‘Day 308

And [cargos] of cinnamon, spice and incense, perfume and frankincense, wine and olive oil, wheat flour, and wheat grains, pack animals and sheep, horse and carriages, and the bodies and SOULS OF MEN.” Rev 18:13. (NLT)

The NASB translates the last line “slaves, and human lives” Other translations like the NKJV and NLT translates the word “ “ as souls. This should give us an insight into the word ‘soul’

How do you buy and sell the souls of men, as Babylon did? What is a soul anyway? In the Hebrew philosophy of the Bible, there is no division between body and soul. Unlike the ancient Greeks, who thought the soul could be separated from the physical body, the Bible understands the human person to be a unified whole. In Hebrew thinking, you cannot separate a person’s thoughts from the chemical reactions in the brain. What happens to the body affects the mind, and what happens to the mind affects the body. 

The basic meaning of “soul” is actually the whole person; mind, body, emotions, and spirit. As at the creation of Adam, it is the whole person that is called a “living soul” (Gen 2:7). Eight souls were saved in the Ark. When the soul is contrasted with the body, as in Rev 18:13, the word particularly emphasizes the mental, emotional, and spiritual side of the whole person. It is one thing to control the bodies of men, as occurred in the case of slavery. Slavery commands a person’s body, but cannot control the mind and heart. But Babylon’s power goes beyond slavery. She controls the whole person. So, Babylon is even more dangerous than the slave trader, she can trade in the “souls of men.” 

This is why Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28, NIV). The “One” Jesus spoke about is God. In Rev 18 Babylon takes on a God-like role, part of the great End-time deception. We don’t, however, need to submit ourselves to any power but God Himself. Oppressors may try to compel us, but we can refuse them our inner allegiance. We are citizens of another kingdom, the one that wins in the end.