Which passages teach the concept of the Immortal Soul?

Question

Is there any Scriptural basis for the Protestant concept of the "Immortal Soul"?  In the Systematic Theology of Lewis Sperry Chafer (a disciple and cohort of Scofield), I found no citations of Scripture which support the concept, but simply a statement that the concept is not to be questioned.

With the understanding that the Protestant Faith is distinct from the Christian Faith, it may be said that the concept of an immortal "soul" having existence independent of the body is a principal pillar upon which the Protestant Faith is built.  Accordingly, it is no exaggeration to say that, were that pillar removed, the Protestant Faith would collapse.  Thus, it behooves the Protestant to identify a Scriptural basis for the concept of the Immortal Soul.

Answer 1

When this question was presented to the host of a Questions-and-Answers broadcast of a major Protestant radio network, the only answer which the host was able to give was to cite several passages  of Scripture in which the wicked are condemned to punishment which is everlasting.

But then, is not death without possibility of resurrection of the category "everlasting"?  Curiously, an unregenerate Jewish rabbi likewise notes that a punishment which is "everlasting" is not necessarily a punishment which is inflicted repeatedly for evermore.

Another remark by the same unregenerate Jewish rabbi indicates that the Protestant concept of the Immortal Soul likely is Talmudic in origin.  The rabbi said that, inasmuch as (according to Jewish thinking) (1) death does not appertain to that which is alive, and (2) the soul is alive, the soul is not subject to death and never dies.

Answer 2

The soul is eternal. Where will you spent eternity it is up to you. Either Eternal damnation where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth or the new heaven and new earth wherewith dwelleth righteousness.

Comments

On what basis do you make the assertion, "The soul is eternal."?
No such declaration can be found within the pages of the Scripture.
Phenomena such as punishment and destruction are termed "everlasting" simply because they never are abrogated, not because they are in progress for evermore.   For example, destruction by fire is everlasting, for it cannot be undone; but once the burning object is reduced to ash, the flame dies out.

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“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Revelation 20:10
“And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.””
Revelation 14:11

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”
Hebrews 9:27

“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.”
Matthew 10:28

“But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.””
Luke 20:37

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(1) Regarding citations from the Book of Revelation, the book is a forgery which has no rightful place in the Canon of Scripture.  It is obvious to any Greek scholar that the Apostle John, an uneducated fisherman,\footnote{Acts 4:13.}  was incapable of the literary style of the Book of Revelation.  And it is obvious to any student of the Scripture that at every turn the Book of Revelation contradicts the teaching of the Scripture as a whole.

(2) As the passage from Luke, the passage is a declaration that all live to God IN THE SENSE THAT God is able to resurrect them.  Recall that the Apostle Peter said of David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day, Acts 2:29.

(3) As to Matthew 10:28, the Greek reads GEENNA (Gehenna, the Valley of the Sons of Hinnon, which was the municipal dump) and not ADES ("hell", meaning the grave).  As I have detailed elsewhere, the animating spirit becomes irreversibly associated with the individual to which it is imparted.  The animating spirit is not sentient (it does not think, see, hear, or feel), but it does maintain a record of the personality, character, and memory of the individual to whom it is imparted.  Upon death, the animating spirit returns to the Creator for safekeeping; this is evident in the account of the death of Jesus and in that of the death of Stephen.  Upon resurrection, the animating spirit which brought to life the body of the Natural Realm is imparted to the body of the Spirit Realm; this is how the identity of the individual is preserved through death, decomposition, and resurrection.  Unless the identity is preserved, resurrection is pointless.  The fact that there is no such thing as an "Immortal Soul" should be apparent from the fact that the Lord God is able to destroy both "body" and "soul", the term "soul" meaning the very identity of the individual.  The soul or identity is destroyed simply by erasing the record of the personality, character, and memory maintained by the animating spirit; this is an utter destruction which precludes resurrection.  Gehenna does not represent torture; rather, Gehenna represents destruction which is swift, utter, and certain.  Fires in Gehenna burned continuously, never being extinguished; anything combustible cast into Gehenna soon was reduced to ash.  Maggots never were wanting in Gehenna; any carcass cast into Gehenna soon was devoured.

