Eternal Life: Have you heard of it? Sure you have. Basically, it means living forever? Does it really exist? If so, are we born with it? If not, how do we receive it?
Have you ever heard that we all have an immortal soul? Well, the bible says only God is immortal (1 Tim. 1:17), and humans are mortal, not immortal (Job 4:17). The Bible tells us in several places that we can live forever with Jesus. If God is immortal and humans are not, then how can we live forever? To answer that question we must first answer a few other questions.
1) WHAT IS DEATH?
John 11:11-14
11. …[Jesus] said to them, Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I go, that I may wake him out of sleep.
12. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will do well.
13. But, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking of taking rest in sleep.
14. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Psalm 13:3
3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God. Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.
ANSWER:
The Bible says Death is a Sleep. The dead are asleep in their graves. So what does that do to the theory that people go to heaven, or hell, or purgatory when they die?
2) WHERE DO PEOPLE GO WHEN THEY DIE?
Job 14:10-12
10. But man dies and wastes away. Yes, man gives up the ghost (H1478), and where is he?
11. As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decays and dries up,
12. So man lies down and rises not. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Job 7:9-10
9. As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he that goes down to the grave will come up no more.
10. He will return no more to his house, neither will his place know him anymore.
Daniel 12:2
2. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will wake up, some to eternal life, and some to shame and eternal contempt.
John 5:28-29
28. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves will hear his voice,
29. And will come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation.
Acts 2:29, 34
29. Men and brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day.
34. For David is NOT ascended into the heavens:
ANSWER:
People go to the grave at death, NOT heaven, NOT hell, NOT purgatory, NOR limbo, and they don’t come back to their homes to visit loved ones or to haunt their house. They are asleep. They are Unconscious. They are Dead.
3) WHAT ARE THE DEAD DOING RIGHT NOW?
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
5. For the living know that they will die: but the dead do not know anything, neither do they have any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy have now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.
Psalm 146:3-4
3. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no help.
4. His breath goes forth, he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish. (We stop thinking the moment we die)
Psalm 30:9
9. What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it declare your truth? (God’s Truth)
Psalm 6:5
5. For in death there is no remembrance of you. In the grave who will give you thanks? (Talking to God)
Psalm 115:17
17. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence.
ANSWER:
The dead are not doing anything. They don’t know anything at all. The day they die, they stop thinking. They don’t remember anything. They don’t praise God. If they were in heaven, they would be thinking AND praising God. They are asleep in the grave. Unconscious. Dead.
4) KING DAVID AND THE REST OF GOD’S PEOPLE ARE ASLEEP IN THE GRAVE. WHEN WILL THEY GO TO HEAVEN?
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51. Behold, I show you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.
Job 14:13-15
13. O that you would hide me in the grave, that you would keep me secret until your wrath passes, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14. If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my appointed time I will wait until my change comes.
15. You will call, and I will answer you. You will have a desire to the work of your hands.
John 5:28-29
28. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves will hear his voice,
29. And will come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-16
15. For this, we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep.
16. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first:
ANSWER:
The dead in Christ, those who have been born again, who are asleep in the grave, will be raised from death and will meet Jesus in the air at his second coming.
5) WHAT ABOUT THE SOUL? DOESN’T THE SOUL LIVE FOREVER, EITHER IN HEAVEN OR HELL?
Ezekiel 18:20
20. The soul that sins, it will die. (A soul can die)
Ezekiel 18:4
4. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it will die.
Revelation 16:3
3. And the second angel poured out his vial on the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Jeremiah 2:34
34. Also in your skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: (A soul has blood)
Revelation 18:11-13
11. And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; for no one buys their merchandise anymore:
12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all kinds of vessels of ivory, and all kinds of vessels of most precious wood, and brass, and iron, and marble,
13. And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
ANSWER:
A soul is alive. (Revelation 16:3)
A soul can die. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20)
A soul can be bought and sold. (Revelation 18:11-13)
A soul has blood. (Jeremiah 2:34)
A soul is not immortal. (Job 4:17)
Only God is immortal. (1 Timothy 1:17)
6) SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A SOUL?
Genesis 2:7
7. And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. (Man IS a soul)
Psalm 104:29-30
29. You hide your face, they are troubled. You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
30. You send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
Job 33:4
4. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Job 27:3
3. All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit (breath) of God is in my nostrils; (spirit = breath in this verse)
Isaiah 2:22
22. Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
ANSWER:
Man does not “HAVE” a soul, Man “IS” a soul. The Body plus the Breath of Life equals a LIVING SOUL. Humans are MORTAL. That means we do not have eternal life. No one will live forever unless God gives us Immortality. He only gives immortality to the faithful who have been born again, then we will live forever. That is our reward for being faithful and following him. Those who are not saved CAN NOT live forever. That brings up another question.
7) WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE UNSAVED SOULS AT THE SECOND COMING?
John 3:16
16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Romans 6:23
23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ezekiel 18:20
20. The soul that sins, it will die.
ANSWER:
These verses tell us there are only 2 choices. LIVE FOREVER or DIE. ETERNAL LIFE or DEATH. Strong’s Concordance says the word “PERISH” means to DIE, or BE DESTROYED, TO BE NO MORE (No Longer Exist). We’ve already seen that ONLY GOD is IMMORTAL. He only gives IMMORTALITY to the righteous, not the wicked, and if our sins are not forgiven we will DIE. This death is the second death from which there is no resurrection. Not just eternal separation from God, but eternal DEATH.
8) WHAT ABOUT THE SECOND DEATH?
Revelation 2:11
11. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He that overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.
Revelation 20:6
6. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:14
14. And death and hell (the grave) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
8. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore-mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
ANSWER:
The Bible is clear. We are not immortal. Only God is. Eternal life is a gift from God to those who follow Him.
So, at the second coming of Jesus, the saved who have died will be resurrected with new bodies. The bodies of the saved who are still alive at that time will be changed and made new. This is the reward of the faithful. Eternal Life.
Those who are not saved will receive their reward at this time. They will DIE in hell fire. Not burn forever, as some believe, but DIE. Malachi 4:1 says they will be burned up. Destroyed. In verse 3 Malachi says they will be ashes. Jesus took the penalty for our sins. He DIED. The wages of sin is DEATH, not burning forever. Hell fire is not the penalty for sin. Death is. Hell fire is just the means that God will use to destroy sin. There are only two choices. We will either live forever, or we will be destroyed.
