The “immortal soul” of man is truly one of the worst misconceptions. It cannot be emphasized enough that such a “separate” soul does not exist. This is a “traditional belief” that the Church of Rome picked up from the Hellenists and adopted as its own doctrine. Man himself is a creature of God, “ensouled,” but not endowed with an inherent life. This is merely bestowed.
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Who is immortal?
Only God is immortal because He has life within Himself. Therefore, Jesus Christ automatically has life within Himself, and can bestow it and take it away. Jesus Christ himself testified to this in John 5:21;26-27:
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”
“For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.“
In other words: The Creator alone has life in Himself, and NOT His creatures. God gives life, sustains it, and takes it away again. If man receives eternal life in redemption through the equally bestowed righteousness of Jesus Christ, it is not because man has life in himself, but because he was given life and, through his union with God, also retains it.
That only God is “immortality personified” is also testified to in 1 Timothy 6:14-16:
“That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.“
Does man have a soul or is this soul?
Humans do not have a soul that separates from the body after death and continues to live in whatever way. The living human being, imbued with the life-giving breath of God, IS the soul. The Bible tells us nothing else. Even the Roman Catholic Church knows this, as it explains itself in the “New Encyclopedia,” Vol. 13, starting on page 335. The Bible states that the living person IS the soul.
However, this does not seem to be accepted, as the Church of Rome chose the pagan or Hellenist (Aristotle) version of the “immortal soul” to include it as official teaching in the Catechism (Canon 366) (more information ).
Thus, the Roman Catholic Church itself declares that it does not use the Bible as the basis for its teachings, but rather the natural law of the ancient Greeks, which is also based on paganism. This is even highly official (Info).
Whether the believer accepts the mortal soul (dust + the life-breath of God) or not is completely irrelevant. The difference lies solely in whether one believes the Bible or the pagans. It doesn’t help if the belief in an “immortal soul” has been present in the church for more than 1,700 years. Something that doesn’t exist doesn’t become reality. Unfortunately, the Protestant churches, more precisely, since the New Protestantism at the beginning of the 19th century, have simply adopted the myth of the “immortal soul.” Martin Luther, for example, believed in the sleep of the soul after earthly death, and thus he was in line with the Gospel.
Man IS the living soul, as in Genesis 2:7:
“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.“
Sure. Man became a living soul, not “man received the soul.”
A simple representation
An electrical device, no matter what it is, can be completely finished in its substance and technology. But it will do absolutely nothing unless it receives energy. There’s a lack of power. This happens when a battery is inserted. And the device immediately begins to function. At the same time, the battery is maintained by constant charging. If the battery is removed, however, the device suddenly goes silent.
The life-breath of God is this “battery,” the initial spark of life. Without it, nothing lives. God not only bestows life, but also sustains it (“recharge”). Likewise, God can also withdraw this life-breath from man. Death occurs.
Consciousness of the soul?
The soul, after death, either goes directly to hell or heaven, according to popular belief. The Catholic Church offers the further option of “purgatory.” However, this would require the existence of such a separate soul. This is not the case. Therefore, neither the deceased person nor a (fictitious) soul can experience anything consciously. Ecclesiastes 9:5-6;10:
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.“
This also puts an end to the widespread superstition that recently deceased people, in particular, could be roaming around in the walls of one’s former home. Often, after the death of a family member, the light is left on for several nights out of fear. But since there is no (separate) soul, one cannot appear anywhere (Job 7:9-10):
“As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.“
Psalm 115:17:
“The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.“
Do souls go somewhere after death?
If man has no soul, but the living man himself is the soul, then it is obvious that no separate soul can exist that continues a “life of its own” after death. Ecclesiastes 12:7 explains this:
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
Man, made from the dust of the earth and endowed with the life-giving breath of God (the spirit), will return to dust after his earthly death. God takes the life-giving breath back to himself, thus becoming the source of life.
With the first fall into sin, the paradisiacal life was over. From that moment on, hardships began to enter life. Not only for Adam and Eve and the following generations, but for the entire creation of this world. At the end of life, decay into dust comes into play again (Genesis 3:19):
“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.“
Thus, the lifeless body lies in the dust of the earth, awaiting the resurrection. Every human being will be resurrected. The difference, however, lies in the “purpose” (John 5:28-29):
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.“
Daniel 12:2:
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.“
Job 21:13:
“They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.”
