Do you have an Immortal Soul?
Do you have a
soul? Are you a soul? Is there something about you that is immortal that
will never die? If so, when, and how did that "soul" get into your body? Was
it imparted to you at the moment of conception? Did it come into your body at
some time during your fetal development? Were you given an "immortal soul" at
the moment you took your first breath, shortly after birth?
If you have a "soul" can you touch it, taste it, feel it, hear
it, or smell it? Can you take it out and look at it? Can you see the
"souls" of others? Are You, you the real person, the innermost, private,
human being with all of your thoughts, inclinations, perceptions, concepts and
beliefs, hidden longings, doubts and fears, beliefs and convictions, sensory
perceptions and feelings, going to SURVIVE this human flesh, and live
forever?
According to the so-called "Christian" religions the real PERSON is
dwelling within the temporal body. The body is seen as a temporary suit
of clothes. The real person dwells within that temporary suit of clothes;
and at the time of death, the now useless "suit of clothes" (the body) is
discarded, buried in the ground or cremated, while the real person wafts
away either to heaven or to ever-burning hell fire! (In the Catholic
tradition, there are allegedly various intermediary stages called "purgatory.")
How can you KNOW, one way or the others What is your ultimate
authority for determining the truth on any subject which has to do
with life and death, judgment, and the hereafter?
For the purposes of this article, the absolute, final and divine
AUTHORITY is the Bible, the inspired, written Word of God, as it appears in its
earliest manuscripts, and in its original languages! If your "authority" for your beliefs is myth, superstition,
fables, stories of alleged death-bed visions or conversations with "departed
souls"; if your "authority" is mysticism, oriental religions, heathen
superstitions or esoterica, then you should read no further—for this article
accepts as the only and FINAL authority on the subject of the so-called
"immortality of the Soul" THE BIBLE, the written Word of God!
WHY, then, if so many hundreds of millions of human beings in so
many nations are absolutely convinced they possess an immortal soul are
the words "immortal soul" FOUND NOWHERE in Scripture?
What
Is Man?
Obviously, the
question concerning whether you have an "immortal soul" is really the question,
what are you? To atheists and evolutionists, man is merely a "hairless ape."
God-rejecting atheists view man as the end result of aeons of blind chance; the
final outcome of millennia of randomness; "natural selection," and the "survival
of the fittest. " Of course, those who reject the word of God are cultists;
they have a blind FAITH in the theories of the evolutionary "fathers, " and
nothing is more UNscientific than the theory of evolution!
Those who believe in creation—who know and understand that life
can only come from preexisting life, and preexisting life of the same kind,
who understand that laws can only come from a great lawgiver; that
perfection, symmetry, interdependency and fabulous design can only come
from a Supreme Designer—know better. They know that the human family began with one man, and that a wife,
miraculously taken from his own body and as much a unique and original creation
as was Adam himself, formed the first family.
In any event, even if for the sake of argument alone, those who profess
the Christian religion and believe in the inspiration of the Bible must
explain what is man from the perspective of the creation
account revealed in the Bible!
When God created our first parent He said, "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! "(Genesis 3:19). God was talking to Adam. He was talking to the conscious
man! He did not tell Adam that only his body was composed of
the elements of the earth; but that "Adam" was really a "soul" locked within a
temporal, physical body! No, He said Adam WAS "red clay" or, "red mud" (for that
is the real meaning of the Hebrew word translated "dust").
Notice! "And the Eternal God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man BECAME A
LIVING SOUL!"(Genesis 2:7). Remember, the Bible was not written in the English language. Mostly, the
Bible was written in Greek and Hebrew; Hebrew being used predominately in the
Old Testament, and Greek in the New. There was no such word in existence at the time the Bible was written as
"soul. " It is an English word, with an almost exclusively ecclesiastical
connotation!
Actually, as you will see, the English word "soul" should be virtually
expunged from the English language, and replaced with many possible
synonyms which connote the real meaning of the Hebrew word
nephesh. For the Hebrew word nephesh is the word from which the English
word "soul" is translated!
