The doctrine of The Immortality of the Soul is being taught and preached in all Churches of Christianity, especially in these days by evangelists on radio and television. It is claimed by them, that a particle of God is imparted at — or even before — birth into each human being, referred to as: the soul. And since this particle is a part of God, who is immortal: that soul is also immortal, cannot die! Therefore, when a human being dies: that soul remains in existence and must go somewhere. But where?

Well, in earlier times individual denominations of Christendom claimed: that the members of their denominations would go to heaven for eternal bliss, while all others of the human race went to hell to be punished and tormented by the devil and his angels for all eternity. However, in these modern and enlightened (?) times, the claim has become somewhat more general, in that they now way that all people who join the Christian faith, go to God in heaven for an eternity of joy and bliss, while all others, because of their refusal to become Christians, go to hell to be punished and tortured in the most terrible way for all eternity. Those systems of Christianity who have instituted a pre-hell department, called Purgatory, have really changed that aspect very little, they have added just a cosmetic touch, no more.

As already stated in the heading of this writing: this doctrine of The Immortality of the Soul is not a Scriptural, is not a divine doctrine; rather, it is a man-made doctrine! Why, then, is it taught and preached in the Churches of Christendom? Here, the Scriptural, the divine teaching with regard to man’s life and death:

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.”

Please, note: “… and man became a living soul”. Man does not have a soul, but by the combining of two elements man became a living soul. That, of course, also means that when one of these two elements is taken away, either by an accident or by natural process (age, sickness): there is no more a living being. The body, as formed from the material belonging to the physical matter of the earth, cannot live by itself, cannot maintain itself and, therefore: “returns to the earth” (Gen. 3:19; Ps. 104:29). The breath of life, which is not a part or particle of God, but no more and no less than the air of the atmosphere we breathe to maintain our living condition, is also not a living thing by itself, is not “the soul”, but is just a part pertaining to those things on the earth which makes it possible for a being to exist. (The act of resuscitation is a good illustration of this). That is exactly the reason we also read in the Scriptures:

Eccl. 3:19–20  “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast [with regard to the principle of life]: for all is vanity [in all that they do or think from their own human standpoint]. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again” (no more!) According to the principle of life, the opposite is: death, non-existence! Consider the following Scriptures:

Job 12:10  “In whose [God’s] hand is the soul [the existence, the being] of every living thing, and the breath [the continued existence] of all mankind.” Indeed, every being, every living thing, even all mankind: exists by the power of God.

Ps. 49:12, 20 (but first read verses 10–11)  “Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beast that perishes”, he has no pre-eminence with regard to the principle of life. To perish means to go into non-existence.

Ps. 119:175  “Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee.” If man would have an immortal soul, the words of the Psalmist would make no sense, but when applied to the being, the desire of a human being is expressed clearly.

Prov. 6:32  “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” If man has an immortal soul, how would he be able to destroy it by evil deeds of such kinds? At the other hand, if a person engages in evil deeds, he does indeed bring about a destruction of his personality, and even his being.

Is. 53:10, 12  “When thou [God] shalt make his [Christ Jesus’] soul an offering for sin … because he [Christ Jesus] hath poured out his soul unto death.”

Christ Jesus offered up his humanity in a sacrificial death; the man Christ Jesus — the being — was the corresponding price to Adam: he ended in death, he gave up his life, his existence as a human being.

Ez. 18:4, 20  “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” If man had an immortal soul, a soul which cannot die, because it is a part of God, how could such a soul sin? How could God declare that the soul that sinneth would die? How could a particle of God sin? Is God a liar? Oh no, “God cannot lie” (Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:18). In fact, “Justice”, “righteousness” and true “Judgment”: are “the habitation of his throne” (Ps. 89:14; 97:2). Therefore, then: the being that sinneth, it shall die, it shall go into non-existence. That is God’s eternal principle; that is a divine doctrine! For which reason the Apostle Paul also declares: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

Matth. 22:37  “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” — with all thy heart, and with all thy being, and with all thy mind!

1 Pet. 1:22  “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.” If man has a soul, viz, has a particle of God which is immortal, which cannot die, then that particle of God — that particle from God, that so-called soul — would be pure also: it surely would not need a human being to be “purified”. However, considering that the being, the human being, is the soul, it can be seen easily how corrupt, how evil, how sinful, it has become, and how it is in need of purification!

One more Scriptural fact regarding a soul, a fact which in Christendom’s teachings and preachings would not be found; this fact is that God is referring to himself as a soul, of which the following Scriptures are examples:

Matth. 12:18; Is. 42:1  “Behold my servant [Christ], whom I [God] uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth.” Take this declaration together with the words in the following Scripture:

Matth. 3:17  “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” It is quite clear that the Almighty God, the source of all creation, is speaking of himself as of the whole divine being, which is further stated, at another occasion, by the following declaration:

2 Pet. 1:17  “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Also corroborated in Matth. 17:5; Mark 9:7;Luke 9:35).

With regard to the covenanted people of Israel, God first of all is counseling them:

Jer. 6:8  “Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, ” — lest I, the God of your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, shall take my favour away from you. This God finally did do, becaue of all the evils they, as a covenanted people, committed, including the profaning of His holy name among the Gentiles, and also accusing them of breaking the Law Covenant. Please, read Jer. 11:10; 31:32; Ezek. 36:16–23.