Answer 3

Oh yeah? Explain this,

“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; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
Luke 16:22-24

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:”
Matthew 25:41

“in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”
II Thessalonians 1:8-10

Revelation 21:8 (KJV)
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Matthew 7:19 (KJV)
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Matthew 18:8 (KJV)
Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast [them] from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Matthew 18:9 (KJV)
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire


What part of fire don’t you understand? You are deceived and deceiving others.

Comments

You demonstrate yourself unworthy of an answer.

Proverbs 26:4 - Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

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Because all you are falsely teaching is that you can sin and not die just like the devil told eve. “Go ahead and disobey GOD. Thou shalt not surely die”. The wages of sin is still death.
If you sin, you will die and not inherit the kingdom.
“He the says I know GOD and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him” 1 John 2:4

All you trying to do is lessen the pain of punishment making the word of GOD of none effect. You are in denial. If you die as a sinner and refuse to obey and come clean on GOD’s terms not yours or the church system of error then you will be in hell standing next to the rich man tormented in flame wishing someone would wet the tip of your tongue. But you deny TRUTH. You want to believe a lie. Believe it. GOD is not gonna stop u. You gotta love the TRUTH scripture says. otherwise, GOD will send strong delusion so u can believe a lie.

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What part of tormented in flame no rest night and day forever wailing and gnashing of teeth don’t you comprehend? Nowhere in scriptures says soul is annihilated in hell fire. NOWHERE.

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(1) The story about the rich man and Lazarus is a parable.  Jesus does not attempt to correct the theology of the Talmudic Jew; that would be futile; the Jew was not willing to receive correction and instruction.  Rather than enraging the Jew by explaining that the concept of "Afterlife" is Talmudic myth, Jesus uses the notions of the Jew concerning the "Afterlife" to warn the self-righteous Jew that the economic and bodily condition of a man in the present life is not a reliable indicator of the status of the man in the eyes of God.  Moreover, in the parable Jesus calls attention to a hallmark of the Jew, which is his lack of mercy.

The fact of the matter is that, apart from the Resurrection, there is no life beyond the Grave.  Man is a chemical organism which at birth is animated by a Spirit of Life imparted by the Lord God.  Upon death, the Spirit returns to the Creator.  When animation ceases, man decomposes and his very existence ceases.  The animating spirit is not an "Immortal Soul"; it is not sentient, but it does preserve the identity of the individual -- his personality, character, and memory.  The identity is preserved so that, upon resurrection, the individual may be recreated; unless the identity is preserved, resurrection is pointless.  God is able to destroy the record maintained in the animating spirit, and thus eliminate the possibility of resurrection; this is the meaning of destruction of the "soul" in Gehenna, Matthew 10:28.

(2) Citations from the Book of Revelation are irrelevant.  Even the most rudimentary investigation of the Book of Revelation quickly reveals beyond doubt that the book is a forgery which no rightful place in the Canon of Scripture.

It is obvious to any Greek scholar that the Apostle John, an uneducated fisherman, Acts 4:13, was incapable of the literary style of the Book of Revelation.  The Book of Revelation is written in an ornate, literary form of Greek which is far removed from the simple earthy style of Greek found in the Epistles of John.

And it is obvious to any student of the Scripture that, at every turn, the Book of Revelation contradicts the teaching of the Scripture as a whole.  Accordingly, in obedience to the exhortation "Prove all things" of 1 Thessalonians 5:21, the Christian ought disregard the teaching of the Book of Revelation and should toss the book into the waste bin or the incinerator.

