DUST AND WIND MAKE MAN A LIVING SOUL

"And 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."--Genesis 2:17 (bold emphasis added).

"In this scripture we are told that God formed man out of the dust of the ground. Then the breath of life {air, wind} was breathed into his nostrils, and thus he became a living soul, that the breath and the body together are what make the soul. The process of development is the same as is the process of ice making--low temperature and water make ice just as the body and the breath make the soul. Hence when the breath leaves the body, man no longer is a living soul--no, no more than the ice is ice after it goes back to water. Man obviously has no existing soul after the breath leaves his body, for the body and the breath together make the soul."--2 Timely Greetings, No. 32, pg. 13:1. (bold emphasis added).

While a child is in his mother's womb and is sustained by her breath, he is a living soul; and when he comes into this world to draw his first breath of air, he is a living soul. But he only lives if he has breath, for he "has no existing soul after the breath leaves the body" (2 T.G. 32:13). Yet, in spite of this basic truth, there are those who believe that the soul consists of only one thing (not the body or the breath), which they believe can never die. But the Bible teaches us in Genesis 2:17 that the soul is made of two things: (1) the body and (2) the breath: "for the body and the breath together make the soul." (2 T.G. 32:13)

SOUL OF THE WICKED DOES NOT LIVE FOREVER, BUT DIES

"This is what God says about the soul, and we should believe Him rather than fool ourselves with uninspired theories of men who presumptuously say that the soul never dies, although God says, 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die' Ezek. 18:4. Hence, when man dies, his soul vanishes as does ice when the temperature rises above freezing."--2 Timely Greetings No. 32, pg. 14:2. (bold emphasis added)

Those people who do not believe that a "soul...shall die" (Ezek. 18:4) but exists forever are called spiritualists. But which one of three things do they believe the soul is: (1) the body; (2) the breath; (3) the spirit? It is the spirit that they believe will never die. However, any reasonable person knows when a man's life ends on earth that two things occur: (1) The breath leaves the body and becomes air or wind, which cannot be a living soul. (2) The body decays back into dust, and that cannot be a living soul either. So obviously they conclude that there is a spirit that is inside the body of dust, which they say is supposed to be separated at death and lives on!

Only God can create a living, moving, active soul out of wind (breath) and dust (body). When He chooses to extinguish the breath of the body, the soul will cease to be a living soul and dies. But the spiritualists would have us believe that the spirit independently continues to live on, even for eternity, after it has been deprived of its body (dust) and breath (wind), which is death. But this cannot be the truth.

When God created Adam (Gen. 2:17) He used only two things: (1) "dust" for the body and (2) air, wind for the "breath." Nothing is mentioned about a third thing called a "spirit". Yes, the Bible does teach that man has a spirit, but it does not mean what the spiritualists teach.

"For as the body without the spirit {margin says breath} is dead, so faith without works is dead also."--James 2:26 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The margin says the word "spirit" means "breath." Thus, the text would read: "the body without the {breath} is dead." This proves irrefutably that a living soul was created from only two things: (1) "dust" for the body and (2) "breath" (spirit, air, wind) to make it a living soul, not three things. When a living soul dies, then these two things are separated: The "dust" returns to the earth and the "breath" (spirit) returns to God who gave it.

THE SPIRIT OF MAN IS AIR, WIND, BREATH

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit {air, wind} shall return unto God who gave it."--Ecclesiastes 12:17 (bold emphasis added).

Yes, when a living soul dies, the "spirit" (breath, air, wind) goes back to God who gave it. But that is not the soul going to heaven or hell as the spiritualists say, but only the wind leaving a dead body into the atmosphere. Jesus proved this irrefutable fact when He died, because His breath went back to the wind and His body ceased to move. Yet, His soul did not live on, and He did not go to heaven during the thirty-three hours that He was dead, because of this fact: After He was resurrected to life again, when His breath (air, wind) returned into His dead body and He became a living soul, that He met Mary Magdalene near the sepulcher: "Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Raboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I have not yet ascended to My Father." (Jn. 20:16,17). The fact that He had "not yet ascended" to heaven while He had been dead for thirty-three hours, proves irrefutably that His soul did not go there as the spiritualists say the soul does after the death of the body.

