What is Spiritual Death?

By Samuel M. Frost, Th.M.

Since 2017, and even before, I have come to question the idea of “spiritual death” as a concept, or idea. Of course, I was raised with hearing this taught in the Foursquare tradition, and it is certainly taught in the Reformed one. One can find it in almost any circle of Christendom. Although it is not found in the earliest part of Church History, it does show up in Augustine. It is quite likely that Augustine read Philo, where it definitely shows up. In fact, David T. Runia demonstrates that Augustine was familiar with Philo – though to what extent is debatable[1]. Philo of Alexandria, as is well known, is described as developing an allegorical method, ‘who sought to reconcile Greek philosophy and the Old Testament by it, [and it] was later developed into an organized method of interpretation by Origen. It has done much harm to sound interpretation of the Bible’ [2]. Indeed.

Philo notes that the text of Gn 2.17 states, ‘in the day in which you eat from it, you will surely die.’ He is using, however, the LXX which pluralizes the verbs ‘eat’ and ‘die.’ The Hebrew does not do this. God is speaking to Adam alone, before Eve is ever made. Nonetheless, Philo comments, ‘not only do they not die, but they also have children.’ In light of this, ‘What, then, are we to say? That there are two (ditto) deaths; one is the death of the man, the other is the death of the soul (psuche). The death of a man is the soul without the body; but the soul-death is removal of moral excellence, it is corruption, a taking up of evil’ [3]. Thus, Philo is able to account for ‘dying the death’ in allegorical terms, or what we would call today, spiritual terms.

