DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THAT WE HAVE AN IMMORTAL SOUL? By O. Khodjo Welcome to mis-translations and mis-interpretations Despite widespread use of the phrase immortal soul, this terminology is found nowhere in the Bible. Where did the idea of an immortal soul originate? Do Christians actually look search the bible to compare what their Pastors (Theologians) teach and lecture from the pulpit?? No they DON’T. The concept of the soul's supposed immortality was first taught in ancient Egypt and Babylon. "The belief that the soul continues in existence after the dissolution of the body is...speculation...nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture...The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato, its principal exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian and Egyptian views were strangely blended" (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1941, Vol. 6, "Immortality of the Soul," pp. 564, 566). Plato (428-348 B.C.), the Greek philosopher and student of Socrates, taught that the body and the "immortal soul" separate at death. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comments on ancient Israel's view of the soul: "We are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea that the body dies, yet the soul is immortal. Such an idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite consciousness and is nowhere found in the Old Testament". Early Christianity was influenced and corrupted by Greek philosophies as it spread through the Greek and Roman world. By A.D. 200 the doctrine of the immortality of the soul became a controversy among Christian believers. In the Old Testament, man is referred to as a "soul" (Hebrew nephesh) more than 130 times. The first place we find nephesh in reference to mankind is in the second chapter of Genesis: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a LIVING SOUL" The word translated "soul" in this verse is again the Hebrew word nephesh. Other translations of the Bible state that man became a living "being" or "person." This verse does not say that Adam had an immortal soul; rather it says that God breathed into Adam the "breath of life," and Adam became a living soul. At the end of his days, when the breath of life left Adam, he died and returned to dust. The Old Testament plainly teaches that the soul dies. God told Adam and Eve, two "living souls," that they would "surely die" if they disobeyed Him (Genesis 2:17). God also told Adam that He had taken him from the dust of the earth and he would return to dust (Genesis 3:19) The first-century Church did not hold to this belief: "The doctrine is increasingly regarded as a post-apostolic idea, not only unnecessary but positively harmful to proper biblical interpretation and understanding" If such an idea was not taught in the Church during the time of the apostles, how did it come to assume such an important place in Christian doctrine? Should we then accept a teaching that is not found in the Bible? Many people take it for granted that their beliefs are based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and God's Word. Yet Jesus said in a prayer to His Father, "Your word is truth" (John 17:17). Does God give men the liberty to draw from the world's philosophers and incorporate their beliefs into biblical teaching as though they were fact? It’s NONSENSE!! LETS DO SOME BIBLE MATHEMATICS DUST + BREATH = SOUL The Biblical definition of a soul is simply a breathing body. Notice that the text does not say that man was given a soul, but rather he became a soul. A soul is not something a person has, it is the person. Souls have blood (Jeremiah 2:34). Not only are people souls, but so are fish and animals (Revelation 16:3).The Hebrew word for soul “nephesh”, is variously translated "person" (Genesis 14:21), "self" (Leviticus 11:43), "life" (Psalm 31:13), "me" (Judges 16:30), "creature" (Genesis 1:21), "beast" (Leviticus 24:18), "man" (2 Kings 12:4), "thing" (Ezekiel 47:9), and "fish" (Isaiah 19:10). When translated "body" the nephesh is usually dead (Leviticus 21:11). The Greek word for soul “psuche”, has the same meaning. In Matthew 16:25 Jesus commends anyone who will lose his soul (psuche) for Christ’s sake. It is often translated simply as "life" (Matthew 2:20). It means "person" (Acts 7:14). "My soul" and "your soul" are idiomatic expressions meaning "I" and "you" (Matthew 12:18; 2 Corinthians 12:15) SOUL - BREATH = DUST "If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall PERISH together, and man shall turn again unto dust." Job 34:14, 15.A soul is like the light that results when a light bulb is connected to a power source. The spirit, or breath of life, is the electric current. Electricity will produce light only while it is flowing through the bulb. When the filament in the bulb breaks, the electrical circuit is broken, and the light goes out. Just as the light cannot exist unless there is both electricity and a bulb, so there must be both the breath of life and a functional body in order for there to be a living soul. BODY When a man dies his body (if not disintegrated) goes into a grave or tomb (Jn. 11:38) where within a few days it begins to smell and decompose (Jn. 11:39), and it returns [Heb. shub] to the dust of the ground from which it was taken (Gen. 3:17-19, Job 10:9, Psa. 9:17, etc., etc). The "person" is said to be where the "body" is and the "person" is resurrected from the place where the body is (Mat. 28:6). Only in a figurative or symbolic sense does a "body" ever go to sheol (Jonah 2:2). Jonah was not "literally" in hell [sheol], but in the fish, and besides he didn't even die. I'm sure Jonah's loss of perception inside the fish resembled his knowledge of the word "sheol." SPIRIT When a man dies his spirit returns to God Who gave it (GOD) (Lk. 23:46, Psa. 104:24-30). The "spirit" is never said to go to hades or sheol, and the "soul" is never said to go to Heaven at death. Men and beasts have the same spirit [ruach] and they go to the same place (Ecc. 3:18-21). There is no getting around this: when God takes away a living soul's spirit, it always dies. The spirit "gives life." No one can live without "spirit," no matter how young and healthy he may be. There are no exceptions. If there are, where is the Scripture? A dead person cannot experience anything-not pleasure in Heaven or pain in a fabled hell. This is a serious thing. Rom. 14:23 says: "Now everything