Bible Study on Death, Hell, and the Soul
Immortality of the Soul
Key Points
1) The Bible consistently refers to death as a "sleep," and makes it clear that death is an unconscious state (therefore the result of the "second death" is also an unconscious state).
2) God explains death to Adam as a "return to dust." Adam is not told he will die and go to heaven.
3) Daniel is told he will "rest," and receive his reward in the end.
4) Peter is clear that David has not ascended to heaven.
5) Martha knows she will see Lazarus at the resurrection, but not before.
6) In the beginning, God said that the creation was "good." At the end of Revelation, we see that the lake of fire destroys evil on this earth, after which God creates a new earth. There is no lake of fire on the new earth.
7) The apostolic fathers (the men who personally knew or lived very close to the time of the apostles) did not believe in eternal conscious torment. They did believe in conditional immortality.
8) The doctrines of the immortality of the soul and eternal conscious torment were introduced into Christianity from paganism and popularized by the Roman Catholic Church.
9) The most notable Protestant reformers who translated the Bible into the common languages of Europe came to believe in conditional immortality, and viewed eternal conscious torment as a Catholic heresy. These include John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale.
10) The Bible is a revelation of God's character, and nothing could be more important than the character of the omnipotent Creator of the universe. In the biblical story, the wicked face judgment and each is punished according to his or her works. Then every vestige of evil is eliminated, and the earth is restored to perfection.
Verses from the Bible that are used to support the doctrines of the immortality of the soul and eternal conscious torment:
Mark 12:26, 27 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
Luke 9: 29-31 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
Luke 16 22, 23 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.
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
1 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Revelation 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Conditional Immortality/Death as Sleep
Conditional immortality is the view that humans do not have immortal souls, and are only granted immortality at the resurrection. Humans are in a state of unconsciousness (or “sleep”) between death and resurrection.
Verses from the Bible that are used to support this doctrine:
Genesis 3:19 ...till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Job 7:21 Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.
Psalm 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Psalm 13:3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Psalm 30:9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth?
Psalm 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecclesiastes 6:6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Daniel 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
John 11:11-14 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,
John 11:21-24 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Acts 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens:
Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption...
1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:53, 54 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord...
1 Timothy 6:14-16 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
According to these verses, neither Daniel nor David are in Heaven yet. Both are in their tombs awaiting the resurrection. In these verses, the hope of the righteous is not in dying and going to Heaven, but in the resurrection. And according to Paul, God alone is immortal (1 Timothy 6:16).
These verses specifically talk about death as a sleep or rest:
Matthew 27:52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised...
Acts 7:60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
2 Peter 3:4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Both the Old and New Testaments speak of death as a sleep.
Sin Leads to Death
Genesis 2:16, 17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Deuteronomy 24:16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.
Proverbs 10:16 The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Romans 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
James 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
The important point here is that sin leads to death, period. There is no mention of anyone dying and going to Hell (except for the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, which I’ll talk about later).
Biblical Use of the Word “Soul”
A few verses that mention the soul:
Genesis 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.
Genesis 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Genesis 12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Exodus 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
Numbers 15:27 And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering.
Joshua 10:37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
Revelation 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
The word “soul” in the Bible can be used to describe the entire person (or even a whale or a fish, as in Revelation 16:3). It can also be used to describe the human spirit or heart. But souls definitely die in the Bible. The ingredients of a soul are the body and the breath of life (Genesis 2:7), and death is defined as returning to dust (Genesis 3:19).
Biblical Use of the Word “Breath” (Can also be translated “Spirit”)
A few verses that mention “breath”:
Genesis 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.
Genesis 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
Genesis 7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
Genesis 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
The biblical word breath/spirit can’t mean soul in the common sense of the word, because even insects posses it.
Hell and Judgement
Verses in the Bible that mention hell and judgment (terms like “eternal” and “everlasting” are in bold):
Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Isaiah 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Daniel 12:2 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.
Obadiah 1:15-16 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
Malachi 4:1-3 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 13:40-42 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:49, 50 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Mark 9:43-48 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
2 Peter 2:4-6 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
Jude 1:5-7 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Revelation 14:9-11 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Revelation 20:7-15 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 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.
Of these verses, 11 use terms like “eternal,” “everlasting,” “fire is not quenched,” and “forever and ever.” The phrase “fore ever and ever” is translated from the Greek “εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων” which can mean “for ever and ever” or “for ages and ages,” where an age is a period of time. The word translated “eternal” (αἰωνίου) is from the same Greek root, and therefore we need to properly understand the context to know whether the word denotes eternity or just a period of time.