Jumping from Philo’s text to Augustine’s City of God (413-426 CE) there is a remarkable parallel in reasoning found in Books 13-15. Both take the prepositional phrase, beyom (‘when’, or ‘in the day’ – though the article is not retained) seriously. If it says, ‘when you eat, you will die’, then Adam must die in some sense. And, since it is quite obvious that he does not organically die, then it is inferred that he spiritually died, else God’s threat is rendered as a lie. However, drawing the conclusion that a commandment, and in this case a prohibition, with its threat must be carried out as stated is an assumption. God is perfectly free to issue a commandment and its punishment (a law), and yet retain the right as to how He will actually carry that out. It may be that He could carry out the law as stated, or He could exercise discretionary powers based on other considerations. We find examples of this in numerous places of His dealings with Israel. These can be summed up in David’s cry, ‘He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities’ (Psalm 103.7-10). His ways made known in Genesis 2-3 is that he did not treat Adam as his sin deserved. He showed compassion.
R.C. Sproul also states, ‘Numerous commentators have tried to soften the divine warning by interpreting the “death” of Genesis 2 as a kind of spiritual death. That is not what the text says’ (Holiness of God, Tyndale, 1998, page 162). In an about face, however, Sproul does ‘soften the divine warning’ by saying immediately after, ‘The death penalty of which God warned was real death, death in the full sense of the word. To be sure, Adam and Eve did suffer spiritual death that very day, but God granted mercy in terms of the full measure of the penalty’ (162). That, folks, is a contradiction. If Sproul is arguing that the text does not say that death is softened to mean a ‘kind of spiritual death’, then turns around and says that they did, to be sure, die a spiritual death, but not the full measure of death, then the penalty has been ‘softened’! No matter how one slices this, logically speaking, Sproul has contradicted himself. Be that as it may, and aside from the contradiction, we may be sure in what Sproul means: death means, ‘instant death. Death that very day’ (162). He further states that the ‘full measure’ was ‘delayed’ – which means the lesser measure was carried out – softening the warning. It is this type of reasoning that creates confusion. Either the full measure is carried out, or it is not. They either died, or they did not.
We find contradictions like this throughout Evangelical commentaries and works. In another place, Geerhardus Vos sought to minimize the prepositonal phrase, ‘in the day.’ He wrote, ‘Finally, the stressing of the phrase “in the day” in 2:17, is not only uncalled for, but, in view of the sequel of the narrative, impossible. As a threat of immediate, premature death the words have not been fulfilled, and that God subsequently mitigated or modified the curse, there is nothing whatever to suggest’ [4]. Vos ignores the many references of the phrase as used in the OT, and it means what it says: when, in the day. He does this not for lexical reasons, but because Adam does not organically, immediately die. Noting then that some ‘form’ of death is meant, what kind is meant ‘the answer is not easy to give’ (ibid., 50). Although favoring the meaning of ‘bodily death’, he veers to consider that ‘a deeper conception of death seems to be hinted at’ (50, ital. mine). ‘Death may have been interpretable as separation from God…in a more internal sense’ (50). In other words, Vos strained at getting to admit a spiritual (internal) death. At least we see that Vos is all to aware that the answer is not easy to give. Today’s Evangelicals give the answer with ready quickness: Adam died a spiritual death the day he ate, and ‘in the day’ is not at all lessened as it is in Vos. It is taken, rightly so, at face value. But, this begs the question: if ‘in the day’ is not to be ‘stressed’, then why does spiritual death have to be invoked as an ‘immediate’ (i. e., ‘in the day’) punishment?
It is also striking that Vos simply dismisses the idea that ‘mitigating’ circumstances would not influence a righteous Judge. After all, the serpent coerces the situation, and is certainly judged: ‘because you did this!’ (Gn 3.14). He is the only character in the story that is cursed. Renowned lawyer Adam Dershowitz rightly noted that ‘mitigating circumstances’ come into play here (The Genesis of Justice, Warner Books, 2000, page 43). Dershowitz also recognizes that ‘God does not carry out his explicitly threatened punishment’ (30). Another highly influential intellectual, Aaron Wildavsky, wrote in his landmark work, Moses as Political Leader (Shalem Press, 2005), ‘Adam and Eve did not die…they have to face up to their own mortality…’ (page 32). This is the harrowing dilemma we find in the Romantic literature, and in the existential Philosophers up to our own day: how can we escape death? Every religion, and every philosophy, and even the empirical sciences are fill reams of volumes on the subject [5].
It remains to be seriously challenged as an impossible exegesis within the Evangelical perspective that the idea of ‘spiritual death’ (as defined as ‘alienation from God’) need not be appealed to as an “answer” to Gn 2-3. That it is an interpretational answer goes without question, but the question is, is it a textual-exegetical answer that can be deduced from the narrative itself? At best, Vos notes that it ‘may be hinted’ at, but so might also God’s discretionary powers to bring, or not bring the force of the penalty in that day. That there were, in fact, ‘mitigating circumstances’. Given Adam and Eve appropriately respond to their acknowledgement of sin (‘I ate’), and that their minds did not immediately become corrupt as described later in Genesis 6.3-ff. notes the gradual working of the ‘powers’ of Sin and Death, afforded by ‘the commandment’ (the Law). Man’s inability to know God intimately is due to his evil reasonability crafted in various self-referenced, autonomous thoughts. Van Til rightly states, ‘The result for man was that he made for himself a false ideal of knowledge‘ (ital. his) [6]. This is not spiritual death, but man very much alive and in rebellion before he faces death – which he does, and will.
‘Men and women,’ writes Longman III and Dillard, ‘deserved death; however from the time of their first sin (Gen. 2:17), God always reached out to them in a gracious way in order to mitigate punishment’ [7]. Even the popular writer Andy Stanley comments, ‘They were warned that on the day that they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die. But they didn’t. Growing up, I was told that they died spiritually. But that’s not part of the story. I was told that they were separated from God. But that is not in the story either. In fact, right after they sinned, Adam and Eve had a long conversation with God’ [8]. What effect this has on our understanding of the good news of a patient God, who also has set a day wherein he will judge the world through a man (Acts 17.31), time will tell. However, ridding error in order to better understand His Truth is the goal of the scholar, the exegete, the seminarian, the servant, and the bond-slave of Jesus Christ.