which is not out of faith is sin." If one doesn't have Scriptures that show people go to eternal hell fire after death, then it is a sin to teach it. SOUL When a man dies his soul goes to the unseen or imperceptible [Gk: hades, Heb: sheol]. We also know that when man is in this condition (dead) it is likened to "sleep" (Psa. 13:3, Dan. 12:1-2, Jn. 11:11-14). God Himself likens death to sleep, "The Lord said unto Moses [concerning his imminent death], Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers ... " (Deut. 31:16) "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecc. 12:7). Another scripture witness: “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Psalms 146:4) This is substantiated by the fact that: "The living knows that they shall die, but the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5, 6). Again: " ... for there is no work, nor device [contrivance, intelligence, reason], nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in sheol." (Eccl. 9:10). Do we think these entire Scriptures lie? According to what we just read in Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10, do dead people know anything? And these verses are correctly translated, I can assure you, I have checked each and every word, why don’t you check them online yourself... Most words have been corrupted through theology so that they are now used interchangeably, as if they were synonymous. They are not synonymous. There may be certain similarities between soul and spirit, but similarities do not make them one and the same. In every doctrine in Christendom we have it twisted from our theologians and we have been forced to accept all the stupidity from the pulpit by these false and stupid preachers, they really don’t know what they teach and preach. The "SOUL" is the seat of sensation, consciousness, and feelings, not the body or the spirit. It is the spirit that imparts life to the body and the body then becomes a living soul (Gen. 2:7). A thorough study of the word "soul" in the Scriptures proves that it is used of consciousness, feelings, and emotions. Hence, "sensation" is a good word to define its usage. � souls can touch (Lev. 5:2) � souls have knowledge (Pr. 2:10) � souls have memory (Lam. 3:20) � souls can love, and be joyful (Psa. 35:9; 86:4) � souls can hunger and thirst (Deut. 14:26) � souls can sin (Lev. 4:2) � life can be given to a soul (Job 3:20) � souls can die (Ezek. 18:20) � souls can be converted (Psa. 19:7) � none can keep alive his (own) soul (Psa. 22:29) � honey is sweet to the soul (Pr. 16:24) � even God has a soul (Lev. 26:11, I Sam. 2:35, Jer. 32:41) � souls can hear (Acts 3:22-23) � souls can experience pleasure (Heb. 10:3) � souls can be purified (I Pet. 1:22) � and souls can receive salvation (I Pet. 1:9). � souls die (Rev. 16:3) These verses show the wide range of emotions and sensations that "souls" experience, but dead souls experience nothing in the unseen or imperceptible (hades). We need to pay close attention to the meaning of words. Hades comes from the Greek a(i)des. The a is a prefix which is equivalent to our un- and the stem -id means perceive. Thus we have UN-PERCEIVE, or imperceptible: the unseen. Etymologically, the doctrine of torment in hell falls flat on its face. From the words that God chose to call this condition of the soul after death, one thing is crystal clear: There is absolutely no perception there. And the soul has everything to do with perception and sensation as clearly seen from the verses above. Because of the shameful way these words are translated and interchanged in the Authorized Version, it is nearly impossible to understand their true meanings without an exhaustive concordance. FROM KING JAMES TRANSLATION:
This Kind Of Translating Is Not Responsible Scholarship-It's Confusing And Contradictory. This Is How Much Trouble King James Has Given Us But It’s Still The Best Among The Rest! The Apostle Paul admonished Timothy to "have a pattern of sound words" (II Tim. 1:13) The Scriptures quoted above clearly show the translator's disregard for this instruction. Man is mortal (Job 4:17). Not one Scripture says that man is "immortal" or has an "immortal" soul. Not one. "Our Lord, Jesus Christ: the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only has immortality" (I Tim. 6:14-16). It is by means of the "resurrection" that God causes dead people to live again. The Apostle Paul said: "Concerning the expectation and resurrection of the dead am I being judged" (Acts 23:6). The truth regarding the "resurrection of the dead" is not even taught in Christendom today. They teach that there are no dead people (only dead bodies). They teach that people are either alive on earth, alive in Heaven, or alive in Hell. What need have we for a "resurrection of the dead" if there are no dead people to resurrect? This is heresy! Paul also stated: "Now if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been roused. Now if Christ has not been roused, for naught, consequently, is our heralding, and for naught is your faith" (I Cor. 15:14-15). The very salvation of mankind rests on the resurrection. "Lord, if Thou were here, my brother would not have died!" (Jn. 11:32) Did Christ resurrect Lazarus out of Hell fire? If He did, then Lazarus went to Hell by mistake. Did Christ resurrect Lazarus out of Heaven? If He did, then Christ lied eight chapters earlier when He said, "NO one has ascended into heaven ... " (Jn 3:13). Christ resurrected Lazarus out of the TOMB (Jn. 11:38-39). Because that's where Lazarus WAS, in the TOMB, dead ASLEEP. This historical example of Christ's resurrection powers was a foretaste of what Christ will do in the future resurrections. This is how it is done. Dead people (not just dead bodies) will be resurrected from the dead, not from life at some other geographical location (not heaven and not hell), but FROM THEIR GRAVES, wherever they may be. If it is essential that a man be saved before he dies, then God, indeed, would be derelict in His responsibility toward His creatures. But where does it say that a man's eternal fate is sealed at his death? Where? Nowhere! Grow up people of GOD!! |
