“Do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be in fear of him [Jehovah] that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” (Matthew 10:28) Commenting on this passage in his book Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead? (French), Professor Oscar Cullmann writes: “psy·kheʹ [soul] here does not mean the Greek concept of soul but should rather be translated ‘life ‘. . . . W. G. Kümmel . . . also writes with good reason: Matt. 10:28 ‘does not seek to highlight the immortality of the soul, but underlines the fact that God alone can destroy not only earthly life but also heavenly life.’”

Commenting on this passage, the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology states: “Matt. 10:28 teaches not the potential immortality of the soul but the irreversibility of divine judgment on the unrepentant.”