I think that subject has been well covered in
comment #74.
Where in the Bible does the words
"immortal soul" appear?
What does
Ecclesiastes 12:7 tell us?
The FALSE DOCTRINE of the
"immortality of the soul" tries to hide the GOD GIVERN TRUTH REVEALED in
Romans 8:29; the TRUTH that the Catholic Church despises.
Take a VERY DETAILED LOOK at that verse.
"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! "
So exactly WHAT is COMPLEX about the "soul" ?
Nothing.
The Bible is very clear about the soul.
It is the GREAT WHORE that tries to make God's Word complex!
Didn't you read
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 ?
What did you learn from
Job 14:1-2 and
Job 14:12-15?
Again, there is one who was much better at explaining this TO THE ONES WHO WANT TO LISTEN AND TO LEARN, and he did it
here in this excerpt:
... 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 the 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!