RESPONSIBILITY: Not only are all the billions of heathens who never heard the gospel not responsible for their own salvation, but neither are we responsible for our salvation either. Nowhere in the Scriptures does God hold man responsible for anything. This is just another man-made doctrine that clashes with the Scriptures. We can use the word "responsible" in a relative sense, such as: "It is a man's responsibility to provide for his family." We all know what the word means. But even if this man doesn't provide for his family, God will hold him accountable not responsible. "For the word of God is living and operative, and keen above any two-edged sword, and penetrating up to the parting of soul and spirit both of the articulations and marrow, and is a judge of the sentiments and thoughts of the heart. And there is not a creature which is not apparent in its sight. Now all is naked and bare to the eyes of Him to Whom [God] we are ACCOUNTABLE" (Heb. 4:12-13). Even the King James Version, with its thousands of discrepancies, does not even once in its fifteen hundred pages, use the word "responsible" or "responsibility." Yet churches evolve whole doctrines around this word "responsibility." Things like: "you're responsible for going to hell" or "it's your responsibility to accept Christ" or "the age of responsibility" or "everyone is responsible for his or her deeds." Strange to make so big a deal of a word that does not even appears in Scripture. When a minor (a child) commits a crime, even the unjust courts of our land do not hold him responsible. Is his crime simply overlooked? No. He must give an account for his actions. He is accountable. He might be the victim of a broken home, with a drunkard father, a prostitute mother, drug-hooked sisters, and gang-member brothers. Thus, he is not considered responsible. Nonetheless, he is still accountable. "Now I am saying to you that, for every idle declaration which men shall be speaking they shall be rendering an ACCOUNT concerning it in the day of judging" (Matt. 12:36). "For all of us shall be presented at the dais of God ... Consequently then, each of us shall be giving ACCOUNT concerning himself to God" (Rom. 14:11-12). Read the dozens of scriptures where we are likened not only to "children," but to "little children." God is dealing with mankind as minors. He holds them accountable, but nowhere does God hold man responsible.. The church can only see the relative in God's word. They fail to see that God is behind everything in the "absolute." " ... according to the purpose of the One Who is OPERATING all in ACCORD with the COUNSEL of His WILL." (Eph. 1:11) The only One in the universe Who is responsible [able to respond] is God And so, God takes full responsibility for everything even though He holds man accountable for his deeds. Man is accountable for his deeds, not because he could have done otherwise, but because he thinks he is responsible through his presumed free will. Because he actually did the things he did. However, the Scriptures tell us that, "not in all" is this knowledge. Puny man really thinks he is in control of his own destiny. He really thinks he is a "god unto himself." And the Christian Church hasn't done very much to educate him out of this dilemma. You see, to the theological peanut galleries of the world, if God is responsible for everything in His creation, then He couldn't be justified in burning billions in eternal Hell fire! But if they can make man responsible, then it's his own doing. But for man to be responsible, God would have had to have given him much greater powers than even our Lord ever possessed. "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, THE SON CANNOT BE DOING ANYTHING OF HIMSELF ...” (John 5:19). Are we greater than our own Lord? Answer: “... apart from Me you can do nothing." (Jn. 15:5). Well, there it is. God has given man no such powers. "It is not in man to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23). I know that this verse is shocking to contemplate. It is a real ego deflator. People do not want their self-esteem brought that low. They love to talk humble pie, but they won't eat it. If God tells us we can't even "direct our own steps," pray what can we do by ourselves? I know this truth is too high for most. Most don't really meditate on such verses. They certainly would never preach a sermon on them. They wouldn't be able to take credit for their own salvation anymore (if they actually believed these Scriptures). They would be forced to get rid of all their self worth. They couldn't feel all puffed up like the King of Assyria if they acknowledged God's total Sovereignty in their lives. They don't have to believe it now. God isn't breaking anyone's arm to accept these truths. But don't try to skillfully contradict these truths of the Scriptures, for that only makes you look silly. If God is absolutely responsible for the salvation of all His creatures (and He absolutely is), then He is obligated to save them. He would have to save them. Their salvation would be assured. (Wouldn't that be a terrible thing for theologians and clergymen to contemplate?) In other words, since God is going to bring peace, happiness, and salvation to all of His creatures in Heaven and Earth, God is a real God. A God worthy of the name. A God to truly be GLORIFIED! He makes (causes) everything to turn out the way He predetermined it must be. The Scriptures are full of statements and examples of how everything is operating according to God's predetermined intentions. Theologians just don't approve of it. They don't like it. They will allow for God to cause the sun to go up and go down every day, just as long as God hasn't determined when they get up and lie down every day. But, like it or not, God has determined not only when they get up and when they lie down, but also everything they will do in between. If the translators understood this grand truth they would never have dared to translate Rom. 8:26 as we find it in the Authorized Version. A proper translation of Rom. 8:26 is thus: "Now, similarly, the spirit also is aiding our infirmity, for what we should be praying for, to accord with what must be, we are not aware, but the spirit itself is pleading for us with inarticulate groanings." God has determined that even our prayers must be " ... to accord with WHAT MUST BE ... " "Accord" and "what must be" are in the original Greek manuscripts. God really did inspire Paul to write this Scripture. Our prayers must " ... accord with WHAT MUST BE ... " Rather than fight these grand declarations of God, we should glory in them and shout amen to them. |
Is this verse too difficult for anyone to understand? The Scriptures are clear: YOU CANT STOP DEATH WHEN IS DUE.