In Jude 1:7, the “eternal fire” is clearly not still burning at the locations of Sodom and Gomorrah. There are at least four options: 1) God is an Eternal Fire, and so they did literally suffer the vengeance of Eternal Fire, but were consumed quickly, 2) “Eternal” should be seen as figurative language used for emphasis, 3) “Eternal” should be understood in the sense that the consequences of the judgment are eternal, or 4) “Eternal” was intended to convey a period of time, not eternity. In Matthew 3:12, John the Baptist uses the words “unquenchable fire,” but states that it burns up the chaff. The same can be seen in Revelation 20: “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them,” which shows that they are consumed and destroyed by the fire, and yet the torment is described as lasting “for ever and ever.” “For ever and ever” in this case can’t be describing eternal torment in the literal sense, because we were just told that the wicked were devoured. Furthermore, no other description of eternal life in the Bible says we’ll be standing around the lake of fire watching the eternal torture of the wicked. Finally, the lake of fire results in the second death (Revelation 21:8). The biblical definition of death is unconsciousness, or sleep.
In Obadiah 1:16, the wicked shall drink “continually” which is a connection to “tormented day and night”, but then it tells you what that means. They shall be as though they had not been.
Isaiah 33: 14-17 says, “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.” In these verses, we see that God is described as devouring, everlasting fire. So the fire does literally last forever, but only the righteous live in the presence of God forever. The wicked are consumed by the fire. So, in a very literal sense, Sodom and Gomorrah, and all of the wicked, suffer the vengeance of Eternal Fire—but they are destroyed by it.
In Matthew 25:46 and other similar verses, the wicked go away to eternal punishMENT, not eternal punishING. And again, we need to understand that the word “eternal” can mean a period of time in the right context.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, the destruction is everlasting. They never come into existence again.
Regarding the worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched, in Mark 9, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 66:24. The book of Isaiah specifically refers to corpses, so the fire and the worm are not tormenting living people. Matthew 5:29, 30 is a repetition of the same sermon, but instead of quoting Isaiah, Matthew simply uses the phrase “cast into hell.”
Where did the idea of the immortality of the soul and eternally burning hell come from?
The idea of the immortality of the soul shows up once the Old Testament and once (sort of) in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the serpent tells Eve, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4, 5). In the New Testament, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul shows up in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, though to be fair, it isn’t specified that the rich man will be in torments forever (Luke 16:19-31). If these are the only two biblical references to the doctrine, and one of them is a parable to make a point about unbelief and the other comes directly from Satan, why do most Christians believe that humans have an immortal soul?
The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is as old as Satan’s deception in the Garden of Eden. The Egyptians believed in life after death. The Canaanites worshipped the familiar biblical gods Ashtoreth, Baal, and others, and their religions also taught that there was an afterlife. The Babylonian religion taught that there was an afterlife. The Israelites were surrounded by idolatrous religions, and every single one taught some form of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. But the Old Testament writers unanimously rejected the doctrine, declaring that death is a sleep (Psalm 13:3), death is an unconscious state (Psalm 146:4), and that all—both righteous and wicked—go to one place: the grave (Ecclesiastes 3:20). Daniel was explicitly told by the angel that he would rest (die), and be resurrected at “the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13). At the end of the Old Testament, Malachi 4 describes the final destruction of the wicked by fire. Speaking to the righteous, the prophet says that “the wicked shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.” According to the Old Testament, the final end of the wicked is utter destruction.
Could the writers of the Old Testament been mistaken? Did the writers of the New Testament have new, better light? 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” While this certainly applies to the New Testament, Paul was specifically writing about the Old Testament. Jesus, speaking of Lazarus, makes it clear that death is equivalent to sleep (John 11:11). Martha makes it clear that she does not expect to die and go to Heaven and meet Lazarus there, but she does expect to see him at the resurrection (John 11:24). At the Last Supper, Jesus doesn’t tell His disciples that they will see Him when they die. To the contrary, He tells them that they will be with Him again when He returns to earth and takes them to Heaven (John 14:3). The Apostle Peter, speaking of King David, declares that he is not in Heaven yet, but in his tomb awaiting the resurrection (Acts 2).
