The Debate over Human Nature and Destiny

• Two Basic Views of Human Nature and Destiny
• Classical Dualism
• Biblical Wholism
• Implications of Dualism
• Doctrinal Implications
• Practical Implications
• Implications of Biblical Wholism
• Positive View of Physical and Spiritual
• Concerned for the Whole Person

The Old Testament View of Human Nature

• Human Nature at Creation
• Creation, Fall, and Redemption
• The Meaning of “Living Soul”
• Human Nature as Soul
• Human Nature as Body and Flesh
• Human Nature as Heart
• Human Nature as Spirit

The New Testament View of Human Nature

• Human Nature as Soul
• Human Nature as Spirit
• Human Nature as Body
• Human Nature as Heart
• Scholarly Support for Wholistic View

The Biblical View of Death

• A Historical Glimpse of the Belief in the Survival of the Soul
• The Nature of Death
• Old Testament Descriptions of Death
• New Testament References to Death
• Death as Sleep in the Old Testament
• Death as Sleep in the New Testament
• Lazarus Had No Afterlife Experience
• Paul and the Sleeping Saints
• The Significance of the “Sleep” Metaphor

The State of the Dead

• The State of the Dead in the Old Testament
• Translations and Interpretations of Sheol
• The Condition of the Dead in Sheol
• The Medium of Endor
• The State of the Dead in the New Testament
• The Meaning and Nature of Hades
• Jesus and Hades
• The Rich Man and Lazarus
• Jesus’ Use of Current Beliefs
• Jesus and the Thief on the Cross
• Resurrection Body at the Parousia

Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation?

• The Traditional View of Hell
• The Witness of the Old Testament
• The Witness of the Intertestamental Literature
• The Witness of Jesus
• The Witness of Paul
• The Witness of Revelation
• The Metaphorical View of Hell
• The Universalist View of Hell
• The Annihilation View of Hell
• The Language of Destruction in the Bible
• The Moral Implications of Eternal Torment
• The Judicial Implications of Eternal Torment
• The Cosmological Implications of Eternal Torment

The Consummation of Redemption

• The Second Advent
• Dualism and the Neglect of the Advent Hope
• The Manner of Christ’s Coming
• The Purpose of Christ’s Coming
• The Resurrection
• The Resurrection of Believers
• The Resurrection of Unbelievers
• The Resurrection of the Body
• Characteristics of the Resurrection Body
• The Meaning of the Resurrection of the Body
• The Final Judgment
• The Necessity of the Final Judgment
• The Scope of the Final Judgment
• The Standard of the Final Judgment
• The Seventh-Day Adventist View of the Final Judgment
• Evaluative and Executive Phases
• A Glimpse at the Pre-Advent Phase of the Final Judgment
• A Glimpse at the Post-Advent Phase of the Final Judgment
• The Scope of the Post-Advent Judgment
• The World to Come
• New Earth Fulfills Old Testament Promises
• Annihilation or Renewal of Present Earth?
• The Biblical View of the New Earth
• A Preview of Life in the New Earth