Some Twisted Scriptures To Make A Doctrine Stand Paul never said: "to be absent from the body IS to be present with the Lord." There is NO SUCH SCRIPTURE.
Let's quote it properly:
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather TO BE absent from the body, and TO BE present with the Lord."
Or as Concordant Literal New Testament renders it:
"...rather to be away from home out of the body and to be at home with the Lord"
There is a giant difference between the two words "IS" and "AND." Just the fact of being "absent or separated" from our bodies, does not automatically equate with being instantaneously "WITH" the Lord.
First we DIE and thereby become absent from or separated from our bodies--they decay back into the dust of the ground. But some time AFTER our death we are taken home to be with the Lord. Notice how Paul himself understood this. Are we "at home with the Lord" at the instant of DEATH? No.
I Thess. 4:16-17
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and THE DEAD in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be [at home] with the Lord."
Notice that all the DEAD in Christ rise at the SAME TIME, at His presence in the air. But, not all of the DEAD in Christ DIED AT THE SAME TIME. Hence they were NOT 'at home with the Lord' at the very time of their death.
Consider the following statement from The New Catholic Encyclopedia:
"The soul in the Old Testament means not a part of man, but the whole man as a living being. Similarly in the New Testament, it signifies human life: the life of an individual conscious object" (Matthew 2:20-6:25; Luke 12:22, 23; 14:26; John 10:11, 15,17; John 13:37; Acts 27:10,22; Philippians 2:30; 1Thessalonians 2:8).
"Recent exegetes... have maintained that the New Testament does not teach the immortality of the soul in the Hellenistic sense of survival of an immortal principle after death" (The New Catholic Encyclopedia art.Soul, Human, Immortality of, In The Bible)
AN ENCOURAGING THOUGHT ABOUT DEATH
Death has two different meanings that are essential for us to differentiate:1. The ACT OF DYING or termination of life.
2. The STATE OF BEING DEAD.
All humanity will experience "the act of dying," but absolutely no one will ever experience the "state of being dead." And this is because:"For the living knows that they shall die but the dead know not anything…" (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
This may be comforting to some, but scary to others. It all depends on your point of view; your perspective; your emotional stability; your up-bringing; your understanding. What I want to do in this little article is give you an encouraging perspective of death. "How can anything be encouraging when it comes to death?" you are probably asking. Well, let me try and answer that for you.
Virtually every time that I have read that verse (dozens of times), it was to prove to someone that we do not have an immortal soul that lives on after death of the body, nor do we have consciousness as is taught in Christendom. But this past year I took another look at this verse and saw something else that I had never contemplated before.
Not only is there no consciousness in death, but there is no consciousness OF death either. This is the encouraging part.
"The living KNOW that they shall die, but the dead KNOW NOT ANYTHING."
Let’s think about that for a few moments and see if this is not quite encouraging.
"The living KNOW… the dead know NOTHING." The dead don’t know that they are dead. When you die, you will NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE DEAD! But it gets better. Not only will you never know that you are dead at some point in the future, but from your perspective YOU NEVER EVEN LOST CONSCIOUSNESS. This to me was a marvelous revelation.
Once God creates consciousness in a human they will NEVER EVER know anything BUT CONSCIOUSNESS. From my perspective and from your perspective we will never "know" ANYTHING but life and feelings and emotions and consciousness. From our perspective we will never "know" what it is like to be dead. Oh we will probably die some day (assuming that the Lord doesn’t come first), but we will never know that we were dead; we will never know what it is to BE dead, or to BE unconscious. Others will know and sorrow (maybe?) that we are dead and gone, but from OUR perspective we will never lose conscious reality, and we will never "experience" being dead.
Now I didn’t say we would not experience "dying." Most (albeit not all) people who die, experience dying, but they do NOT experience death itself, nor will they ever. It is impossible for someone to experience the death state, seeing that where there is no consciousness, there is no experience, and therefore there is no memory of it. I will carry this one step further. Even if there was no such thing as a resurrection from the dead, the dead would never know that they died and would never know that they are dead.
This to me is an amazing thing. Once God created consciousness, cognizance, awareness, perception, sensation, emotions, and the like; we never ever loose it from OUR PERSPECTIVE, and after all, whose perspective counts the most when it comes to death—ours or someone else’s?
We may all go through the fear of dying or even the pain of dying, but there is no pain and no fear IN DEATH ITSELF. No one who is presently dead is aware of it, or experiencing it, or being frightened by it, or anything else.
