In Christian circles today there is a general belief in the immortality of the soul and that when one dies the soul goes directly to heaven. Is that true? Is the soul immortal? Listen to what the prophet Ezekiel said in chapter 18:4 “The soul that saneth it shall die.” So apparently, according to the Bible, the soul is mortal not immortal. In order to understand the truth about the soul of man we need to turn to the scriptures to see what a soul is.
Genesis 2:7 The body plus the spirit equals the soul a living being…a person
Ecclesiastes 12: 7 Now what happens when we die ? the spirit returns to God who gave it…not the soul
Genesis 3:19 when we die we return to the dust from which we were created
1 Timothy 6:13 to 16 Only God is immortal we are mortals…souls that die
The soul is mentioned over 1600 times in the Bible. Not once is the word immortal used in connection with the soul. Death is defined as a sleep 53 times in the Bible!
Genesis 3 4 the first lie on the planet delivered by the Serpent… “you shall not surely die”… Ezekiel 18:4
Genesis 3:22 eternal life in Eden was conditional… it depended on eating from the tree of life that’s also true in the earth made new as noted in Revelation 22… the presence of the tree of life testifies to the fact that immortality is conditional!
Revelation 22:2 Again, the presence of the tree of life there in the new Earth tells us that our immortality or eternal life is conditional …to live forever we must eat of the tree of life…monthly!
Psalm 115: 17 this verse contradicts the notion that “Absent from the body and present with the Lord” means that the righteous go immediately to heaven when they die! We go down into the grave not up when we die and the dead do not praise the Lord!
John 14:3 says “I will come again and receive you onto myself that where I am there you may be also” proving that when we die we are not received into the presence of Christ until he comes again the second time!
John 5:25, 28-29 Jesus says plainly that the dead are in their graves not in heaven, and that it is at His second coming that the righteous receive the gift of eternal life…. Not when they die.
Daniel 12:2 The Saints who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken to everlasting life!
Daniel 12:13 here Daniel is told that he will receive his reward at the end of time
Ecclesiastes 9:5,10 the dead do not know anything… their thoughts perish at death
Acts 7 57-60 Stephen the martyr gives up his spirit and he fell asleep!!
John 11:11 Jesus refers to death as a sleep… “Lazarus is sleeping but I go to awake him out of sleep”
Luke 23: 46 Jesus dies and says “Father receive my spirit”… not my soul
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Paul refers to the dead as asleep in Jesus and rising from the grave to meet him when he comes… In the air.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 The dead come to life at the last trumpet and are changed…given a new body.
1 Corinthians 15:22 to 23 Paul declares that we will be resurrected at the coming of Christ, not before
Psalm 146: 4 David declares that when we die we return to the earth and our thoughts perish
Deuteronomy 1810 to 12 forbids necromancy or attempts to communicate with the dead. But Roman Catholicism encourages prayers to the dead saints and the worship of Mary who is dead. In fact , most Cathedrals are built on Pagan grave sites!
Isaiah 3818 when we die we go down into the pit and we are not conscious
Luke 23 43 be careful where you place the comma before or after “today”! Remember that when Mary greeted Jesus on that resurrection morning he said to her “Do not touch me for I have not yet ascended to my father”
John 20 17 On the Resurrection Day Jesus declared: “I have not ascended yet onto my father” Which means that the thief on the cross could not have gone to heaven with Jesus on the day that he died.
Isaiah 26:18 the grave will cast out the dead…at the resurrection of the dead
Ezekiel 33:11 God says: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked”… so there is no eternally burning hell!
Psalm 37:20 the wicked shall consume away… burned up… cease to exist
Malachi 4 1, 3 the wicked shall be left neither root nor branch… Burned up completely … ashes under your feet
Ezekiel 28: 18, 19 Satan himself is reduced to ashes and will not exist anymore.
This puts to rest the sick Babylonian doctrine of eternal torment. Even Satan will not be tormented forever but will be ashes according to the word of the Lord!
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