Seven Proofs for the Natural Immortality of the Human Soul

Tim Staples' Blog ^ | September 24, 2014 | Tim Staples

[Yosemitest]

Herbert Armstrong was a man, the same as you.
He was not a Saint, and neither are you.
But his research stands on its own,
and he and his son lead more people to Jesus Christ than you'll ever imagine,
and is still doing it through the works they've left for all to read.
And they never ask for a dime for it.
Their works was always given freely.

What will YOU DO when you see them standing at the right side of Jesus and the GREAT WHORE (The Catholic Church) and ALL HER DAUGHTER CHURCHES standing on the left ?

[CynicalBear]

>>Herbert Armstrong was a man, the same as you.<<

NO, Herbert W Armstrong was an apostate false teacher and an anti Christ.

[Yosemitest]

And what of the "VENGEANCE OF ETERNAL FIRE" ?
What did Jesus SAY about it in Luke 17:29 ?
God gave Garner Ted Armstrong a better ability to discern this ~ than someone so uneducated in the Bible ~ as me.

"Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth as an example of that final punishment which is to come upon the wicked--
being consumed by FIRE;
completely dissolved and turned to ashes!
Even as the last verses of Malachi and the final verses of Isaiah tell us,
the wicked (such as the rich man, who sees a wall of fire approaching him) are to suffer the vengeance of GEHENNA FIRE!
That fire will consume them.
It will burn them up.
They will be turned into ashes!
They are then dead; dead for all eternity,
from which there is never any resurrection.

Notice.
"And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes
condemned them with an overthrow,
making them an example unto those that after
should live ungodly . . ." (2 Peter 2:6).
Though Sodom and Gomorrah are said to have suffered the "vengeance of eternal fire," it begs the question,
"Are they still burning?"
Of course not!
As a matter of fact, many Bible scholars believe that the ancient foundation stones of Sodom and Gomorrah have been found.
Where?
Buried beneath the waters at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea!

Not only did the fire and brimstone from God go out after it had finished consuming all of the people, and other combustible and flammable material in ancient Sodom and Gomorrah--
not only has that fire been out for centuries and centuries--
apparently the very site of those two ancient cities has been buried for these many millennia beneath water!
The fire WAS FROM "the Eternal," but was not to burn for all eternity!
It WENT OUT after it had consumed all the fuel upon which it fed.

Surely, suffering death by fire is one of the most horrifying and excruciating ways to DIE!
Almighty God's punishments are indeed horrifying to contemplate!
Yet, God is a merciful God,
and has decreed that the wicked are to be burned up --
NOT kept alive in fiendish torture,
burning, burning, burning but never quite burning up,
as the satanic, FALSE DOCTRINES of so many churches teach!"

So I THANK GOD for giving us someone who can ~ SO CLEARLY ~ put SATAN'S DECEPTIONS in their proper place.

I SAY AGAIN:

"Come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues.
For her sins have reached unto heaven,
and God hath remembered her iniquities. "

[Yosemitest]

Really?
Read comment #64 and tell me WHERE the error in logic IS ?

You might want to RECONSIDER your THEORY,
since you have NO PROOF of your accusation.

[CynicalBear]

>>Read comment #64 and tell me WHERE the error in logic IS ?<<

I don't have to go far into that post.

The example of Sodom and Gomorrah is what is going to happen to people STILL ON EARTH when Christ returns. It does NOT have anything to do with after they are resurrected to Judgement. Garner Ted Armstrong is way off and leading anyone who listens to him into gross error.

>>You might want to RECONSIDER your THEORY,<<

Not from anything the Armstrongs put out. You have been duped by a false teacher.

[Yosemitest]

I disagree on WHO the DUPED ONE ~ IS.

[Yosemitest]

Do you DENY that Sodom and Gomorrha ... are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE ?

Do you DENY that that "ETERNAL FIRE" is NOT BURNING TODAY?

[CynicalBear]

I’m sure you do. Those who have been duped by false teachers always do.

[CynicalBear]

Matthew 25:46 "These will go away into eternal punishment (kolasis), but the righteous into eternal life." kolasis - chastisement, punishment, torment, perhaps with the idea of deprivation.

I'll listen to Jesus.

[Yosemitest]

And what of Jesus and Jude 1:7 and "ETERNAL fire".

Do you DENY that Sodom and Gomorrha ... are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE ?