Furthermore, even if a physician should put artificial breath into a body that has died, so that his body still functions, he cannot bring it back to life again as a living soul. But the spiritualists believe that when the body and the breath are separated at death, then a third part of man (the soul) lives on forever, either going to heaven or hell. This is not, of course, the truth as Ezekiel's prophecy proves:

DRY BONES WITH THE BREATH (WIND) LIVE AGAIN

"Again he said unto me, prophecy unto these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord....Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind {margin says breath}, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."--Ezekiel 37:4, 9 (bold emphasis, braces added)

"Here we learn that the process of resurrection is the same as the process of creation: first the frame of the man, then the organism, the flesh, the skin, and last the breath, and again he becomes a living soul. Man's soul or spirit, you see, is not called down from heaven, or up from hell. In fact, not a soul at all, but wind from the four corners of the earth fills his lungs at the command of God, and thus he again becomes a living soul."--2 Timely Greetings No. 32, pg. 16:2. (bold emphasis added)

Therefore, whether it be in the creation of man or in the resurrection of man, the breath (air, wind, spirit) is very important; for without it, though it has a body, it is not a living soul. But what has all this to do with the identification of a breathless Davidian? Well, he must breath (as everyone else does) in order to be a living soul in the "land of the living" (Ps. 116:9). This fact proves that he is not a breathless Davidian in a literal, physical sense. So there must be another breath that some Davidians do not breath, which would make them breathless Davidians. What is that breath that some breathless Davidians do not breathe very much?

Millions of people breathe the breath of life to live physically, but God says they are dead! Dead? Yes, spiritually dead! (1 Tim. 5:6; Rev. 3:1) They are living walking dead people! That is, they are a living soul born of the flesh, but spiritually they are dead, because they have not experienced the new birth--being born of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God....Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God....The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."--John 3:3, 5, 8.

Breathe it, yes, breathe not only your lungs full of wind (air) to keep your physical body alive, but breath the wind (Holy Spirit) to keep you spiritually alive as well! Breathe the wind of the Holy Spirit, Brother, Sister, Davidian; breathe it continuously, for your eternal life depends upon it!

DISEASE OF THE LUNGS--ASTHMA

So important is the breath to the physical body, that without the wind in your lungs, you would die in just a few minutes. Once that breath leaves your body, you will cease to be a living soul who is living in the "land of the living". Yes, everyone likes to breathe in the fresh air, and fill their lungs with the wind that God put into the "dust" (body). But not everyone can do this. Some people have a disease (inherited or self-inflicted by their own sins), which is called "asthma." According to Webster's Dictionary it means: "short-drawn breath, a disease characterized by difficulty of breathing, accompanied with a wheezing sound."

Most everyone has heard of the disease "asthma," but very few ever heard of spiritual asthma! This disease is easily recognized, for Davidians inflicted with it breathe spiritually with a "short-drawn breath." They breathe with difficulty, and make a puffing "wheezing sound". Such Davidians inflicted with this disease are spiritual invalids, and are too weak to be of any use to God or even to help their brethren in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Yet, there is hope for a cure. To learn the cure, we must first know the cause of this self-inflicted illness.

THE CURE FOR SPIRITUAL ASTHMA

"Family prayer and public prayer have their place; but it is secret communion with God that sustains the soul-life....Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the health of the soul be preserved....Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God. The spiritual faculties lose their vitality, the religious experience lacks health and vigor."--Gospel Workers, pgs. 254, 255. (bold emphasis added).

There it is, the cause of "spiritual asthma"! It is the lack of prayer (secret communion), or praying "spasmodically, now and then as seems convenient." Therefore, if a Davidian neglects to pray, he neglects to breathe the wind of the Holy Spirit, for "prayer is the breath of the soul". If he stops praying, he stops breathing spiritually, which will finally altogether cease his spiritual life, and he becomes spiritually dead! Oh, yes, he makes sure that he breathes all the air he can to keep his physical body alive in the "land of the living", but he is careless about his spiritual being. But what is worse, he deliberately afflicts himself with "spiritual asthma" by praying "spasmodically," which only keeps his spiritual being about half alive. Then he wheezes and puffs his way through his sickly spiritual life, wondering why he has no strength to resist temptation, and has no zeal to do God's bidding. But if he would pray at least twice a day in secret prayer, he would not be spiritually sick.