DEATH IS SLEEP
I was tempted to make that caption: DEATH IS LIKE SLEEP, but that would be Scripturally inaccurate, as nowhere do the Scriptures state that death is "like" sleep, but rather that death IS SLEEP. God prepared Moses for death with the following: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, you shall sleep [Heb: shakab—to lie down, to rest, to sleep, to decease] with your fathers…" (Deut. 31:16).
David said:
"Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death" (Psalm 13:3).
When Lazarus was dead (John 11:14), Jesus said:
"Our friend Lazarus sleeps: but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep" (John 11:11).
Do you fear when your children "sleep" at night? You know that they are safe in sleep. Even in sleep we have a slight awareness of life, especially when we are dreaming or falling in and out of sleep, but in death there is no consciousness nor sub-consciousness, and so you will never know that you are sleeping. You know that your children will awake in the morning. We all who died IN CHRIST, shall awake in the morning of resurrection. And when we do, we might remember dying, but we will not remember ever being dead.
On five different occasions I came very near to death. Three of the five times I was unconscious. For all practicality, I was dead. I remember what happened before and after being unconscious, but I remember nothing of BEING unconscious. Yet I knew that I was, but only after the fact by the evidence, not from my actual experience of having been under. The actual fact of death is no different from what I already experienced several times. And you have all experienced it already as well. We all sleep, and unless we have bad dreams, the experience of sleep itself is nothing fearful or painful.
Sleep is a way that God can set people aside for a little while as He works with our children and our children’s children. Centuries and millennia will pass for some, yet they will know no death, only consciousness. From our perspective we will never know anything but life and consciousness. Death won’t even be an illusion: it won’t be AT ALL. And that is because "The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything."
The Apostle Paul was familiar with this verse, seeing that he earnestly studied the Hebrew Scriptures. With relation to this concept that "…the dead know not anything," Paul made the following statements:
"For we know, That if the tent of our earthy dwelling be taken down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, aionian, in the heavens. For indeed to this we are groaning, earnestly desiring to be invested with that habitation of our which is from [not ‘in’] heaven: surely, having been invested, we shall not be found destitute.
For, indeed, those being in the tent are groaning, being oppressed; in which we desire not to be divested [naked], but invested [clothed], that the mortal may be absorbed by LIFE. Now He Who has produced this for this same thing is that God Who has given to us the pledge of the Spirit.
Therefore, being always confident, and knowing that being at home in the body [our body, in the flesh] we are from home [our real home, our immortal home], away from the Lord; for we are walking by Faith, not by sight [‘Blessed are they that have NOT seen, and yet have believed’ John 20:29] But we are confident, and well-pleased rather to be separated from the body, and TO BE [not instantly, but at a future time] at home [with our new spiritual bodies like Christ’s] with the Lord" (II Cor. 5:1-8, Emphatic Diaglott).
Yes, Paul knew that once he died the next waking moment would be in resurrection with a new body (I Cor. 15:49), and although it would happen in an instant (from this life to the next life without missing a heart beat), in the twinkling of an eye (less than a second), nonetheless, it would have to wait until "the LAST TRUMP’ (I Cor. 15:51). But to Paul from his perspective, it would only be but a moment in time, seeing that, "the living KNOWS that they shall die, but the dead KNOW NOT ANYTHING."
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that SLEPT" (I Cor. 15:20).
Soon we too shall be like Him and see our Creator as He is:
"Beloved now are we the sons of God, but it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall BE LIKE HIM; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as HE is pure" (I John 3:2-3)
Make no mistake: death is an enemy, but it is "being ABOLISHED" (I Cor. 15:26) by the One who has already had victory over it. And although we will never experience being dead, we certainly experience the loss of our loved ones who have died, and they will experience loss when we die.
So take courage: If you are reading this little article then you are alive, and that is all you will EVER KNOW… LIFE!
Those who preach immortality of the soul
1 Samuel 28:8-15 “The witch of Endor and Samuel”
Problem:
This passage is used by the spiritualists to give scriptural support to their idea that living people can communicate with the souls of the “departed”
Solution:
1
This passage provides evidence for neither “heaven going” nor “immortal soulism”.
a. Samuel (a righteous man) came “up” out of the earth, not down from heaven. (vs. 15).
b. The witch saw an old man not an intangible soul. (vs. 14)
c. Samuel said, “why hast thou disquieted me…?” this indicates that he was not enjoying the bliss of heaven but rather the sleep of death. ( job 3:17; Eccl 9:5,10; Jn. 11. vs. 11, 24, 25, 44)
2
Some have suggested that this passage in Samuel is really a fake scene. The following evidence is usually given:
a. The king saw nothing.
b. The witch said that she saw an old man with a mantle (vs.14).this was an ambiguous description. Was Samuel the only old man to wear a mantle?
c. Samuel was buried at Ramah not Endor. (1 Sam. 25:1).
d. This explanation however seemingly plausible , cannot be accepted because of its inability to explain the predictions made by Samuel, vs. 19.
3
A more convincing explanation to the events in this chapter is the following:
a. God raised Samuel for the occasion in order to rebuke fool according to his folly.
b. This accounts for the precise predictions of verses 15-19, as well as the surprise of the witch (when “she cried with a loud voice”, vs. 12.) when suddenly confronted by an unexpected Samuel.