NOTES

[1] David T. Runia, “Philo of Alexandria and the Beginnings of Christian Thought, Alexandrian and Jew,” Studia Philonica Annual 7 (1995): 143-160. ‘It is apparent, therefore, that Philo was well-known in Christian circles not just because of the legend of Philo Christianus. In fact a close reading of the sources shows that most Christian intellectuals were quite well aware that Philo was a Jew who had lived at about the time of Jesus. Philo was also well-known on account of his writings and their contents.’ ‘Philo Christianus’ emerged as a legend from Eusebius (4th century) from his Church History, Book 2.16-17, Eusebius remarks that Philo conversed with Peter in Rome. Runia’s work demonstrates that, ‘Plato is often admired as the pagan thinker closest to the truth of biblical revelation. And time and time again there is demonstrable dependence on Platonic and Platonist ideas in the way that scripture is understood.’ As well, he notes, Philo’s allegorical method ‘allows the interpreter to connect up with and exploit significant philosophical and what we now would call spiritual ideas.’ See further, Bruns, J. (1973). ‘Philo Christianus: The Debris of a Legend’. Harvard Theological Review, 66(1), 141-145.

[2] Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church, Zondervan Academie Books: Grand Rapids MI, 1981. 75.

[3]. Philo, Patrum Ecclesiae Graecorum, Pars II: Philonis Judaei Operum Onium. Legis Allegor I.33, Lipsiae, 1828. 88 – Translation is mine. Further, Philo promotes the death of the body as a lesser death, noting that a soul-death constitutes man as dead, until freed from his body so that he may live. Reading him is remarkably similar to OT Evangelical exegesis.

[4] Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1959. 48-49. See also, Anthony Hoeksema, Created in God’s Image, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids MI, 1994. pp. 138-ff., wherein he takes note of the differences between himself, Vos, H. Bavinck, A. Kuyper, L. Berkhof, and G. Ch. Aalders.

[5] Emmanuel Levinas, God, Death, and Time, Trans. by Bettina Bergo, Stanford University Press, 1993; on Romantic preoccupation with death see H. G. Schenk, The Mind of the European Romantics, Doubleday-Anchor Books, Garden City NY, 1969. pp. 64-ff.

[6] C. Van Til, The Defense of the Faith, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2008, 36.

[7] Raymond B. Dillard, Tremper Longman III, An Introduction to the Old Testament, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids MI, 1994. 28.

[8] Andy Stanley, The Grace of God, Thomas Nelson, 2010. 14.

Author: Samuel M. Frost, Th.D.

