This passage, on the the surface, seems very confusing. We are told by many scholars that God does not (but more importantly will not) destroy souls. God is the author of all things good, true and beautiful. Your soul was created by God good, and as such God cannot and will not destroy something good that He lovingly created. But if that is true, our minds might naturally ask, who is it then, that can destroy body and soul in Gehenna? There are many scholars that hold that it is the devil, and it is not a bad position to take, but that theory holds one flaw. The devil also is a created being. He does not have the power to destroy souls. He can lie, and tempt, and lead souls down the road to destruction but he is not the final arbiter of that end, and he cannot destroy something good that God will not allow him to destroy.
So who is the one that can destroy body and soul in Gehenna? My friend Bruce explained it to me like this. We humans have free will. We can freely choose good or we can freely choose evil. We can believe the lies of the evil one, or we can rest in God’s truth. We can prefer the ugly or revel in the beautiful. We humans, in our free will have the complete control over the final disposition of our body and souls. The body and the soul are a composite, one cannot exist without the other. If we corrupt our souls, our bodies will also be damaged. When we damage our bodies our souls are hurt as well. So we are the ones that can destroy our own bodies and souls in Gehenna, and it is completely our own choice.
At the end of time gods justice will be known by all, and our choices we make will be revealed for all to see. The reason that some make it to heaven and that others go to hell, will be known by all, and God’s justice will finally be understood universally. As it is now, we cannot understand why anyone would choose hell, over heaven. Mother Mary in the revelations of Fatima, told the seers that “souls are falling into hell like snow falls on the ground.” This means that many are falling into hell, and will not make it to heaven. When you combine this with Jesus’ own statments that many choose the wide road that leads to perdition, we can be certain that hell is real, and that many souls are going to dwell there.
But why would anyone choose hell? The answer is most likely pride, but also lust and greed. The Catholic church teaches that hell is not a punishment, it is a choice that one makes of their own free will and knowledge. It is the ultimate disposition of your soul. If you love God you want to be near Him, and that is Heaven. If you hate Him or love yourself more than Him, then you cannot stand to be near Him, and that is hell. People dont end up in hell by accident, or because they made a wrong turn. They are there because they cannot fathom living the life of service, humility, and sacrificial love that God demands of all that love Him.
But at the final judgement this will all become clear to everyone, all at once. I dont know how, but God is God, and he can do anything…, even vulcan mind meld with all souls, all at once. So we must take care of our bodies so that our souls can flourish, and we have to guard what we let into our souls, so that are bodies can be the best version of ourselves. And by doing this we can, in the end choose the goodness, truth, and beauty of God, over the lust, greed, and pride of this evil one. And this choice will determine your eternity. But that day will be extraodrinary, and while I am not ready for it to happen today, I look forward to an eternity with God in Heaven. I hope you choose the same.
