What did Paul mean when he said that "our inner nature is being renewed day by day"? That being the case the soul is not immortal. Matthew 10:28 is thoroughly consistent with Jesus' overall teaching that the "soul" or "life" of the unbeliever will be destroyed eternally. It is not a continuation of life in hell. "Everlasting punishment" is eternal loss of life, not an eternal life of loss (Matt. Contrasting the wicked with the righteous, Jesus said: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (KJV). The next verse puts the statement into its context: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (verse 27, KJV). But eternal life will be given to those who love and serve Christ. The real message of Matthew 16:25, 26 is that eternal life will be lost for those who substitute selfish desires for the service of Christ. The translators, who believed in the immortality of the soul, saw the problem for their view and translated the word psuche by "life," even though they translated it "soul" in verse 26. It is possible, however, to lay down ones life for Christ's sake. Obviously no one goes to hell for Christ's sake. The loss of the soul for the immortal-soul advocate means going to hell. That would not be possible if the soul were an immortal entity within man. Verse 25 indicates that one could lose his soul for Christ's sake. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" Note how the translators have varied the translation of the same Greek word. In the King James Version it is translated "life" in verse 25 and "soul" in verse 26: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. The Greek word for "soul" ( psuche) used in Matthew 10:28 means "life." It is the same word that is used four times in Matthew 16:25, 26. The message of the text is that, although we should not fear man who can destroy the body, we should fear God who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, and who will destroy the wicked at the end of time (Rev. If the soul can be destroyed, it is not immortal and it will not suffer eternally in hellfire. The problem for their view is that this verse proves that the soul, like the body, can be destroyed in hell. They argue that the soul is the real self that dwells within the body during life, but lives on separate from the body after death. Immortal-soul advocates use this verse to point out the distinction between soul and body. Jesus said: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. It will be shown that the true meaning of each passage in its Scriptural context rules out any suggestion that the soul is immortal.Īccording to Jesus, where can both soul and body be destroyed? The purpose of the present article is to examine Bible passages that are used as evidence by those who believe in the immortality of the soul. For the wicked it will be at the end of the millennium, at which time they will be raised for judgment and put to sleep for eternity. That day for the righteous will be the second coming of Christ. They are in the dust of the earth waiting for the resurrection day. The Bible clearly establishes that the righteous dead are not in heaven, and the wicked dead are not in a place of burning. They are sleeping, without any awareness of what is happening on earth or in heaven. They go to the grave where their bodies disintegrate because the life principle has been removed. People who die do not go to heaven or hell where they live on in a state of consciousness. How are Immortal-soul proof-texts to be interpreted?Īs we have seen in the previous article, the dead do not have consciousness of any kind they know nothing and they feel nothing.
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