IMMORTALITY
First
Word
- Wikipedia: Immortality is
the ability to live forever; have eternal life. – Immune to
death; deathlessness; endless existence – Immortality is the opposite of “Mortality”
or being subject to death. – Note: The word Immortal does not appear
anywhere in the 4 Gospels.
- The Nicene
Creed confesses
that every dead person (whether they believed in Christ or not)
will be resurrected from the dead; this belief is known as Universal
resurrection, this is NOT Universal Salvation.
The Body
- When you think of
immortality, the FIRST thing you think of is the physical body of a person.
– Immortality is not a universal natural possession, but is a gift
of redemptive grace.
- The
Bible teaches that Adam and Eve lost physical immortality
for themselves and all their descendants at the Fall of Man; this
initial "imperishability of the body" was "a natural
condition" prior to sin.-
Now at death, the body returns to
dust, but the spirit lives on.
- Immortality once was; is now not,
but will be again for EVERYONE, somewhere.
- Translated
-
There are two examples in the Bible of people never dying or being translated; going directly
to Heaven to be with God; skipping death and the grave.
1)
Enoch walked with God and then
was no more, because God took him away.
2)
Elijah was taken up to God in a
chariot of fire pulled by horses in a whirlwind.
- Then there was Melchizedek
who had no beginning and no end. (Some think there was no records of his
birth and death.)- (I believe he
was Jesus) … NYOBS 01.05 Melchizedek – NYOBS 01.21
Christophany
Gen 2:7 – Man’s body is
formed from the dust
7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust
of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the
man became a living being. NIV
Gen 3:19 – The body returns to dust
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your
food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust
you are and to dust you will return." NIV
Heb 11:5 – Enoch translated - did not die
5 By faith Enoch was taken
from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be
found, because God had taken him away. NIV
2 Kings 2:11 – Elijah
translated – did not die
11 As they were walking
along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire
appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in
a whirlwind. NIV
Heb 7:3 –Melchizedek -no Father or Mother – No beginning or
end
3 Without father or
mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or
end of life, like the Son of
God he remains a priest forever.
The Soul
- God made Adam out of
dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into his soul. – The
soul lives and the soul prospers.
- In the simplest of
terms; the soul is the mind
of a man and his spirit controls his mind and his mind
controls his body. (Many let
their bodies control their mind and spirit)
- Souls are created by
God and given before conception; - The Soul has sensations, thoughts,
desires; longs to eat, longs for God, magnifies
God; it rejoices, loves, knows and remembers;
it has beliefs, emotions, personality and performs
intentional actions. – It can be sorrowful.
- There is much debate
even among various branches of Christianity about the difference between the soul and the spirit. The "soul" is often confused
and used synonymously or interchangeably with the "spirit".
– There in no doctrine of “Soul Immortality” in the Bible.
- There are disagreeing
views on the soul's immortality
and its relation to the physical body. Luther and others
rejected Calvin's idea of "soul
immortality".
- The Bible does not
attempt to prove "soul
immortality", but for the saved just assumes it as an
undisputed postulate, a condition of eternal satisfaction and blessedness in
communion with God – Not so good for the unsaved as they cannot be in
Heaven at all.
- I don’t plan to
debate this here, but to just acknowledge that there are opposing opinions
concerning the terms “Soul” and “Spirit” and the Soul’s immortality.
Gen 2:7 – The breath of
God gave man his soul – His life
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. KJV
Jer 1:5 – Our spirit was
formed before we were born.
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you, before you were born NIV
Ps 139:13 – God knit us
together in the womb
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me
together in my mother's womb. NIV
Deut 12:20 – Soul longs to eat
20 When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border,
as he hath promised thee, and thou shall say, I will eat flesh, because thy
soul longs to eat flesh; thou may eat flesh KJV
Song 1:7 – The Soul loves
7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loves, where
thou feed, where thou make thy flock to rest at noon : for why should I be as
one that turns aside by the flocks of thy companions? KJV
Ps 63:1 – The Soul longs
for God
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my
soul thirst for thee, my flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land,
where no water is; KJV
Luke 1:46 - The Sole will magnify the Lord
46 And Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord,
KJV
Ps 86:4 – The Soul
rejoices
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto
thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. KJV
Ps 139:14 – The Soul knows
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knows right
well. KJV
Lam 3:20 – The Soul remembers
20 My soul hath them still in remembrance,
and is humbled in me. KJV
Matt 26:38 – The Soul can
be sorrowful
38 Then saith he unto them, my soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. KJV
3 John 2 – The Soul
prospers
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all
things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. NKJV
The Spirit
- There is a spirit
in a man as well as a soul. - There are many scriptures supporting
BOTH the soul and spirit being “separate”. - According to
scripture, King Pul, Job, Caleb, David, Stephen and even a child had a
spirit.
- After the fall of
Adam and Eve, we are all born in sin and have a sin nature. In short; our Father is the Devil;
Satan. - We have his spirit and
that is why we must be ‘born again” with a new spirit; the Holy Spirit. NYOBS 09.02 The Trinity
- Man’s
spirit is immortal and returns to god at death.
1 Thess 5:23 – Man has a Spirit, a Soul and a Body
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you
through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV
Heb 4:12 – The Soul and Spirit and Body
12 For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of
the heart.
