Roadmap for the soul - Judaism, the bible and the tabernacle

Thus, the above passage illustrates something of a paradox...
Although on one hand, the believer is described as having been "perfected",
the believer is also described as still being in the process of being 'purified' and 'made holy'.

So... what does this mean?

The answer has to do with the 'soul' and the 'body'...
Remember... they too have been defiled by the 'leaven of sin' and therefore must experience 'death'.
Just as originally stated in Genesis 2:17, all three elements of man (spirit, soul, & body) must "surely die".

We've already seen how the believer's spirit experiences death and resurrection.
So... where does this leave the soul and the body?

Well, once the spirit of the believer has experienced death & resurrection
(thus restoring man to everlasting spiritual relationship with God),
the soul and body of the believer are then allowed to enter the 'place of relationship with God here on earth'.
In other words ---

As you can see in the above diagram, the soul & body of the believer have now entered the 'promised land'.
And thus we come to yet another of the bible's parallels ---

If you'll recall, Israel received a warning shortly before they crossed the Jordan and entered the 'physical promised land' ---

Numbers 33:50-53 "Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, (v.51) 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: "When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, (v.52) then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; (v.53) you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess".

Deuteronomy 31:3 "The Lord your God crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said".

As the words "drive out" and "dispossess" in the above passages indicate,
God told those who were about to enter the 'physical promised land' to prepare for 'war'.

Now, compare this with the words of Paul in the following passage ---

I Timothy 1:18 "... wage the good warfare..."

Here, we see that Paul is encouraging Timothy (a believer, who has thus been granted access to the 'spiritual promised land' of 'relationship with God') to prepare for the very same thing... 'war'.

In other words ---

Just as those who crossed into the physical promised land were destined to experience 'warfare'.
likewise, those who cross into the spiritual promised land are destined to experience 'warfare'.

Is this parallel just a coincidence?

Hardly. It is simply another affirmation that Israel's history has always been intended, along with the tabernacle's design, to convey both a physical and a spiritual picture of the path to the 'promised land'.

So... what is this 'warfare' that the believer experiences?

The answer begins with the following passage ---

Romans 7:19 "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil that I will not to do, that I practice".

Here, Paul describes his own struggle as a believer. Apparently, even as a believer, he finds he is not capable of a consistent commitment to doing the right thing. To paraphrase the above verse, he still finds himself "doing the evil that he doesn't want to do."

And in the next passage, Paul identifies the problem more specifically ---

Romans 7:23 "... I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind..."

Here, we find the 'warfare' has something to do with the "mind" of the believer.

The meaning of all this becomes clear when one remembers that the 'soul' is actually composed of three sub-elements...
these being the 'mind', the 'will', and the 'emotions'.

To put it simply, the warfare stems from the fact that
the believer's spirit has now been made perfect
(through 'death & resurrection' in Jesus)...
but the soul
(or mind, will & emotions)
has not.

Now... here's the point ---
As we saw earlier, man's spirit and soul were designed from the beginning to function together, as 'one'.
Point being that the believer's perfected spirit is now determined to bring about ---

1 Corinthians 2:16 "... the mind of Christ"

But given the fact that the believer's soul (or 'mind, will, & emotions') is not yet perfected and still remembers the 'pleasures' of various sins, the believer finds that the first 'room' of the 'promised land' is indeed a place of 'warfare' ---

Galatians 5:17 "...the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish".

Nonetheless, the perfected spirit is determined to "put to death" 88 the sinful inclinations that remain within the believer's 'mind, will & emotions'.

Although the battle between the spirit and soul often seems endless,
the most important thing to realize about this warfare is that ---

Remember... the believer's spirit has already been granted access to the Most Holy Place...
(which represents the place of "everlasting" relationship with God).

Point being that the spirit's "everlasting" relationship with God guarantees the soul and body of the believer will eventually follow. The believer has God's word that the renewing power of the Spirit within will eventually do its work. Thus, the believer truly has been granted "everlasting possession" of the tabernacle's entire 'promised land' (i.e. both 'rooms'). Every believer needs to remember this as they experience the warfare that is a normal part of the refining process here on earth.

In any case, as you may have guessed,
this 'warfare' actually represents the 'death & resurrection' of the soul ---

So... thus far, we've seen how the spirit and soul of the believer experience 'death & resurrection'.
And now, we come to the 'body'... and thankfully, this is a real simple one ---

Just as Y'shua / Jesus took on a physical body as he passed through that 'door' on his way out to mankind,
likewise, we are to shed our physical body as we pass through in the other direction.
And as seen previously, everyone will eventually receive a new 'resurrection body'.
Thus, the body eventually experiences its required 'death & resurrection'.

It is worth noting here, that for those who choose to believe, there is absolutely nothing to fear about 'physical death'... On the contrary, the shedding of the physical body is something to look forward to, because as the tabernacle clearly shows, passage through that final doorway represents the removal of all barriers between man and God.

Upon passing through that doorway, the believer's soul,
(which has been refined through daily 'death & resurrection' in the 'holy place' here on earth) is set free.
Having already experienced the process of death & resurrection in the 'holy place',
the soul of the believer thus enters the 'Most Holy Place', where ---

...all three components of the believer
(spirit, soul & body)
are finally reunited in the place of
everlasting
relationship with God.

A proper understanding of this 'three-stage' process of perfection is extremely important.

Because it can greatly encourage those who are dismayed when they find that 'believing in Jesus' does not turn them into paragons of moral and spiritual virtue overnight. As the three stage process indicates, such expectations are clearly unrealistic. The believer must realize that just as in any war, some battles will be won and some will be lost.

The important thing, is that
(as the believer's spiritual possession of the Most Holy Place illustrates)
ultimate victory is assured.

As we end this chapter,
you have now seen how 'death & resurrection' can be experienced (in three stages) by those who choose to believe.

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"delivered"	(past tense)
"does deliver"	(present tense)
"will still deliver"	(future tense)