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What you are saying is pure heresy anti-biblical because you want to chuck out revelation and the whole bible makes perfect sense. It is you who don’t love the TRUTH. Keep thinking that the rich man and Lazarus is a parable but it is not. Keep thinking that fire and torment it is ice and comfort or that you are going to sleep when you die . Keep believing the lie. Its perfect sense. It is you who want to be saved in your sin. Repent. Turn to GOD and go and sin no more. Parables are similitudes to other things of life comparing it with other things in life so we can understand them. Lazarus and rich man is not a parable otherwise jesus would have said the kingdom of heaven is like unto...but he didn't. his parable always begins liken it to something else. It is not a parable. Abraham bosom is not a parable. Matthew 27 the saints left the abraham bosom and went to the holy city because Jesus Christ tore the veil and Jesus Christ told thief on cross today you will be with me in paradise. Paul said to be absent in the body is present with the LORD.

Instant hell fire weeping and ganishing of teeth forever or paradise with GOD.
The choice is in your hands. And inheriting the kingdom of heaven is going to cost you everything.
Digg deep and you are not born in sin. Youre born with free will and able to do what is right or evil. You are not justified in your sins.

And by sin I mean wilfull sin unto death

Porn watchers, fornicators, adulterers, homose[x]uals drunkards thief covetous idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of GOD.

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What you are saying is pure heresy anti-biblical because you want to chuck out revelation and the whole bible makes perfect sense. It is you who don’t love the TRUTH. Keep thinking that the rich man and Lazarus is a parable but it is not. Keep thinking that fire and torment it is ice and comfort or that you are going to sleep when you die . Keep believing the lie. Its perfect sense. It is you who want to be saved in your sin. Repent. Turn to GOD and go and sin no more. Parables are similitudes to other things of life comparing it with other things in life so we can understand them. Lazarus and rich man is not a parable otherwise jesus would have said the kingdom of heaven is like unto...but he didn't. his parable always begins liken it to something else. It is not a parable. Abraham bosom is not a parable. Matthew 27 the saints left the abraham bosom and went to the holy city because Jesus Christ tore the veil and Jesus Christ told thief on cross today you will be with me in paradise. Paul said to be absent in the body is present with the LORD.

Instant hell fire weeping and ganishing of teeth forever or paradise with GOD.
The choice is in your hands. And inheriting the kingdom of heaven is going to cost you everything.
Digg deep and you are not born in sin. Youre born with free will and able to do what is right or evil. You are not justified in your sins.

And by sin I mean wilfull sin unto death

Porn watchers, fornicators, adulterers, homose.xuals drunkards thief covetous idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of GOD

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The theological system (aka the Protestant Faith) which you have embraced is eclectic; it ignores vital plain-language declarations such as:

(1) Man is chemical in nature (KJV "dust").

(2) The dead know nothing.

(3) God can DESTROY the PSUCHE (KJV "soul") in GEHENNA (KJV "hell").

Thus, the Protestant believes that:

(1) Man is a spirit being termed the "Immortal Soul".

(2) The dead have a conscious existence in which the "Immortal Soul" is able to think without a brain, to see without eyes, to hear without ears, and to move about apart from a body with bones and muscles.

(3) Even God cannot destroy the "Immortal Soul", though God shall destroy the entire Universe, replacing it with a new Universe.

Moreover, the Protestant embraces a novel conception of death.  Everywhere outside of the curious realm known as the Protestant Faith, death is the profound and terminal cessation of activity of a living organism.  But the Protestant construes death as a transition into an everlasting existence in a state of torture.

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(1) Man is chemical in nature (KJV "dust"
-this is wrong because man is three elements. Body spirit and soul. Body returns to dust. Soul goes back to GOD. The Spirit of man is dormant when he sold himself to sin by choice. Jesus Christ came to quicken the spirit of man.
(2) The dead know nothing.
- as I said, you can walk around in this mortal body while being dead inside. She that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. You can be physically while spiritually dead and you feel everything in hell fire.
(3) God can DESTROY the PSUCHE (KJV "soul") in GEHENNA (KJV "hell").
- it is sin that destroys the soul not GOD. Hell fire is punishment for devil and his angels and for those who did not obey the gospel.
Thus, the Protestant believes that:
-protestants are corrupt like catholics they all teach original sin fallen nature as sound doctrine

(1) Man is a spirit being termed the "Immortal Soul".

