Greetings Pilgrim,<br><br>Yes, I would lean quite heavily towards both body and soul for the simple reason that we are indeed fleshly beings by design and would naturally seem to remain that way. I would also say that a number of Scripture references indicate such to be the case:<br><br>Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.<br><br>Matthew 5:29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.<br><br>Matthew 18:9 "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.<br><br>These, as well as other texts that speak of "gnashing teeth" and Lazarus' thirst, would force me to interpret all of these references to the body metaphorically if it were only spiritual, which seems like too great a strain considering the points you made regarding #1 and the constitution of man. Also, when Paul refers to the reprobates as being "vessels of wrath", that term vessel has a prima facie indication of something material in my estimation.<br><br>With respect to the purpose of the body suffering as well as the soul, that is an interesting point about the origination of sin and the fact that, unlike the soul, the body itself is not ethically corrupt. However, it is also Biblically demonstrable that the affects of the soul are intricately woven with the body, and sometimes the body can affect the soul too. When Adam and Eve sinned they died spiritually and also physically (though not immediately). When people are tired, hungry, in pain, etc., it can have an affect on their spirit and their spirit can have an affect on their body. So in terms of purpose, I would estimate that the purpose is to thoroughly punish the whole man, which if it were without a body may not be whole. All I can say is praise God that I won't have to find out experimentally what the truth of the matter may be. [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/grovel.gif" alt="grovel" title="grovel[/img]<br><br>Sincerely in Christ,<br><br>~Jason<br><br>