The early Christian Church did not believe in the immortality of the soul, or eternal torment in hell. The Apostolic Fathers—the men who knew the disciples—taught the same doctrine as Jesus and Peter. They believed in the destruction of the wicked, saw death as sleep, and looked forward to going to Heaven at the resurrection.
So how in the world did the doctrine of the immortality of the soul become so entrenched in Christianity?
The Greeks, like all other pagans, believed in the afterlife. The Greek philosopher Plato was highly revered by the church fathers who were most influential in the formation of Catholic doctrine. Clement of Alexandria (about 150-215 AD), Origen (about 184-253 AD), Eusebius of Caesarea (about 260-340 AD), Augustine (354-430 AD), and others sought to harmonize the writings of Plato with Christianity, and they generally accomplished this by using Plato’s philosophy as a lens through which to interpret the Bible. In other words, to one extent or another, they assumed Plato’s views were true, and then made the Bible conform to them.
Here, Plato spells out his belief on the soul (Socrates is speaking):
And is it likely that the soul, which is invisible, in passing to the place of the true Hades, which like her is invisible, and pure, and noble, and on her way to the good and wise God, whither, if God will, my soul is also soon to go, — that the soul, I repeat, if this be her nature and origin, will be blown away and destroyed immediately on quitting the body, as the many say? That can never be, my dear Simmias and Cebes. The truth rather is, that the soul which is pure at departing and draws after her no bodily taint, having never voluntarily during life had connection with the body, which she is ever avoiding, herself gathered into herself; — and making such abstraction her perpetual study — which means that she has been a true disciple of philosophy; and therefore has in fact been always engaged in the practice of dying? For is not philosophy the practice of death? —
Certainly —
That soul, I say, herself invisible, departs to the invisible world — to the divine and immortal and rational: thither arriving, she is secure of bliss and is released from the error and folly of men, their fears and wild passions and all other human ills, and for ever dwells, as they say of the initiated, in company with the gods. Is not this true, Cebes?
Yes, said Cebes, beyond a doubt.
Plato goes on to describe the less happy fate of the wicked man in the afterlife. Here, in the writings of Plato, we see a much clearer picture of the modern “Christian” view of life after death than we get from the Bible.
But why would this view become so common if the Bible doesn’t teach it?
The Catholic Church has, since its beginning, placed human tradition above God’s word. For over 1000 years, the Catholic Church tortured and killed “heretics” for teaching about God’s love and grace, insisting that God’s word is above human dictates, possessing any portion of the Bible, translating the Bible into any common language, and a myriad of other “crimes.” One reason the Catholic Church latched on to the doctrine of eternally burning hell is simple: power. They could leverage the teaching to cause fear, and exact massive amounts of money from people to ensure that the souls of their loved ones ended up in Heaven and not Hell.
Many of the Protestant reformers, like Martin Luther and William Tyndale, died believing that death was sleep and that the wicked would be destroyed in the lake of fire. They denounced the doctrine of eternally burning hell as a Catholic heresy. But the churches they founded have largely failed to continue in the reformers’ footsteps in rooting out all the false doctrine that crept into the church during the dark ages, when God’s word was suppressed and His true church was persecuted.
What about the verses that seem to support the doctrine of the immortality of the soul?
There are a few verses that people use to support the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, though—what about those verses?
Mark 12:26, 27 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
Here, Jesus is talking to the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. They were the secular scholars of their day. Jesus was telling them that they erred in not believing in the resurrection. Notice the beginning of verse 26: …the dead, that they rise…
Luke 9: 29-31 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
The Bible mentions two people who were taken to Heaven alive—Enoch and Elijah. In the book of Jude (verse 9), the Bible also speaks of the resurrection of Moses. So the fact that Moses and Elijah were on the mountain with Jesus (and not Adam or Jacob) makes sense. Adam and Jacob are not in Heaven yet.
Luke 16: 22, 23 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.
Jesus told this parable right before He raised the real Lazarus from the dead. The main point of the parable—it’s punchline—is verse 31: “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Jesus was telling the Jewish leaders that even if Lazarus were to rise from the dead, they would not believe. The Jewish leaders then proved Jesus correct when, after Lazarus’ resurrection, they plotted to kill Lazarus to erase the evidence that Jesus was the Messiah (John 12:9-11). In the story of Lazarus’ death and resurrection, it is clear that Lazarus was unconscious—asleep—during death (John 11).