-immortality is for those who have proven themselves worthy to enter in eternal life who have converted from sinner to saint here in this life.

(2) The dead have a conscious existence in which the "Immortal Soul" is able to think without a brain, to see without eyes, to hear without ears, and to move about apart from a body with bones and muscles.

-this is theology. Scriptures don’t teach that. Rich man in hell had all his senses in hell and remembered his family but of you choose to refute and say it is a parable even though it is not a parable. Otherwise Jesus Christ would have compare it to other thing or said so.
(3) Even God cannot destroy the "Immortal Soul", though God shall destroy the entire Universe, replacing it with a new Universe.

Sin unto death destroys soul not GOD. GOD judges man according to their deeds on judgment and send them out to everlasting fire but of course, you already chucked out revelation and said it is not inspired. You are in dire error.
Moreover, the Protestant embraces a novel conception of death.  Everywhere outside of the curious realm known as the Protestant Faith, death is the profound and terminal cessation of activity of a living organism.  But the Protestant construes death as a transition into an everlasting existence in a state of torture.

-you make no sense. The simplicity of Christ Jesus was for simple people even children can understand. You don’t need a theologian to break the code.

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You don’t even know the definition for faith. Faith is faithfulness and fidelity and steadfastness to GOD’s commandments.
What if you are wrong? I think you are wrong. You are dead wrong. Jesus Christ said we are able to make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. Don’t you see that? Man has ability to do this??

Go and sin no more and let your repentance be proven by your deeds.
1 John 2:4

Answer 4

Correct me if I am wrong but I perceive you are looking for anyone to either agree with you or that you can tell anyone that the soul is not eternal but that is a lie. Take it on face value. I gave you numerous scriptures that you will be in agony in hell day and night without rest weeping and gnashing of teeth but you choose to refute it like, “no its a parable, no the book of Revelation that Jesus Christ reveal to John the Divine is greek mythology not inspire.” Cant you see it? You are in denial. If you choose to believe that sinners who did not repent they just die and go to sleep after the grave, believe it. GOD is not going to stop you. Free choice but its a lie. You also sound like a jehovah witness which they are in dire error and corrupt. They don’t believe in hell fire. They believe everyone is going to sleep at the grave including evil wicked men. Believe their heresy and is under score with but you're going to sin anyways and by sin they mean sins done in the body like fornication adultery homosensuality etc.

Comments

Much of the material from which the Protestant Faith is constructed is the myth of the Talmudic Jew.  In particular, concept of everlasting torture in Hell is foundational to the Protestant Faith.  In turn, the concept of the Immortal Soul is foundational to the concept of Hell.

But the Scripture declares, plainly and repeatedly, that man is a chemical organism which at birth is animated by a divinely-imparted Spirit of Life, that upon death of the individual the animating spirit returns to the Creator and the chemical organism decomposes, that there is no thought, perception, or activity in the grave, and that, apart from the Resurrection, to die is to perish -- to cease to exist.

Consider Psalm 146:4:  "His breath [the animating spirit] goeth forth [departs, returning to the Creator], he returneth to his earth [decomposition of the chemical organism]; in that very day his thoughts perish."

Consider Psalm 13:3: "Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death."

Consider Psalm 6:5: "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"

Consider Isaiah 38:18: "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth."

Consider Genesis 3:22: "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever,"

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“But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.””
II Peter 2:12-22

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Your citations from II Peter carry no weight, for the book is a forgery.

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(1) Six documents which, by tradition, are bound into the English Bible have no rightful place in the Canon of Scripture.  The command "Prove all things" (I Thessalonians 5:21) has to do with canonicity; it is a command which is to be obeyed by each Christian.

However, Protestants, having been taught that questions regarding canonicity were settled by so-called "Church Councils" convened several times over the first several centuries of the present Age of the Reign of the Christ, have abnegated this vital responsibility.