NIV
John 8:44 – The father of an un-regenerated man is Satan
44 You belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.
NIV
Eph 2:1-2 – We are born
with the spirit of disobedience
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the
ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the
spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. NIV
Rom 8:6 – The mind is
controlled by the spirit
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
1 Cor 14:14-15 Man has a
Mind (soul) and Spirit
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays,
but my mind is unfruitful.
15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my
spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my
spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. NIV
Job 32:8 – Man has a
spirit
8 But it is the spirit in a man, the breath
of the Almighty that gives him understanding. NIV
Num 14:24 – Caleb had a spirit
24 But because my servant Caleb has a different
spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he
went to, and his descendants will inherit it. NIV
Job 10:12 – Job had a spirit
12 You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in
your providence watched over my spirit. NIV
Ps 31:5 – David had a
spirit
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem
me, O LORD, the God of truth. NIV
1 Chron 5:26 – King Pul had a spirit
26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit
of Pul king of Assyria
NIV
Acts 7:59 – Stephen had a spirit
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen
prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." NIV
Luke 8:54 -55 – A child had a spirit
54 But he took her by the hand and said, "My
child, get up!"
55 Her spirit returned, and at once she
stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
NIV
Eccl 12:6-7- The Immortal sprit
of man returns to God
6 Remember him-before the silver cord is severed,
or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or
the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it
came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. NIV
1 Cor 2:11 – Man’s spirit knows the thoughts of his mind/soul
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a
man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the
thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. NIV
The Mystery
- Paul explains the mystery of immortality – The resurrection
of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of the resurrection of the dead.
- With the return of
Jesus Christ (at the rapture); the
trumpet CALL will raise the DEAD believers and their bodies will be
given a
- At the end of time
all will be resurrected – Some to eternal life; some to eternal damnation.
- Death is a transition
from this life to another life; somewhere – Life to Life.
1 Cor 15:51 -53 – The mystery explained
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will
not all sleep, but we will all be changed-
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable
and the mortal with immortality. NIV
1 Thess 4:16-17 New
imperishable bodies
16 For the Lord himself will come down from
heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
NIV
John 5:29 – Good arise to live – Evil arise to be condemned
29 and come out-those who have done good will
rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
NIV
Dan 12:2 – Some
everlasting life others everlasting contempt
2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth
will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting
contempt. NIV
The Wicked - Rabbit Trail
- Scripture does not
support the Wicked having “Immortal Bodies”, but indicates they will
retain their personal existence in Hell. – NYOBS
06.22 Hell Rabbit Trail
- Anyone’s name not
found written in the Book of Life will be thrown into this lake of fire.
- They will be cut off
from the living – They will receive everlasting contempt and destruction
and be shut out from the presence, power and majesty of God.
- Death is separation,
not annihilation.
- The Greek word for destruction means “ruin”, not extinction. –
The wicked are NOT instantly annihilated, they will not burn up or cease
to exist. - They will be tormented with unquenchable fires of burning sulfur day and night; endlessly
FOREVER.
- Hell – The lower parts of
the earth holding the wicked dead till the end of the millennium when it
and its contents will be thrown into the
- In
Hell, you are in the gloom of darkness, separated from the face of
God. - In attendance will be Satan, his fallen angels, a gaggle of
demons and the entire bunch of unbelieving wicked which includes the
disobedient from among His chosen covenant people
- The lake of fire was not prepared for
man, but for Satan and the fallen angels. – Those that reject Jesus Christ
as God’s Son will also go there and receive God’s full retribution.
Ps 52:5 – The wicked will
be cut off from the living
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting
ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you
from the land of the living. NIV
Matt 25:41 – Hell was not
created for man, but for Satan
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels. NIV
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown
into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet
had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
NIV
Rev 21:8 – The Lake of Fire
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. This is the second death." NIV
15 If anyone's name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. NIV
2 Thess 1:8-9 – Unbeliever’s
will receive everlasting destruction
8 He will punish those who do not know God
and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will be punished with everlasting
destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the
majesty of his power
Dan 12:2 – The unbeliever
awakens to everlasting contempt.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt. KJV
Rev 14:9-11 – Tormented
with burning sulfur day & night forever
9 "If anyone worships the beast and his image
and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,
10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury,
which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angles.
11 And the smoke of their torment rises for
ever and ever. There is no rest day or night "NIV.
Closing Thoughts
- Immortality
is a two edged sword;
- For the believer it’s the grace of
God restoring everlasting life as existed with Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden before sin entered into the picture. – It’s an everlasting relationship, enjoying
a new immortal body and spirit in the presence of Almighty
God.
- For the unbeliever, it’s a corrupted
body that is in torment forever in the burning lake of sulfur and fire
away from the presence and glory of God, for
- It’s a sad thought
that someone would choose Jesus as a
Josh 24:15 – As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to
you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether
the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve
the LORD." NIV
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses. Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I otherwise ever could have.
Annotated Reference Bible - Dake
Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenny White
Bible Dictionary – Harper & Row
Expositors Bible Commentary; The – Frank E. Gaebelein
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The - Tyndale
Matthew Henry’s Commentary – Zondervan
Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
New International Bible – NIV
New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas & Tenney
Old Testament Survey – Eerdmans
Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible - Zondervan
Thru The Bible
– J. Vernon
Victor Journey through the Bible; The – V. Gilbert Beers
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The - Tenney
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