Do you DENY that that "ETERNAL FIRE" is NOT BURNING TODAY?

[Diamond]

A mortal can only put on immortality when Christ returns, at the last trumpet.

In Scripture, mortal and immortality refer only to the condition of the body. It is the body that is mortal, never the soul, or spirit.

"This mortal will put on immortality" is speaking of the resurrection of our body, not our spirit. A spirit cannot die. The term resurrection only applies to the body.

Therefore 1 Timothy 6:16, referring to Christ, means the God/man alone has immortality as his nature, and being the firstfruit raised in the resurrection.

Cordially,

[Texas Songwriter]

bttt

[DouglasKC]

In Scripture, mortal and immortality refer only to the condition of the body. It is the body that is mortal, never the soul, or spirit.

Hello and thanks for your reply. In scripture, "soul" and "spirit" are not synonymous. A "soul", again based on scripture, is any living, breathing creature that has life whether it be animal or human.

For example:

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

This is the King James. But it's not the first instance of this word that's translated "soul" here. That actually occurs earlier...

Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

The words highlighted above are the same word translated soul earlier...the Hebrew "nepesh". It means basically a living breathing creature. There is no immortality to it unless one believes that whales and other living creatures also have immortal souls.

And a biblical "soul" can die:

Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

The souls is basically another term for life. And the opposite of life is death.

Another proof that a soul is not immortal is found here:

Mat 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

In this case Christ is saying as Christians, we are promised a resurrection. People can destroy our bodies, but life ultimately belongs to God. And God can destroy our souls, our life. So "soul" is not immortal. It's simply another term for physical life.

"This mortal will put on immortality" is speaking of the resurrection of our body, not our spirit. A spirit cannot die. The term resurrection only applies to the body.

That's not what Paul says. He makes it very clear.

1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, "THE FIRST MAN ADAM BECAME A LIVING BEING." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1Co 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

Verse 46 confirms it. There is no eternal spirit FIRST. There is a natural body. When Christ returns Christians are given the gift of eternal life. That's the spiritual. The first body is mortal, natural. We die.

Therefore 1 Timothy 6:16, referring to Christ, means the God/man alone has immortality as his nature, and being the firstfruit raised in the resurrection.

1Ti 6:14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
1Ti 6:15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
1Ti 6:16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Since Christ has not returned with his gift of eternal life for Christians, nobody as of yet, except Christ, has eternal life or is immortal. Hence the statement: "whom no man has seen or can see". Because Christ hasn't returned yet to save our lives:

Heb 9:28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Christ came the first time for the forgiveness of our sins. When he comes again, it will be to give us eternal life, to save us from permanent death....salvation.

[jcon40]

Oh??? OK I didnt get roasted or even lectured.

Appreciated that and did enjoy the artucle

[Yosemitest]

What a matter, false teacher got your tongue?

[Elsie]

God gave Garner Ted Armstrong a better ability to discern this...

O...
K...

[Elsie]

He can have the tongue; as long as he leaves my SOUL alone...

[Yosemitest]

You know the “soul” simple defines “BREATHING” and is not the same as “SPIRIT”, don’t you ?

[CynicalBear]

>>And what of Jesus and Jude 1:7 and "ETERNAL fire".<<

I understand that you probably think that is a final gotcha but let's look at the Hebrew. I'll focus on the pertinent part of that verse. As the word order is in the original text.

are set forth as an example of fire eternal [the] penalty undergoing.

Notice the undergoing. Not having undergone as in the past. They are undergoing the penalty of eternal fire. You think those people were "burned to ashes" and no longer exist? Well, let's look at what happens to the unsaved prior to the death and resurrection of Christ.

Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

The bodies they lived in on this earth are buried and decayed but their souls (or whatever you chose to call it) are still cognizant and aware of suffering. They were NOT simply destroyed to non existence. They will also be raised at the last day.

Acts 24:15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

They will then be consigned to eternal punishment as Jesus said.

Matthew 25:46 "These will go away into eternal punishment (kolasis), but the righteous into eternal life."

kolasis - chastisement, punishment, torment, perhaps with the idea of deprivation.

Se we see that those wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah are still ongoing eternal fire punishment, will be raised at the last judgement and will be subjected to eternal punishment.

Yes we do see that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to ashes in this physical world (2 Peter 2:6) but we also see that the spiritual souls of those people have not.