4
Two objections to this explanation must be considered:
a. Would God raise Samuel in these circumstances after instructing Israel: “regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them, I am the lord your god”? (Lev. 19:31). God could have used this as he did the lying prophet bethel. (1 kings 13). In so doing, it no more implies sanction to the witch’s activities than it does to Beelzebub in Jesus’ allusion (matt. 12:27) or to belief of the Pharisees in Luke 16:19-31
b. Samuel was buried at Ramah, not at Endor where the resurrection would have taken place. The rejoinder to this reassembling Samuel in Endor than to transport Philip from the Gaza road to Azotus. (Acts 9:39-40).
Genesis 35:18 “And it came to pass, as her soul was departing, (for she died).”
Problem:
It is argued from this passage that at death the soul departs. Since it must depart to somewhere the somewhere is said to be either heaven or hell.
Solution:
1
To say that the souls of dying persons depart is to say nothing about whether or not the soul is immortal or where if any place it might depart.
2
In everyday speech it is appropriate to say “x lost the sight in his right eye” of “x lost his hearing after the accident.” To use these expressions is not to imply that the eyesight was removed to another location or that the hearing departed to another abode. Likewise, “her soul was departing” does not imply that the soul went to heaven, hell or anywhere else. The expression is synonymous with “her life was ebbing”.
3
The Hebrew word, “nephesh” rendered “soul” in this passage is translated “life” in one hundred other passages, e.g. ex. 4:19 21:23; 21:30.
1 kings 17:21 “and he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried until the lord, and said, o lord my god, I pray thee let this child’s SOUL come into him again.”
Problem
Only the hard pressed resort to this passage to prove the immortality of the soul. It is argued that when the child’s soul left him, his immortal entity departed to heaven.
Solution:
1
The passage neither states nor implies that the soul described is immortal or that it would depart to heaven. Such views must be read into this passage. They are assumptions for which this passage offers no support.
2
The personal pronoun “him” describes the lifeless body. If the real child was the immortal soul tabernacling in a mortal, earthly body, then the pronoun should have been descriptive of the soul and (as it is) of the body.
3
It was not the child that had departed. Neither was it the child which returned. The child was dead. He died when life was lost, he became living when life was restored. The Hebrew word, “nephesh” translated “soul” in this passage is translated “life” in Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11; Deut. 12:23.
4
If, as some argue, that the soul of the child went immediately to bliss in heaven, would it not have been better for the prophet to have left the soul of the child to enjoy the bliss in heaven rather than to recall it to the travail of earthly life, and possible later consignment to the fires of hell?
Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Problem:
This passage is cited by Pentecostals and evangelicals as the foundation proof that man is really and indestructible soul clothed with an earthly body.
Solution:
1
“Rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell” is proof that the soul is destructible and therefore, not immortal.
2
Since both soul and body can be destroyed in hell (“Gahanna” – the garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem), this indicates that the soul is as destructible as the body since both can be destroyed in the same place. Is this what the immortal soulist wants from this passage?
3
What is meant by “not able to kill the soul”? Simply, “fear not (for an instant) them which kill the body, but are not able to destroy you utterly and finally.” For the disciple, his life is “hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3-4) and although men may kill the body, in the resurrection this life will be given back to the body
4
The Greek word, ”psuche” translated “soul” in this verse has the meaning of “life” in matt. 16:25,”psuche” is translated “life”: “for whosoever shall save his life “psuche” shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life “psuche” for my sake shall find it. “(in the R.S.V “psuche” is translated “life” in vs. 26: “for what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life.”) The similarity of context suggests that “life” in matt. 10:28 should be read for “soul”.
Acts 7:59-60 “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon god, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice; lord laid not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Problem:
It is frequently understood from this passage that Stephen expected Jesus Christ to immediately receive his “immortal soul” in heaven.
Solution:
1
If the real Stephen was the spirit, what is the “he” of verse 60 which “fell asleep”? The personal pronouns are associated with the body, not with something inside the body. This use of the pronouns is fatal to the idea the real Stephen was an immortal essence within the body.
2
“Sleep” is a scriptural expression describing the unconsciousness of death and implying the waking at the resurrection day. For this there is unimpeachable evidence in John 11: vs. 11, 14, 24. Dan. 12:2 1 Cor. 15:6, 18. The fact that Stephen fell asleep indicates he did not immediately go to his reward. (See 1 Thess 4:13-16)
3
One could handle the problem of what Stephen meant by the expression “Lord Jesus Christ receive my spirit” by taking the following approach;
a. Show scripturally when the righteous (and hence Stephen) will receive the reward, e.g., that the “spirit” is not the
b. Indicate part of man, but the life power which god gives. (Jn.34:14, 15; Gen. 7:21, 22, -- “the breath of the spirit of life”).
c. Then finally show that Stephen had the confidence that as god sent forth his spirit and raised Jesus, likewise he would be raised. In the death state Stephen’s life would be “hid with Christ”, and when Christ appears the second time, Then Stephen would appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:3, 4).