The Hebrew word for the realm of the dead is “sheol,” and thus not a definitive place where anyone, anything, or anywhere resides, but simply the grave (more on sheol, hades, gehenna – Info)
Was King David ultimately considered saved, despite his ups and downs? Yes, not only that. He is even the forefather and a type of Jesus Christ. David died, and where has he been since then? Acts 2:21:
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.“
Apostle Peter knew this very well and quoted David’s statement, Acts 2:34:
“For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,“
David thus lies in his grave, waiting for his resurrection on the day of Jesus Christ’s return.
Eternal life after salvation
God’s promise is that every redeemed person will be free from suffering and death. This corresponds to eternal life, and that is what it is. However, life is not something that a person receives intrinsically; it is something that is permanently bestowed upon them. God will not take back His bestowed breath of life (“life energy”). In a simple analogy to a “battery,” God will insert this battery, lock the lid, and throw away the key. This life energy remains intact.
This will happen at the return of Jesus Christ. The living redeemed will be transformed in an instant (new, glorified bodies), and those who have already died will rise from their graves, also in new bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55:
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?“
1 Thessalonians 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 with the Lord.“
“Strictly speaking,” those already living who are considered worthy of receiving the righteousness of Jesus are considered eternally living. In their righteous conduct, these people are considered redeemed and thus endowed with eternal life. John 5:24:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.“
Conversely, Jesus Christ referred to the unbelievers or godless who have not passed through to life, Matthew 8:22:
“But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.“
What happens to the unredeemed?
As John 5:28-29 and Daniel 12:2 (see above) explain, even the unsaved will be resurrected. However, not to eternal life, but to receive their judgment. The justice of God also ensures that every condemner knows exactly why the judgment was passed on them. The wages of sin is death, as stated in Romans 6:23. This is the “second death” (Revelation 20:6;14, Revelation 21:8). The final and irrevocable annihilation of humanity, a return to non-existence, so to speak. Eternal death.
Obadiah 1:16:
“For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.“
The body becomes ashes, Isaiah 47:14:
“Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.“
Psalm 37:10:
“For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.“
Malachi 4:1:
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.“
Nahum 1:9-10:
“What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.”
Revelation 20:9:
“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.“
Ezekiel 18:20:
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.“
“Eternal punishment” has nothing to do with an eternally burning hell. The “consumption” of the condemned occurs once, only once (Revelation 20). The consequences last forever. “The one-time execution of the punishment, with eternally lasting consequences.”
Defense against the Holy Spirit to the point of hardening
The “immortal soul” is one of the roots that led to the most bizarre teachings. Once one understands that such a soul does not exist as an external, independent entity, further fantasy teachings automatically dissolve because they are recognized as such.
Unfortunately, however, people are inclined to cling to what they hold dear because it provides comfort and security, no matter how erroneous. Therefore, the myth of the “immortal soul” is sometimes defended tooth and nail, even in anger and rage. Unfortunately, this de facto practice of spiritualism opens the door for the adversary to unhinderedly wreak further damage on people’s religious life.
The hammering and knocking of the Holy Spirit for the sake of truth is resisted just as stubbornly as the actually clear statements of Scripture. At some point, the red line is crossed, the heart hardens, as was the case with Pharaoh, who refused to let Israel depart. The Holy Spirit departs, no longer knocks, and the person’s conscience and the “whispers” of faith are then at the mercy of the adversary. The train has thus left the station.
Self-deification
Since only God has life within Himself and therefore He alone has eternal life, since God is life itself and the giver of life, every human being who believes he possesses an immortal soul elevates himself to a separate divinity. The “indwelling divine spark,” as the Church of Rome expresses it, and thus also its arrogance. New Age philosophy, which speaks of the “cosmic energy of the universe” in this matter, also fits in well with this, finding a common denominator. The truly mortal soul is one of the key features of the Gospel, which distinguishes it from all pagan religions.
God takes no pleasure in the death of even one person. But that doesn’t mean that no one will perish. God’s justice will also grant justice to every single person.
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Ezekiel 18:32
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
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