However, what God has promised, he also will bring to pass, and as far as the people of Israel is concerned (as a people), He promised them that from all the nations and people he had caused them to be scattered into: He would gather them back to the land he had promised their forefathers, as declared in these words:

Jer. 32:41  “I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul” — I, that powerful being you call Jehovah God, I will do this.

However, in Ezek. 36:22–38, God is pointing out something very specific, namely, that he is not doing it because they deserve it. Oh no, they do not deserve it at all, but God declares: “For mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen” (verse 22), and: “Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel” (verse 32, but please read all the verses from 22 to 38).

So, then, the Scriptures are very clear on the subject, namely, that man does not have a soul, but that the soul is man, the being, a sentient being, which is being defined by the dictionary in these terms:

sentient

having a faculty of sensation or perception; perceiving; feeling; thinking; reflecting; noting parts of the body which are more susceptible of feeling than others; sensitive; — the wind, as capable of feeling. (Collins’ Graphic Dictionary).

Here now, again, the question: Why is the doctrine of The Immortality of the Soul, as unscriptural as it is, being preached and taught in Christendom?

Well, first of all it should be mentioned, that the Greek philosopher Plato (427–347 B.C.) already philosophized and taught on this subject of the immortality of the soul. Also, many societies and native people around the globe believe in the continuation of life after death in one form or another. But, of course, it is one thing that this kind of belief is being taught, or adhered to, by peoples outside the Christian religion, but it is an entirely different thing to preach and teach the immortality of the soul as a doctrine of the Christian faith!

On the surface, or at first glance — not making oneself too many thoughts about it — the subject by itself may not matter all that much to most people, but when looking at the subject a little closer, and considering the accompanying consequences: then the real awfulness of this doctrine reveals itself.

The accompanying consequences are, of course (as already mentioned at the beginning), those conditions which are the results of the consequential second doctrine without which the first one would not exist, and vice versa. That second doctrine is, in a straight forward way: ALL GOOD CHRISTIANS GO TO HEAVEN FOR AN ETERNAL JOY AND BLISS WITH GOD, AND ALL OTHERS GO TO PURGATORY AND HELL FOR ETERNAL TORMENT (TORTURE) — which means, literally translated: tens of billions of people)!

How can such terrible preaching and teaching be harmonized with an All-Just, All-Wise, and All-Loving God? of whom the Scriptures declare:

John 3:17  “For God sent not his Son [his only begotten Son] into the world [to all people in the world] to condemn the world [to condemn all the people of the world]; but that the world [that all people of the world, from Adam to the beginning of “the times of restitution of all things”, to the beginning of God’s true Kingdom] through him might be saved.”

John 3:15–16  “That whosoever believeth in him [in Christ, during “the times of restitution of all things”, when Christ will reign as “Lord of lords and King of kings”, when God’s will shall “be done on earth, as it is in heaven”] should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world [not as it is at the present time, and not as it has been for over 6000 years, but beholding his creation as seen when it will be completed at the end of His Kingdom] that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him [during this Gospel age, only a “Little Flock”; but during “the times of restitution of all things”: all mankind!] should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

By the way, within the words of the following verses, there is revealed a very basic fact:

Acts 3:19–21  “Repent ye therefore [change ye therefore], and be converted [and turn around — in a gradual way, of course], that your sins may be blotted out [which is part of God’s glorious Plan of Salvation for Adam and all his posterity], when the times [years] of refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD [not literal presence, of course, but His favour on behalf of all the human race, which will be recognized by all the developing conditions and events]; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you [throughout the Gospel age, although with much and great misrepresentation]: whom the heaven must receive [up from the time of his resurrection] until the times [years] of restitution of all things [until the time when God’s true Kingdom is due to begin], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began [Adam’s world].”

Do you see what the basic fact is in the preceding verses? It is this: Since, in God’s plans and purposes, there is a period of time designated as “the times of restitution of all things”, which, in other words, means that certain things will be restored, then obviously there are things which had been lost, which is exactly what Jesus is referring to in:

Matth. 18:11  “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost, ” namely: Eternal Life; Perfect Life; God’s Favour — all lost by Adam’s disobedience to the laws of his Creator. It is also for this reason that he (the man Christ Jesus): “by the grace of God should taste death for every man” — not just for some, not just for a group, not just for a denomination, and not just for Christendom, but: “for every man”, for all people of mankind, as the Apostle Paul declares in words which cannot be misunderstood, which cannot be misconstrued, and which cannot be ignored either:

Rom. 5:18  “Therefore as by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Christ Jesus] the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” And also:

1 Cor. 15:22  “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Having this overwhelming evidence and testimony of the Scriptures regarding the soul, viz, regarding man, the being called man, and his ultimate wonderful future at the end of “the times [years] of restitution of all things”: Why is the immortality of the soul being taught and preached in Christendom as a doctrine? and, likewise as a doctrine: Purgatory, Hell, and Eternal Torment?

Consider also the following: Christendom is the only area of Religion in which the doctrine of “Hell and Eternal Torment” is being taught and preached — and has been taught and preached throughout most of the Gospel age — to which the Scriptures have this to say:

Is. 28:18  “And your covenant with death shall be disannulled [shall be made to see as being wrong and shall be done away with], and your agreement with hell shall not stand [you shall not be able to uphold it any longer]; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through [the great tribulation time our Lord has foretold to come during his second presence — Matth. 24:21], then ye shall be trodden down by it.”