Samuel M. Frost has gained the recognition of his family, peers, colleagues, church members, and local community as a teacher and leader.  Samuel was raised in the Foursquare Gospel tradition and continued in the rising Charismatic Movement of the early 1980’s.  While serving in local congregations he was admitted to Liberty Christian College in Pensacola, Florida where he lived on campus for four years earning his Bachelor’s of Theology degree.  It was there under the tutelage of Dr. Dow Robinson (Summer Institutes of Linguistics), and Dr. Frank Longino (Dallas Theological Seminary) that he was motivated to pursue a career in Theology.  Dr. Robinson wrote two books on Linguistics, Workbook on Phonological Analysis (SIL, 1970) and Manuel for Bilingual Dictionaries: Textbook (SIL, 1969).  It was under these teachers’ guidance that Frost entered into his Master’s studies, being granted a scholarship for Greek I and II at Pentecostal Theological Seminary, accredited, in Cleveland, Tennessee (adjunct of Lee University).  Frost completed his study under Dr. French Arrington (The Ministry of Reconciliation, Baker Books, 1980), who used the text of J. Gresham Machen, New Testament Greek for Beginners. Frost studied Hebrew for two years under Dr. Mark Futato (author, Beginning Biblical Hebrew, Eisenbrauns, 2003) and Dr. Bruce K. Waltke (author, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, Eisenbrauns, 1990) at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida. With combined credits from PTS and RTS, Samuel completed his Master of Arts in Christian Studies and Master of Arts in Religion from Whitefield Theological Seminary in Lakeland, Florida under the direct tutelage of Dr. Kenneth G. Talbot, co-author of the well reviewed work, Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism (Whitefield Media, 2005) with Dr. Gary Crampton (and Foreword by the late, Dr. D. James Kennedy).  Dr. Talbot also oversaw Samuel’s Dissertation, From the First Adam to the Second and Last Adam (2012) earning him the Magister Theologiae (Th.M.) degree.  He also helped put together A Student’s Hebrew Primer for WTS, designed and graded exams for their Hebrew Languages course. Samuel’s studies lead him into an issue in the field of Eschatology where his scholarship and unique approach in Hermeneutics garnered him recognition.  Because of the controversial nature of some of his conclusions, scholars were sharp in their disagreement with him.  Frost’s initial work, Misplaced Hope: The Origins of First and Second Century Eschatology (2002, Second Edition, 2006 Bi-Millennial Publishing), sold over four thousand units.  While arguing for the Reformation understanding of sola Scriptura as defined by the Westminster Confession of Faith, Frost’s book launched a heavily footnoted argument for a total reassessment of the doctrine known as the Second Coming of Christ.  The conclusion was that the events of the war of the Jewish nation against their Roman overlords in 66-70 C.E. formed the New Testament authors’ eschatological outlook, and went no further than their own first century generation; a view otherwise known as “full” or "hyper" Preterism.  Internationally recognized Evangelical author and speaker, Steve Wohlberg remarked, ‘On the “preterist” side today…we have such influential leaders as Gary DeMar, Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., David Chilton, R.C. Sproul, Max King, James Stuart Russell, Samuel M. Frost, and John Noe.  To these scholars…the beast is not on the horizon, he’s dead” (Italics, his)” (End Time Delusions, Destiny Image Publishers, 2004, page 133).  It should be noted that only Noe, King and Frost supported the “full” Preterist position. Thomas Ice and co-author of the best selling Left Behind series, Tim LaHaye, quote Frost’s work, Misplaced Hope, as well in their book, The End Times Controversy: The Second Coming under Attack (Harvest House Publishers, 2003, page 40).  Dr. Jay E. Adams, who single handedly launched “a revolution” in Christian Counseling with his work, Competent to Counsel: An Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling, (1970, Zondervan), also wrote an analysis of Frost’s work in Preterism: Orthodox or Unorthodox? (Ministry Monographs for Modern Times, INS Publishing, 2004).  Adams wrote of Misplaced Hope as a "useful, scholarly work" (p.6 - though he disagreed with the overall thesis).  Dr. Charles E. Hill, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, wrote of Misplaced Hope that Frost, “attacks the problem of the early church in a much more thoroughgoing way than I have seen” (When Shall These Things Be? A Reformed Response to Hyper Preterism, Ed. Keith Mathison, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2003, ‘Eschatology in the Wake of Jerusalem’s Fall’ p. 110-ff.).  There were several other works as well that took the scholarship of Frost seriously, like Ergun Caner in The Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective, Eds., Steve W. Lemke and David L. Allen (B&H Publishing, 2011). Because of the controversial nature of Frost’s conclusions on these matters, it was difficult to find a denomination within the Church-at-Large to work in terms of pastoral ministry.  That situation changed when Samuel was called by a Bible study group in Saint Petersburg, Florida to found a congregation.  