the Lord had promised. This is a lesson worth the
learning, and lies very near the heart of the Apocalypse, tracing as the book does the
"overcomer" through suffering to glory. These martyrs were slain on account of the
Word of God, and on account of the testimony which they held. Four times do we find
the "testimony" and the "Word" together in the Revelation, viz.:--