4
Jesus uttered similar words to those of Stephen, “father, into they hands I commend my spirit”. (Luke 23:46). But Christ went to hell (GRAVE), not heaven (acts 2:27; john 20:17 – “I am not yet ascended to my father”).
1 Peter 3:19 “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison”
Problem:
This passage if frequently cited by Mormons and evangelicals to prove the conscious existence of the dead “disembodied spirits”. It is alleged that when Jesus died, he preached to these spirits in prison.
Solution:
1
How can the “spirit” go back to god who gave it, (Eccl. 12:7) and yet be imprisoned in Hades?
2
The word “spirits” never signifies disembodied persons in scriptures. Even angels who are called “spirits”, (Heb. 1:7) are bodily beings. Lot called them “men”, (Gen. 19:1, 8) and Jacob wrestled with one of them. (Gen. 32:24). Similarly, the apostle john admonishes believers to “try the spirits”, (1 John 4:1) but the same verse identifies the spirits when false prophets.
3
“Spirits in prison” is an expression for a person in bondage to sin and death. Prison has the association in the following passages:
a. “I the lord have called thee [Christ] … to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” (Isa. 42:6, 7).
b. “The spirit of the lord god is upon me; because the lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and the opening of prison to them that are bound.” (Isa. 61:1).
c. See also Eph. 2:1,2 – prior to becoming believers, Paul told the Ephesians “and you hath he quickened , who were dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
4
The Mormon and evangelical interpretations of this passage are shown to be false since they both require an opportunity for dead persons to respond to instruction. Scripture is clear: “it is appointed unto men to once to die, but after this judgment.” (Heb 9:27); “They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. “Isaiah 38:18: “The dead know not anything”. (Eccl. 9:5). The “dead” in 1 Pet. 4:6 were alive when preached to by Noah, but dead at the time of Peter’s writing.
5
The Spirits in prison proves too much for the Mormons. Mormons practice proxy baptism only for relatives who die in ignorance of the gospel. The Spirits in prison however were not ignorant, but disobedient, condemned by the preaching of Noah. (1 Peter 3:19, 20. 2 Peter 2:5; Heb 11:7). Why was Christ mission confined to those disobedient in the days of Noah (who had a preacher-Noah) at the expense of all the ignorant who died before and after the time of Noah?
6
Peter by inspiration draws a figure, he says the like figure where unto even baptism doth also now save us…’’(1 Peter 3:21) the whole human race stands as a community of prisoners condemned to death on account of sin. Even while awiting the inexorable judicial sentence they are “all their life-time subject to bondage”. (Heb. 2:15). The way of escape from this prison is by baptism into jesus Christ, the anti –typical ark. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Gal.3:27).
Revelation 6:9 “and when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held”
Problem:
This passage is quoted to support the teaching of evangelicals that souls of the dead depart to heaven
Solution:
1
It is generally thought souls that go to heaven enjoy a state of bliss, but this passage speaks of souls crying “with a loud voice!. (Vs. 10)
2
Instead of this message supporting the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the context shows the passage to be directly opposed to it. The souls are given white robes. (Vs.11) can immaterial souls be clothed?
3
The souls in the text are under the alter. Is this where immortal souls are said to reside?
4
It is a principle in scripture that “the life of the flesh (soul, ‘nephesh’) is in the blood”. (Lev. 17:11).by personification, a slain person is said to “cry” or “speak”. (Gen 4:10, Heb. 12:24), The revelation contains over 500 references to the Old Testament, and in this text the allusion is to be the blood of the burnt offering which was poured at the base of the brazen alter. (Lev.4:7). The passage, therefore, refers to the lives of martyrs given as a testimony to their faith.( Paul makes a similar allusion:” for I am already on the point of being sacrificed[‘ poured out’ the time of my departure has come” (2 Tim 4:6 R.S.V)
ABSURDITIES TO CONSIDER
5
Believers in the concept of an immortal soul should consider some ‘’difficulties’’ that exist if in fact all men have immortal souls: when exactly did these immortal souls came into existence. Does an unborn baby have an immortal soul? Does a fetus have immortal souls? Does a fertilized egg at conception have an immortal soul? If so, what do these immortal souls look like if the unborn baby dies in the womb? Does the soul of the stillborn baby instantly gain full adulthood in appearance when they reach heaven? (Or hell).?
Where will they have gain the powers of knowledge to speak and the powers of memory and reason? What does instantly elevating a dead baby into the presence of Jesus Christ in heaven do to the core doctrines of the Christian faith, such as,
‘’without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him’’ (Hebrews 11:6)
‘’ if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes, resulting into righteousness, and with the month he confesses, resulting in Salvation’’ (Romans 10:10)
6
If an immortal soul comes to an existence at the moment an egg is fertilized in the mother’s womb, then that will mean that our immortal soul at one point did not exist. If this be true then why is it inconceivable that this immortal soul could not once more cease from existing? In other words if our soul at one time did not exist, why cannot that state of non-existence repeat itself?
