The Seventh-day Adventist Church denies that the soul continues to exist after death. They say the soul is not separate from the body, so when the body dies the soul ceases to exist and will be revived later in a future judgment where the righteous have eternal life, but the wicked are destroyed and have no existence. But that is not what the Bible teaches. However, in the “Clear Word Bible,” an SDA paraphrase of the Bible, many passages are altered to make them fit the SDA claims.
| New American Standard Bible | Clear Word Bible | Comment | |
| Gen. 35:18 | It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. | But Rachel didn’t survive the birth, and as she was dying, she named her baby Benoni, which means Son of My Sorrow, but Jacob renamed the baby Benjamin, meaning Son of My Right Hand. | It is obvious that the Seventh-day Adventist influence has governed the Clear Word Bible paraphrase. Instead of accurately expanding on what the Bible actually says, SDA theology dominates the scripture. |
| Matt. 10:28 | “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. | Don’t fear that you might be killed. They may kill your body, but they cannot take away your eternal life. God is the only One who has power over eternal life and death. | The original text separates the body and the soul, but this distinction is removed in the Clear Word Bible. |
| Matt. 22:32 | ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,’ He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” | He said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ In other words, He is not the God of death, but the God of life. He not only gives it, but extends it. Sarah is a case in point. She was too old to have a child, but by God’s power she did.” | Again, the Clear Word Bible drastically alters the text and changes it to agree with his theology. Instead of submitting to God’s word, it submits God’s word to its theology. |
| Matt. 27:50 | And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. | Suddenly Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “It is finished!” and bowed His head and died. | Another alteration in the Clear Word Bible to fit SDA theology. The original implies the separation of the spirit from the body, which the SDA denies. |
| Mark 12:27 | “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.” | What was God telling Moses? He was telling him that He was the One who activated Sarah’s dead womb, giving through Abraham life to Isaac who, in turn, gave life to Jacob. Therefore, God is not the end of life but the Giver of life! So your idea that there is no life after death is wrong.” | How can the Clear Word Bible seriously offer such a terrible “paraphrase”? It is a commentary that is completely inaccurate. The original context is about the resurrection, not God activating Sarah’s womb. This is a highly prejudiced interpretation of a verse that does not agree with SDA theology. |
| Luke 8:55 | And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. | Immediately, life returned to her body. She opened her eyes, sat up and looked around. Then Jesus asked the parents to give her something to eat. | Notice the blatant alteration of the text in favor of SDA theology. Instead of the spirit of the girl returning, the Clear Word Bible changes it to “life.” The original contradicts SDA theology. |
| Luke 23:43 | And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” | Jesus turned His head toward him and said, “I promise you today, when I return with the glory of my Father, I will take you home with me to paradise.” | The original implies that there is life after death and that the Spirit continues without the body. But since this contradicts SDA theology, they use the same argument the Jehovah’s Witnesses do by saying Jesus was saying “I promise you today…” |
| 2 Cor. 5:8 | We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. | That’s what faith is all about. We long to lay aside our bodies, to leave this present world, and to be at home with the Lord. | The Clear Word Bible omits the clear teaching of Scripture, “to be absent from the body and to be home with the Lord.” This contradicts SDA theology, so the verse is altered accordingly. |
| Phil. 1:23 | But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; | So I’ve been wrestling with mixed emotions. On one hand, I would prefer to be sentenced to death and in the next moment of consciousness see Christ, which would be much better than staying here in this old world. | The original implies that Paul wants to die and go be with Christ. That cannot happen from the SDA point of view so their theology replaces the actual text. |
| James 2:26 | For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. | As a person’s body is useless without breath, so our statements of faith are meaningless without action. | The original implies that a person’s spirit is separate from his body. But since this does not agree with Seventh-day Adventist theology, is changed to “a person’s body is useless without breath.” |
| Rev. 6:9 | When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; | As the Lamb revealed the events of the fifth seal, I looked and saw a sacrificial altar, and under it were the bodies of those who had died for the Lord. They had faithfully proclaimed God’s word and had been killed because of their faith. | This blatant alteration is clear. The word “souls,” which the Bible implies as separate from the body, is replaced with the word “bodies” in order to make it agree with SDA theology. |
| Rev. 20:4 | Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. | The scene changed, and I saw thrones in heaven, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge the wicked. I saw those who had been beheaded because of their faithfulness to Jesus and the word of God. I also saw those who had not worshiped the sea beast or the land animal and had not received the mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They all lived and reigned | The word “souls” is omitted entirely, changing the focus of the verse. Instead of the focus on the souls OF those, it is simply “those.” Again, this is altered to suit SDA theology. |