"Satan well knows that all {Davidians} whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his attacks. Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind."--Great Controversy, pg. 519:2. (bold emphasis, braces added).

"I would not dare dishonor my Master so much as to admit that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian"--1 Testimonies, pg. 158:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

If you are a Davidian who prays "spasmodically," then you are sick with spiritual asthma; but if you are a "prayerless" Davidian, then you are not even a Christian, because you are spiritually dead!

"If such be the case {a prayerless Davidian}, then you are even falsely calling yourself a Christian. According to Matthew 6:32, you are still a deluded Gentile.--2 Timely Greetings, No. 35, pg. 27:0. (bold emphasis, braces added.)

"The Bible should never be studied without prayer....Temptations often appear irresistible {to breathless Davidians} because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God's promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons."--Great Controversy, pgs. 599:3, 600:0. (bold emphasis, braces added).

Is it possible that a Davidian could wake up in the morning, rush off to work, or start the duties of the home, without faithfully kneeling before God in secret prayer, to thank Him personally for the breath of life, and ask Him for power to obey His commands during the day, and for power to resist Satan's temptations? Would he deliberately neglect to breathe the breath (wind) of the Holy Spirit at even, when retiring for the nights rest, and thank God for the blessings of the day, and ask Him to spare his sinful life another day?

BREATHLESS DAVIDIANS WHEEZE AND PUFF

Would he do this day after day until his face turns blue from lack of air (breath of the Holy Spirit), and the lungs of his spiritual being cries out for secret prayer, while he wheezes and puffs with "spiritual asthma"? Would he dare call himself a Davidian in his sickly condition, while breathing out his foul breath (doubts and murmurings) in the face of other Davidians?  And what does such a breathless Davidian do when a crisis comes? In his sickly condition what can he do but lean on a man (his favorite minister), because he does not lean on Jesus in secret prayer. This kind of sickly Davidian also leans on man, his favorite minister (Isa. 2:22), to study for him to tell his what to believe and not to believe; rather than (by prayerful study) eat the butter and honey (Isa. 7:22) that would help him refuse the evil and choose the good (Isa. 7:15).

"All {breathless Davidians} who are too lazy to study...are cheated of eternal life; they instead get eternal death."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 21, pg. 12:4.

Now if a Davidian does not breathe the wind of the Holy Spirit in secret prayer at all, then he is a walking dead person, a breathless Davidian, whose spiritually dead body will surely die literally in the slaughter of Ezekiel 9. And if he engages "in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient" (G.W. 255), then he is a sickly, foul breathed Davidian, wheezing and puffing with spiritual asthma, who is spiritually dying and about half dead. He, too, will die in the slaughter if he does not start breathing (praying) consistently at least every morning and evening.

What about you, Brother, Sister, Davidian? Are you almost spiritually dead, because you are a breathless Davidian that very seldom prays? Do you think that secret prayer is for old people who need something to lean on, but you are strong and can walk in your own strength, and don't need prayer--"the breath of the soul" (G.W. 254)? Or maybe you are a wheezing, puffing Davidian afflicted with "spiritual asthma" who hardly ever breathes (prays spasmodically), because you are so busy with the cares of this life that you neglect to take time to pray. Or maybe you are a breathless Davidian who does not care whether his spiritual being breathes very much or not?

HEALTHY BREATHING DAVIDIANS DO NOT HAVE SPIRITUAL ASTHMA

Or are you a healthy breathing Davidian who consistently prays to God at least every morning and evening, filling the lungs of your spiritual being with the pure wind of the Holy Spirit, which gives you strength to obey His command to work in His vineyard? Are you concerned about your own breathing habits, and of your Davidian friends? Will you kindly ask him if he knows the cure for "spiritual asthma"? If he doesn't know, will you tell him? Will you encourage him by private admonitions, or in a group study, stressing the importance of breathing properly by secret prayer to God?

"Your mind was given that you might understand how to work. Your eyes were given that you might be keen to discern your God-given opportunities. Your ears are to listen for the commands of God. Your knees are to bow three times a day in heartfelt prayer {the breath of the soul}. Your feet are to run in the way of God's commandments."--6 Testimonies, pg. 298:0 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Breathe, Brother, Sister, Davidian, and breathe heartily, for your eternal life depends on secret prayer--"the breath of the soul"!