| Christian Life and Doctrine | May 1975 |
Beheaded Souls
“I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” —Revelation 20:4
WITH many the human soul is a very intangible thing. Traditionally, it is an entity which dwells within the human body until the body dies and then escapes and continues to live as a “disembodied” soul. The traditional theory is that the body cannot live without the soul, although its location in the body while the body lives is unknown. Even medical scientists have not been able to discover it.
Many theories concerning the size and shape of the disembodied soul have been advanced, particularly by theologians, one of these theories being that it is without body, shape, or form, and so small that you could put a million of them in a nutshell and have room for more. How unreasonable this sounds, in the light of the fact that the Bible speaks of some human souls as being beheaded!
This naturally raises the question as to just what a soul really is. The first time the word is used in the Bible is in Genesis 2:7, where we read concerning the creation of man that “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.” From this it is clear that the soul is not something which a man possesses, but that which he is. God did not breathe into the newly formed human organism a soul, but a breath of life; and when the breath of life animated this first human body it became a living soul. The Revised Standard Version says, “a living being,” and that is what is being discussed in our text when the Revelator says that he saw “the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus.” What he saw was living humans who had been beheaded because of their faithfulness as witnesses of Jesus and the Word of God.
All the true followers of Jesus lay down their lives sacrificially in the service of the Heavenly Father and of his cause, even as Jesus did. These are described in Revelation 14:4 as those “which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth”; and Jesus, who was the Lamb of God, completed his earthly life in sacrificial death. Those who are found worthy to reign with him in his kingdom will do so only because they die together with him in divine service.
Heavenly Glory
The hope of living and reigning with Christ is variously described in the Bible. In Hebrews 3:1 the invitation to this high exaltation is described as a “heavenly calling.” Paul refers to it as “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14) The Apostle Peter describes it as “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”—I Pet. 1:4,5
Not Pleasing to the Flesh
The idea of dying a sacrificial death in order to attain to kingdom glory with Jesus does not appeal to the human mind and heart. As a popular song puts it, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” The idea of death by beheading is repugnant, to say the least, but actually no more so than crucifixion, such as brought the life of our beloved Master to an end. And the scriptures speak of our being “crucified with Christ.”
While all truly faithful Christians follow Jesus into sacrificial death, not many have been literally crucified. The Bible uses this expression in a symbolic manner, to remind us that we are truly following in the footsteps of Jesus. The same thing is true of beheading. Many in the Early Church in the days of pagan Rome were beheaded literally, but all who live and reign with Christ also experience a beheading—a symbolic beheading. The symbolic beheading simply denotes that they give up their own will and way and accept Jesus as their Head. The headship of Jesus in the present life of a Christian is truly necessary in order for one to live and reign with Christ in the future. In other words, we must give up our own heads, figuratively speaking, and accept Jesus as our Head. In our text this is associated with our being witnesses for Jesus and for the Word of God.
The Body of Christ
One of the illustrations the Bible gives to help us grasp the idea of the headship of Christ is found in I Corinthians, chapter 12. Paul introduces the thought in the 11th chapter, verse 3, where he says that the “Head of every man is Christ.” He is not referring to every man in the human race, but to every man who has accepted Christ and devoted himself to the doing of his will. Paul explains that in the symbolic body of Christ “there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”—I Cor. 12:4-12
Here Paul is using the various functions of the human body to illustrate the fact that in the symbolic body of Christ there are also diversities of operation. We enter the body of Christ through the full surrendering of our wills to do the Lord’s will. This thought is closely related to the idea of beheading. We give up our will or head and accept the headship of Christ; and if our surrender is complete and acceptable to the Lord, we are inducted into the body of Christ.
Just what our particular function in the body of Christ turns out to be is one of the things we must leave in the Lord’s hands. It is God who sets the members in the body. Paul wrote, “Now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” (I Cor. 12:18) Jesus is the inspired Head of the body. The apostles are also inspired members. Jesus and the apostles are the only ones who in their words and actions in the service of the divine plan are inspired in such as way that they have made no mistakes.
But there are lesser servants in the body—teachers, evangelists, pastors, etc. These the Lord also sets in the body according to the good pleasure of his will. Throughout the age this has been done largely through the voting of God’s consecrated people. The vast majority in the body of Christ have no special office assigned to them, but do have the opportunity of laying down their lives for one another. After all, this is probably the most important function any follower of the Master can have.
We are not to strive for position in this body, but to accept whatever the Lord in his wise providence elects to be best suited for our spiritual growth. We are not to say that just because another brother or sister may not have as many opportunities of service as we do that they are not of the body. We are to give honor to the less honorable; and when one suffers, if we are true members of that body we will suffer also. As members of the symbolic body of Christ we all are heirs of his kingdom, which in God’s due time will be used for the promised blessing of all the families of the earth.
For the Witness of Jesus
Let us not lose sight of the fact concerning the vision given to the Apostle John of those who were beheaded, that their beheading was brought about by their zeal in bearing witness for Jesus and for the Word of God. The body illustration helps to impress upon our mind the oneness of all the faithful followers of the Master. Jesus refers to this oneness in his prayer, as recorded in John 17. He makes it plain that his interest was not only in the ones specially chosen by the Father to be his apostles, but in all the believers of the entire age. He prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”—John 17:20,21
Let us not overlook the fact mentioned here by Jesus in his prayer that one of the main purposes of our oneness with him is that the world might believe. The members of the body of Christ are called out from the world that they might be light-bearers, proclaimers of the truth. During their sojourn in the flesh their work in this connection is largely one of bearing witness of the truth, and they die because of their faithfulness in so doing. But eventually, when Satan is bound and all the body members of Christ are glorified with him and reigning in his kingdom, the glory of the Lord will be made known to all, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of that glory.
And while it is true that we are called to this intense activity in the service of the Lord, let us remember that in the Lord’s sight it will profit nothing unless it is done in love. Let us remember Paul’s admonition, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.”—I Cor. 13:1-3
So let us continue laying down our lives as witnesses for Jesus and for the Word of God. Let us see to it that our beheading is daily carried out and made a vital reality in our lives. But let us do this in the spirit of love—love for one another, love for the Lord, and love for the truth.