Naturally, then, our quest for knowledge and understanding centers
around the meaning of the word nephesh! What is the meaning, then, of the HEBREW word
nephesh?
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance says, "(5315) nephesh; a
breathing creature, i.e. animal or (abstr.) vitality: used very widely
in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental); appetite,
beast, body, breath, creature, dead, desire, contented, fish, ghost, greedy, he,
heart, (jeopardy of life; in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own,
person, pleasure, (her, him, my, thy) self, them (your) selves, slay, soul,
tablet, they, thing, will, would have it."
What a list! You see, the Hebrew word nephesh has to do
with "being"! As such, it has a wide usage, concerning the
physical, animal, breathing LIFE of flesh and blood creatures! Notice
that it can be translated "dead" or even "beast" or "creature" as well as
"lust," "mortally," or "person."
Did you know that the Hebrew word nephesh is used several
times of lower life forms PRIOR to ever being used concerning man
in the Bible?
Notice Genesis 1:20 where nephesh is rendered, "moving
creature," verse 21 where the same word is rendered, "living creature," verse 24
where nephesh is rendered, "living creature; and beast, " verse 25
where it is rendered "beast," referring to whales, fish, crustaceans and lower
life forms inhabiting the sea!
In this graphic description of the creation of all of the animals and
sea-dwelling creatures, the word nephesh is used again and
again! Naturally even the superstitious translators who were heavily
affected by Roman Catholic and Anglican doctrines in the sixteen hundreds did
not dare render the word nephesh as "soul" in these
passages!
Now, turn to and read Numbers 19:11: "He that toucheth the dead body
of any man shall be unclean seven days. " In this scripture, the laws of
purification under the Levites are discussed. A person would be considered
"unclean" if he touched the decaying corpse or body of an animal or another man!
Notice verse 22. "And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be
unclean; and the soul [nephesh!] that toucheth it shall be unclean
until even. " The very same word rendered "soul" in verse 22 (which should be
translated "individual," or "person") is rendered "DEAD BODY" in verse
11! Get it into your mind; firmly fixed once and for all! The SAME WORD
which is translated "soul" in literally dozens of places in the Old
Testament is here translated "dead body"!
Now turn to and read Ezekiel 18, verses 4 and 20. "Behold, all souls [nephesh]
are mine; as the soul [nephesh] of the father, so also the soul [nephesh]
of the son is mine: the soul. [nephesh] that sinneth IT [that 'soul' or
nepheshq shall DIE! " Here, it would be far clearer if the English were
rendered "Behold all persons are mine; as the person of the father, so
the person of the son; the individual that sins HE shall die!"
The thrust of the scripture is individual, personal responsibility
before God! What God is saying through Ezekiel is that no one can render excuses
for sin; that we cannot "pass the buck" by pointing to others as a causal factor
of our sins!
This scripture is not given as a lesson in whether or not souls are
"immortal" or mortal; yet, because the scripture very plainly says that "the
soul that sinneth, IT SHALL DIE, " it represents a further,
powerfully conclusive PROOF that the Hebrew word for "soul" (nephesh)
means physical, mortal, temporal life, and has nothing whatsoever to do with
immortality!
So, ask yourself "does the Bible say, whatever the Bible means
by the word 'soul,' that souls can DIE?" Your obvious answer is YES!
Then, with your own eyes, you are beholding the absolute proof
that the word translated into English "soul" has nothing whatsoever to do
with immortality or spirituality; but has to do with physical, carnal,
flesh-and-blood human and animal existence!
The word nephesh is found in 243 different Bible passages, and
translated in 11 different ways. Notice that the expression "the dead" is
translated directly from the Hebrew word nephesh in the following passages:
Leviticus 19:22; 21:1, 22:4; Numbers 5:2; Numbers 6:11.
The same word (nephesh) which is translated "soul" in most
cases is rendered "dead body" in Numbers 9:6, 7, 10.
It is translated as "body" in Leviticus 21:U, Numbers 6:6; 19:11, 13,
and also in Haggai 2:1, 3.