Christ Covenant Church was established in 2002 operating under the principles outlined by Presbyterian historian James Bannerman’s work, The Church of Christ: A Treatise on the Nature, Powers, Ordinances, Discipline, and Government of the Christian Church (Banner of Truth Trust, 1974, original, 1869).  By-Laws and a Constitution were drawn up in the strictest manner for what was considered an “Independent” establishment of a Presbyterian Church, granted that a “call” was received and recognized by Presiding Elders duly ordained from existing and recognized denominations.  Two Elders, one ordained in the Reformed Presbyterian Church (Mike Delores), and another ordained in the Presbyterian Church of America (Dr. Kelly N. Birks, now deceased) tested and reviewed the call, ordaining Samuel on October 20th, 2002, the Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity.  Proper forms were submitted to Tallahassee, Florida with the stamp of a Notary Public Witness.  Christ Covenant Church (CCC) functioned as a local church for five years with a congregation as large as 30 members.  Frost was gaining recognition after Misplaced Hope had been published in January of that year, and conferences were hosted that included debates with another prominent "full" Preterist educator, Don K. Preston.  CCC hosted best-selling authors, Thomas Ice, and Mark Hitchcock from Dallas Theological Seminary; and Dr. James B. Jordan (Westminster Theological Seminary), well-known author/pastor in Reformed theological circles.  Frost was invited for the next several years to speak at over 25 conferences nation-wide, was featured in articles and an appearance on local news in Tampa for one of CCC’s conferences.  The Evangelical Theological Society also invited Samuel to speak at the Philadelphia conference (Frost is currently a Member of ETS as well as Society of Biblical Literature). During this time Samuel had submitted one more book, Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead (TruthVoice, 2008; repr. JaDon Publishing, 2010); and co-wrote, House Divided: A Reformed Response to When Shall These Things Be? (Vision International, 2010).  Frost also wrote several Forewords for up and coming authors who were influenced by his teaching materials, as well as cited many times in books, lectures and academic papers.  However, because of certain aspects of Hermeneutics and Frost’s undaunted commitment to scholarship (with always a strong emphasis on the personal nature of devotional living to Christ), several challenges to the "hyper" Preterist view he espoused finally gave way, largely due to the unwavering commitment to Samuel by the Dean of Whitefield Theological Seminary, Dr. Kenneth G. Talbot, who continually challenged him.  In what shocked the "hyper" Preterist world, Samuel announced after the Summer of 2010 that he was in serious error, and departed the movement as a whole, along with Jason Bradfield, now Assistant Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Lakeland, Florida .  Christ Covenant Church had dissolved after 2007 while Samuel continued as a public speaker and writer, largely due to reasons that would unravel Frost’s commitment to "hyper" Preterism as a whole. The documentation of Frost’s departure was published by American Vision’s Founder, Gary DeMar, with a Foreword by Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry.  Why I Left Full Preterism (AV Publishing, 2012) quickly ran through its first run.  The book was later republished under the arm of Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry and is sold today (GoodBirth Ministries Publishing, 2019; though still available in Kindle form from American Vision).  Dr. Gentry also gave mention to Frost in his book, Have We Missed the Second Coming: A Critique of Hyper Preterism (Victorious Hope Publishing, 2016), noting him as "one of the most prominent" teachers within Full Preterism (135).  Dr. Keith Mathison, Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformation Bible College in Sanford, Florida, endorsed the book as well.  Samuel has gone on to write, Daniel: Unplugged (McGahan Publishing House, 2021); The Parousia of the Son of Man (Lulu Publishing, 2019); God: As Bill Wilson Understood Him, A Theological Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous (Lulu Publishing, 2017).  He is also active as a certified Chaplain with the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana, and enrolled with ICAADA (Indiana Counselor’s Association on Alcohol and Drug Abuse), and worked directly under Dr. Dennis Greene, Founder of Christian Counseling and Addictions Services, Inc., for a year.  Frost’s passion is in the education of the local church on various issues and occasionally works with Pastor Alan McCraine with the First Presbyterian Church in Lewisville, Indiana, and Bethel Presbyterian Church, Knightstown, Indiana, where he periodically is called upon to give the sermon. Samuel, with his wife, Kimberly, helped to establish Heaven’s Bread Basket food pantry that donates food items to local families in need once a month – a ministry of the Session of First Presbyterian Church, Lewisville, Indiana. Samuel also works part time at Ace Hardware in New Castle, Indiana for several years.  He has a solid, family reputation in the community, and has performed local marriages and funerals.  He also sits on the Board of the Historical Preservation Committee in New Castle. Recently, he has completed his two year quest for a Th.D from Christian Life School of Theology Global, Georgia. View all posts by Samuel M. Frost, Th.D.