Historical accounts of those "councils", together with the pronouncements made by those councils, reveal in them the working of the Mystery of Iniquity, of which the Apostle Paul warned (II Thessalonians 2:1-12).

(2) The church structure erected by the Apostles was that of a autonomous Local Assembly, governed by a Shepherd (termed "Pastor" in the Old English of the King James Version) who answered directly and exclusively to the Great Shepherd, the Lord, Christ Jesus.  The Shepherd (POIMEN), having several functions, has several titles; the titles include PRESBUTEROS ("Elder"), EPISKOPOS ("Overseer"), and DIDASKALOS ("Teacher").  Moreover, the Shepherd has received directly from the Lord Christ the spiritual gift POIMEN KAI DIDASKALOS ("Shepherd, even Teacher"), Ephesians 4:11.

Within the assembly, a number of individuals have the function of deacon (DIAKONOS, "Servant" or "Administrator").  Protestants generally construe the Shepherd to be answerable to the assemblage of Deacons; but that is a grave error and a perversion of the divinely-instituted order.

(3) Virtually nothing is known regarding the activity of Local Assemblies during the historical era which began upon the death of the last Apostle (who almost certainly was not John) and lasted about a hundred years.  However, historians note that the Church emerging from that century of obscurity is not the Church of the Apostolic Era, being radically different in structure.  The "flat" structure of the Apostolic Church has vanished, being supplanted by a hierarchical structure in which the Shepherd of the Local Assembly reports to a supervisor who oversees a number of Local Assemblies, and so forth, the structure having several tiers.  The hierarchical Church today is known as the Papacy, the Church of Rome.

(4) Paul tells the Thessalonians that the Mystery of Iniquity already was at work, II Thessalonians 2:7.  Moreover, Paul notes that he (Paul) alone restrained operation of the Mystery, II Thessalonians 2:6-8.  Not until the restraint, Paul, was taken out of the way by death, would the Mystery be able to come into full bloom, installing at the head of the tiered structure the Man of Sin, the Pope.

The working of the Mystery is seen in the council of the Apostles in Jerusalem, Acts 21:17-26.  From this account of the council, together with other passages of the Scripture, it is evident that James of Jerusalem, who is not one of the Twelve, is a false apostle and the primary subvertor of the Church.  Moreover, it is apparent James of Jerusalem is the prototype of the Pope, for he presumes to give commands to the Twelve.

Subsequently, James is dispatches his zealot thugs to intimidate not only the Local Assemblies but also the Twelve, and James repeatedly commissions his zealot thugs in attempts to murder Paul.  It is James of Jerusalem (and not a disease) who is the "Thorn in the Flesh" which so troubles the Apostle Paul.

(5) The Historian has in view the "Visible Church".  But the Visible Church is not necessarily the Church of Christ Jesus.  One researcher, E. H. Broadbent, published a book titled "The Pilgrim Church", in which he presents a convincing argument that, due to persecution by the Visible Church and its ally, the State, the true Church of Jesus was forced to go "underground".

[continued in next post...]

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Check out my podcast at gospelbroadcasting.libsyn.com.

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The epistles of Saint Peter the Apostle of Jesus Christ carries no weight and is fake you are saying? Wow, you sure have denied the faith and are an enemy of the cross. You have been deceived and deceiving others. All you are saying is heresy. They should ban you and not me.
This is my last comment to you. Jesus Christ LORD said not to give that which is holy to dogs and pearls to pig.

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(6) In view of the fact that the complement of documents comprising the traditional canon was determined by men working within the Mystery of Iniquity, It behooves the Christian to make his own determination as to which books are canonical.  If he is objective and has the enlightenment of the indwelling Spirit of God, he should have no difficulty perceiving that six of the documents bound into the English Bible are unworthy of reading, much less, of study, but ought be tossed into the waste bin (or, better yet, burned in the incinerator).

The "Dirty Half-Dozen" are: the Book of Esther, the Song of Solomon, the Book of James, the Book of Jude, the Second Book of Peter, and the Book of Revelation.