What
About the New Testament?
The Greek word
psuche is the only word that is translated "soul" in the New
Testament. You will find the word 105 times in the New Testament, of
which it is translated "soul" only 58 times, but can also be rendered "life" (40
times), "mind" (three times), and "heart," "heartily," "us" and "you" (one time
each).
The Greek word psuche is the exact Greek rendering
of the Hebrew word nephesh and is used in the same way throughout the New
Testament.
For example, psuche is used of the lower animals,
just as you have seen nephesh used of lower life forms in the first
chapter of the book of Genesis! In Revelation 8:9, the Greek word psuche
(remember this is the ONLY word which is ever used for the word "soul" in the
English language) is rendered "life. " Notice also Revelation 16:3, where lower
life forms are spoken of, yet the word "soul" is used. Read that last scripture
carefully! It describes one of the horrible plagues yet to fall upon the land
and the sea, and says "every living soul DIED"! Here is one more New
Testament proof that the word "soul" as it found its way into the English
language means a being, or living thing, which can DIE! In this case, it is
used of various forms of life (of which there are thousands) in the sea!
Oftentimes, many pilots calling in their flight plans would say they had so many
"souls" on board, using the word interchangeably for individuals, or persons.
When a newspaper headline speaks of so many "souls" being lost in the
sinking of a ship, it is using the word in much the same way as it occurs 14
different times in the Bible! For proof, read Acts 2:41-43; 3:23; 7:14; 27:37;
Romans 2:9; 13: 1; I Corinthians 15:45; James 5:20; I Peter 3:20; II Peter 2:14;
Revelation 6:9; 18:13; 20:4.
In those passages, the Greek word psuche is used for the
life of man, which can be destroyed, or lost. A classic example of where the translators have tampered with
the English in translating from the Greek is found in Matthew
16:25 and 26.
Notice the way it is rendered in the King James Version: "For
whosoever will save his life [psuche] shall lose it; and whosoever will
lose his life [psuche] for my sake shall find it.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul [psuche]? or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul [psuche]?"
Obviously, since the identical Greek word is used in both
passages; and since it is rendered differently in verse 26 (soul) from
the way it is used in verse 25 (life), it was a translator's decision
as to changing the way he rendered this Greek word psuche in
the two verses!
To be honest, and to be fair with the word, it
should have been rendered the same in both passages! Here, it is obvious
the word should better be rendered "life, " just as it was
rendered in verse 25! For, after all, it is your life you can
lose—and what can you give in exchange for your LIFE?
The point is, the Greek word psuche is capable of nearly
as many applications as is the Hebrew word nephesh, and can even be used
of man's moods, passions and feelings!
The word psuche, for example, is translated "mind," "us,"
"you" "heart" and "heartily."
By no stretch of the imagination can this Greek word EVER connote
anything which is immortal, or "extraphysical, " in the sense of being
spiritual. The English word "soul" in the Old Testament is always taken from
the Hebrew nephesh and does NOT mean anything immortal; just as the
English word "soul" in the New Testament is taken from the Greek word psuche,
and only means mortal, temporal, human physical MAN, who is subject
to death.
What
Happens at Death?
It is clear from
both the Hebrew and the Greek, the original languages of
the Bible, that man dies in exactly the same fashion as does a beast.
"For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing
befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all
one breath; 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!" (Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20).
Notice how the inspired Bible writers described the condition
of death: Job wrote, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full
of trouble.
"He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: He fleeth—also
as a shadow, and continueth not" (Job 14:1, 2).
In the same chapter, Job said, "So man lieth down, and riseth
not: TILL the heavens be no more, [obviously, reference to the resurrection
and the 'new heavens and new earth'] they shall not awake, nor be raised out
of their sleep.
"Oh that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou
wouldest keep me in secret, until thy wrath be passed, that thou wouldest
appoint me a set time, and remember me!
"If a man die shall he live again? All the days of my appointed
time will I wait, till my change come! [Obvious reference to the
change at the resurrection; I Corinthians 15:50-52.]
"Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou will have a desire
to the work of thine hands!" (Job 14:12-15).
God inspired David to write a great deal about the subject of life and death. David said, "Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish ... like sheep they are laid in the grave [sheol] death shall feed upon them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave [sheol] from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul [Hebrew nephesh—meaning LIFE!] from the power of the grave [notice the grave has POWER over the kind of 'life' connoted by the Hebrew word nephesh]: For He shall receive me. "Man that is in honor. and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish!" (Psalm 49:12-20).
Because Almighty God reveals we human beings—the creation of His
hands—are His children, and that we will be resurrected FROM THE
DEAD, He inspired David to write, "Precious in the sight of the Eternal is the
death of His saints! " (Psalms 116:15).
There are many examples in the Bible about what happens at
death!
There is NO case in the Bible where the words "immortal soul"
appear! There is a "spirit in man" mentioned in the Bible, which is a
very profound subject, and which would demand an entire booklet to thoroughly
explain. In brief, the "spirit in man" (mentioned by Job and the apostle Paul
who talked of how God's Holy Spirit "witnesseth with our spirit" that we
are the children of God) is that spiritual essence which lifts the mind
of man to a level far above the mere brain of animals!
The Bible clearly reveals that Almighty God is begetting
CHILDREN!
Even as human beings are not reproduced without life begetting
life; male life uniting with female life; so Almighty God reveals
that His Holy Spirit does not unite with mere flesh; but that there is a
"spirit in man," very likely in the frontal lobes of the brain (which is why the
"forehead" is mentioned so often) where our will power; our volition,
decision-making capacity and our personality exists!
When the Bible speaks, metaphorically, of "the heart" it is speaking
of that portion of our human mind wherein our attitude; our CHARACTER
resides! Recent scientific knowledge has revealed that the human brain is
divided into many different parts. Some portions of the brain control such
things as our coordination, equilibrium; our physical and athletic ability;
other portions deal with our sensory perceptions such as the central nervous
system, the eye, etc. Other portions deal with the memory, and the frontal
lobes, behind the forehead of the human brain control the
DECISION-MAKING part of the brain.
Perhaps there is greater meaning in the symbolism of those who
receive the "mark of the beast" in their foreheads (meaning willingly;
with their own permission, acceptance and volition!) when one understands this
simple truth!
But this "spirit in man" is not "immortal"! God's Word
says clearly God ONLY hath immortality! Man is revealed as being temporal,
fleshly, carnal, physical—of the dust! He is said to perish and
waste away! Yet, think about it deeply for a moment. Even as the pattern for
all that you are was in a tiny, microscopic germ of life from your father,
uniting with an egg of life from your mother; even as the "pattern" which was to
determine your basic appearance, height, shape, color of eyes and hair, texture
of skin, talents and abilities, was all miraculously contained in that
microscopic bit of life, so Almighty God is building in our Christian lives a
pattern, through the power of His Holy Spirit which can beget a "new
creation in Christ" when in connection with the spirit in man!
Even as your human father stamped you with his identity—gave you
his NAME—so our heavenly Father is putting His own identity, His name, and His
personality within His children.
The false doctrine of the "immortality of the soul" CONCEALS
THIS GREAT TRUTH !
If God is allowing you to understand deeper truths of His Word
through this article then to Almighty God goes the credit! If God is
revealing deeper truths to you, you should now turn to Romans the eighth chapter
and read with greater understanding than ever before the entire chapter!
Particularly, as you study this important chapter, read verse 29! "For whom He
did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son,
that He [Jesus Christ!] might be the FIRSTBORN among MANY BRETHREN! "Yes, even
as Jesus Christ was the first begotten among all human kind; He was also
the first BORN from the dead! How plain! How simple!
The greatest phenomenon we see around us is that of LIFE! We see
the miraculous fact that life comes from preexisting life of the same
kind; that life has die basic urge to perpetuate itself; that He produces like,
kind reproduces after kind, and that we human beings, through love in marriage,
reproduce after our own kind!
Almighty God is reproducing after His kind!