 .:IS THE HUMAN SOUL AND SPIRIT IMMORTAL?
The Watchtower teaches that the soul
and spirit of a person constitutes the life-force of
the individual, and thus, the Society claims that this
life-force (soul and spirit) ceases to exist at the
point of death. Does the Bible teach that the human
soul and spirit become annihilated at death? The following
verses demonstrate the fallacy of such reasoning:
* Note:
This first example is a parable of Jesus in which He
describes a conscious existence at death. Given the
fact that Jesus always used real-life experiences in
his parables and the fact that this is the only parable
in which Jesus mentions people by name, we know that
Jesus was not speaking in symbolic terms, but giving
a clear illustration of life after death:
- LUKE 16:22-29: "...the
poor man died and he was carried
away by the angels to Abraham's bosom;
and the rich man also died and
was buried. And being in
Hades he lifted up his eyes, being
in torment, and saw Abraham
far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried
out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me...for
I am in agony in this flame.' But
Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your
life you received your good things, and likewise
Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted
here, and you are in agony. And
besides all this, between us and you there
is a great chasm fixed, in order that those
who wish to come over from here to you may not be
able, and that none may cross over from
there to us.' And he said, 'Then I beg you, Father,
that you send him to my father's house—for
I have five brothers—that he may warn them,
lest they also come to this place of torment.
But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets;
let them hear them.' " 1.
* If
the soul ceases to exist at death, why does Jesus state
that humans do not have the ability to "kill the
soul"?
- MATTHEW 10:28: "And
do not fear those who kill the body,
but are unable to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell." 2.
- LUKE 12:4-5: "And
I say to you, 'My friends, do not be afraid of those
who kill the body, and after that have no more that
they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear
the One who after He has killed has authority
to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear
Him!"
* How
can "souls of those who had been slain" during
the Tribulations cry out to God and ask how long it
will be before their blood is avenged?
- REVELATION 6:9-11: "And
when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the
altar the souls of those who had been slain
because of the word of God, and because of the testimony
which they had maintained. And they
cried out with a loud voice, saying,
'How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain
from judging and avenging our blood on those who
dwell on the earth?' And there was given to each
of them a white robe; and they were told that they
should rest for a little while longer,
until the number of their fellow servants and their
brethren who were to be killed even as they had
been, should be completed also."
* If
our soul does not exist apart from the body, how could
Moses who died (Jude 9) and Elijah who went up to Heaven
(2 Kings 2) appear on earth prior to the resurrection?
- LUKE 9:30-31: "And
behold, two men were talking to Him; and they were
Moses and Elijah,
who, appearing in glory, were speaking
of His departure which He was about to accomplish
at Jerusalem."
- MATTHEW 17:3-4: "And
behold, Moses and Elijah appeared
to them, talking with Him. And Peter answered
and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be
here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles
here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for
Elijah.' "
- MARK 9:2, 4-8: "...Jesus
took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought
them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He
was transfigured before them; ...And Elijah
appeared to them along with Moses; and
they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered
and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to
be here; and let us make three tabernacles,
one for You, and one for
Moses, and one for Elijah.'
For he did not know what to answer; for they became
terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them,
and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved
Son, listen to Him!' And all at once they looked
around and saw no one with them anymore, except
Jesus alone."
* How
can God be the God of the "living" if Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob ceased to exist at death? How can the
dead in the tombs "hear" the "voice"
of Jesus, if they no longer exist after death?
- JOHN 5:25, 28-29: "
'Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God; and those who hear shall
live. ...Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming,
in which all who are in the tombs
shall hear His voice, and shall
come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection
of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment.' "
- LUKE 20:37-38: "But
that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in
the passage about the burning bush, where he calls
the Lord the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob. Now He is not the God
of the dead, but of the living;
for all live to Him."
* How
can one "be pleasing" to the Lord if one ceases
to exist at the point that one is "absent"
from the body? How can death be considered "gain"?
- PHILIPPIANS 1:21-23: "For
to me, to live is Christ, and to die is
gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh,
this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not
know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from
both directions, having the desire to depart
and be with Christ, for that is
very much better; yet to remain on in the
flesh is more necessary for your sake."
- 2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-9: "Therefore,
being always of good courage, and knowing that while
we are at home in the body we are absent from the
Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we
are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather
to be absent from the body and to be at home with
the Lord. Therefore also we have as our
ambition, whether at home or absent,
to be pleasing to Him."
* How
can non-existent people be "blessed" and have
deeds that "follow with them"? How can death
not "separate us" from God, if we cease to
exist at death?
- ROMANS 8:38-39: "For
I am convinced that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- REVELATION 14:13: "And
I heard a voice from heaven, saying, 'Write, "Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!"'
'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from
their labors, for their deeds follow with
them.'
* If
godly people cease to exist at death, why is their death
"precious" to Jehovah God?
- PSALM 116:15: "Precious
in the sight of the LORD is the death
of His godly ones."
* Why
make a distinction between spirit, soul and body if
the soul and the spirit are part of the body? Why must
the spirit and soul "be preserved complete"
if they cease to exist at death?
- 1 THESSALONIANS 5:23:
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify
you entirely; and may your spirit
and soul and body
be preserved complete, without blame at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls
you, and He also will bring it to pass."
* Since
the soul and spirit are described as the "hidden
person of the heart" and something that exists
deep "within" a person, how can the soul and
spirit be nothing more than the life force of the person?
- MARK 2:8: "And immediately
Jesus, aware in His spirit that
they were reasoning that way within themselves,
said to them, 'Why are you reasoning about these
things in your hearts?'"
- MARK 8:12: "And sighing
deeply in His spirit, He said, 'Why does
this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to
you, no sign shall be given to this generation.'
"
- ACTS 17:16: "Now
while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his
spirit was being provoked within him as
he was beholding the city full of idols."
- JOHN 13:21: "When
Jesus had said this, He became troubled
in spirit, and testified, and said, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray
Me."
- 1 PETER 3:4: "but
let it be the hidden person of the heart,
with the imperishable quality of a gentle
and quiet spirit, which is precious in
the sight of God."
- MATTHEW 26:41: "Keep
watching and praying, that you may not enter into
temptation; the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak."
- 2 CORINTHIANS 7:1: "Therefore,
having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
* If
spirits do not exist apart from the body, why are they
enrolled in heaven and "made perfect" after
death?
- HEBREW 12:23: "to
the general assembly and church
of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven,
and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits
of righteous men made perfect."
*
If the spirit and soul of a person ceases to exist after
the "outer man" (i.e. flesh) decays, how can
the "inner man" be renewed while the flesh
is decaying?
- 2 CORINTHIANS 4:16: "Therefore
we do not lose heart, but though our outer
man is decaying, yet our inner man
is being renewed day by day."
See Related Subjects:
 WILL GOD PUNISH PEOPLE IN HELL FOREVER?
ECCLESIASTES 9:5: “the dead do not know anything…for their memory is forgotten.” - Are human souls unconscious after death?
DID JESUS RESURRECT FROM THE DEAD IN AN INVISIBLE SPIRIT-BODY? (www.4Jehovah.org)
===============
1. All Scripture references are quoted from the New American Standard Bible.
2. Although Matthew 10:28 states that the “soul” can be “destroyed,” the Greek word ἀπολέσαι (ἀπόλλυμι – apollymi) translated“destroy” does not mean annihilation, but rather “to perish” in the sense of “ruin, loss, not of being, but of well-being”—Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, 1977, p. 164
|