7
If immortal souls have bodies-fingers, toes, eyes. Etc based upon Luke 16 and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, then what use is there for a resurrected body. If the soul has a physical appearance with human appendages, then the body rotting in the grave is of no further use, and reuniting the immortal soul with its resurrected body at a future date would be useless. William Tyndale, who first translated the bible into English made the point:
8
‘’and ye, in putting them (the dead) in heaven, hell and purgatory, destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection… if the souls be in heaven. Tell me why they be not in as good a case as the angels be, and then what cause is there of a resurrection, the true faith puteth forth the resurrection. Which we are warned to look for every hour, the heathen philosophers denying that did put that the souls did ever live. And the pope joined the spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshly doctrine of philosophers together, they cannot agree because they are contrary to each other, but because the pope consented to heathen doctrine. He corrupted the scripture to establish it’’ lets read what Paul said at 1 Cor. 15:13-18
9
The belief that the righteous and the wicked go to their reward in heaven or hell not only destroys the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, but it also destroys the core doctrine of the necessity of Jesus’ death. If Abraham and Lazarus and all the ancient faithful were rewarded for their lives of righteousness before Jesus was born, then why did Jesus have to die in the first place? PLEASE READ MY LETTER ON LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN IT ADDS MORE IN DETAILED
HOW WOULD THE CHURCH EXPLAIN THIS
Revelation 20:13 15: and the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
What Purpose Is The Final Judgment If All Men And Their So Called Immortal Souls Are Judged Immediately Upon Death? (All Pentecostals, Apostolic and the Charismatic churches preach this bogus theology - likewise the Catholics). “Nkwaseasem”, nonsense!
What Sense Is in Calling Back The Dead From “Hell” [grave]? If The Damned Are Sent To A Fiery Eternal Torment When They Die Then What Is The Logic Of Judging Them A Second Time At The Final Judgment? …“Nkwaseasem”, nonsense!
Will There Be New Evidence That Will Exonerate Some Of The Damned So That A New Final Verdict Will Move Them From Hell To Heaven? Will New Witnesses Come Forward To Testify That Some Of The Wicked Were In Fact Righteous And That They Were Assigned To The Fiery Torment In Error? If Not Then What Purpose Does It Serve To Raise The Dead? Is Not Their Future Fate The Same As The One They Were Experiencing Prior To The Final Judgment? THAT IS A BOGUS TEACHING-UNBELIEVABLE.
And the lord god formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
From this we learn that man’s basic element is dust and this is what compromises his body. This body is lifeless without the breath of life which is given from god. It is this which animated the body and makes it into a living soul genesis puts forth the simple equation:
DUST + BREATH OF LIFE = A LIVING SOUL
DUST
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.
And Abraham answered and said behold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the lord which am but dust and ashes.
Remember I beseech thee that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt thou bring me into dust again? It is important to keep in mind that our bodies are made of dust and that they return to dust when we die it should change our whole attitude before god because he is our maker. He has formed us and given us life and he can take it away. God is the only source we can look to for life and immortality 1Timothy 6:16.
BREATH OF LIFE
The Hebrew words for breath of life are nashema chay which is also termed the spirit or rauch of God (see Genesis 7:15, 22). The breath or spirit of life is what gives life and therefore we find that when the scriptures speak of death it is when the breath OR spirit of God it taken away.
Job 34:14-15 “if he set his heart upon man, if he gathers unto himself his spirit (rauch) and his breath (neshema); all flesh shall perish together and man shall turn again unto dust
Psalms 104:29” thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath (rauch) they die and return to their dust.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit (rauch) shall return unto god who gave it.
LIVING SOUL
The Hebrew word for living soul is nephesh chay and interestingly enough the first usage of the word is applied to animals in Genesis 1:20-21, and god said let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life (chay). And fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven and god created great whales and every living creature (nephesh chay) that moveth which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind and every winged fowl after his kind: and god saw that it was good.
It is also used that way in Genesis 1:27 and 2:19. These verses tell us that both man and beast have something in common which is the breath or spirit which makes them a living soul. Once we know this then the verse in
Ecclesiastes 3:18-20 becomes quite clear, I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men that god might manifest them and that they might see THAT THEY THEMSELVES ARE BEASTS. For that which befalleth them: as the one dieth so dieth the other yea THEY HAVE ALL ONE BREATH (RAUCH) so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. ALL GO UNTO ONE PLACE; ALL ARE OF THE DUST, AND ALL TURN TO DUST AGAIN.
This is very plain. Physically man is not above the beast. They are both made of the dust they have the same type of Breath or spirit which is given by God and they are all living souls but when god withdraws his breath they both return to the dust.
One thing is different though between man and beast. Man is the only one to have been made in the image and likeness of the Elohim (Gen 1:27).
This gives him the ability to be partaker in the promises of god and to attain unto eternal life which is the gift of God. For proof of this compare Psalm 49:20 and 2 Peter 1: 3-4 and it is seen that the knowledge of God and his ways is what distinguishes us from the beasts. In summary we have seen that the word living soul is used both of man and of beast and could be described in the following way,
NEPHESH – A body made of dust that is animated by the breath or spirit of GOD. This breath makes it alive and thus it is nephesh chay or a living soul. Without this breath the soul, body and life is dead (Ezekiel 18:4) and the body returns back to dust.
WE ARE A SOUL, WE DON’T HAVE A SOUL
This is not an abstract mathematics nor a rocket science!!
Please read my letter on Lazarus and the rich man to have a better understanding,
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