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
The Greek text does not contain the comma after “thee,” so this verse could have been translated “Verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The translation I’ve provided fits the biblical account of Jesus’ death better, because when Mary Magdalene saw Jesus after the resurrection, He told her “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17). This shows that Jesus and the thief could not have been in paradise on Saturday because Jesus didn’t go there until Sunday morning.
1 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
I’m not sure Paul is talking about physical death here. I love Paul, but even Peter said that sometimes Paul was hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16), and I think this is one of those passages. Let’s say Paul is talking about physical death, though. If we are unconscious when we die, then at the resurrection, the first thing we see will be Jesus coming in the clouds. It will be as if no time passed at all. So if we believe in Jesus, death really is the end of our trials and the end of our physical separation from Him. From our perspective, we die one instant and we see Jesus the next, whether a few minutes or a thousand years have passed.
Revelation 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Revelation is a book that takes symbols from the entire Bible and uses them to reveal God’s character and His plan, specifically in the face of the suffering and evil in the world. These souls John sees are martyrs, and they cry out for justice in the same way Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground.
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The idea of punishment with eternal fire is used by Jude to describe the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 1:5-7). Jude wrote specifically that Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the punishment of eternal fire. The fire has clearly subsided, however. This shows that the Bible can use the word “eternal” without intending it in the sense we typically understand it. One way to clarify this is that the results of the judgement are eternal. An important point to note is that in many other places in the Bible, judgement results in destruction (Isaiah 13:6, Joel 1:15, Malachi 4:1-3, Matthew 7:13, Matthew 10:28, Romans 3:16, Romans 9:22, Philippians 3:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, 1 Timothy 6:9, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 3:16).
The Apostolic Fathers Believed in Conditional Immortality
It is readily discovered that the theologians of the primitive age disagreed regarding the soul's immortality. Several of them "were persuaded that the soul was mortal by nature but could become immortal by good works, or, as others preferred to stress, by union with the Spirit of God, a teaching they thought to find in St. Paul" (Brady, p. 465). Specifically the teaching of innate immortality is absent from the Apostolic Fathers, those Christian writers who lived nearest to or whose lives partly paralleled the last of the apostles. The trend toward the view of inherent immortality…developed with the subsequent Ante-Nicene Fathers (Brandyberry).
From beginning to end of them there is not one word said of that immortality of the soul which is so prominent in the writings of the later fathers. Immortality is asserted by them to be peculiar to the redeemed. The punishment of the wicked is by them emphatically declared to be everlasting. Not one stray expression of theirs can be interpreted as giving any countenance to the theory of restoration after purgatorial suffering. The fire of hell is with them, as with us, an unquenchable one; but its issue is, with them as with Scripture, "destruction," "death," "loss of life" (Constable, p. 167).
These quotes are from:
Conditional Immortality Became More Prominent in the Protestant Reformation
William Tyndale:
And ye, in putting them [departed souls] in heaven, hell, and purgatory, destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection. What God doth with them, that shall we know when we come to them. The true faith putteth the resurrection, which we be warned to look for every hour. The heathen philosophers, denying that, did put that the souls did ever live. And the pope joineth the spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshly doctrine of philosophers together; things so contrary that they cannot agree, no more than the Spirit and the flesh do in a Christian man. And because the fleshly-minded pope consenteth unto heathen doctrine, therefore he corrupteth the scripture to stablish it .... And again, if the souls be in heaven, tell me why they be not in as good case as the angels be? And then what cause is there of the resurrection?
Martin Luther:
Another proof that the dead are insensible. Solomon thinks, therefore, that the dead are altogether asleep, and think of nothing. They lie, not reckoning days or years, but, when awakened, will seem to themselves to have slept scarcely a moment.
We shall sleep, until He comes and knocks on the little grave and says, Doctor Martin, get up! Then I shall rise in a moment and be happy with Him forever.
But I permit the Pope to make articles of faith for himself and his faithful, such as…4) The Pope is the emperor of the world, and the king of heaven, and god upon earth. 5) The soul is immortal, with all those monstrous opinions to be found in the Roman dunghill of decretals, that such as his faith is, such may be his gospel, such his disciples, and such his church…
Here I will also include John Milton:
It may be inferred, unless we had rather take the heathen writers for our teachers respecting the nature of the soul, that man is a living being, intrinsically and properly one and individual not compounded or separable, not—according to the common opinion—made up and formed of two distinct and separate natures as of soul and body; but that the whole man is soul, and the soul man; that is to say, a body or substance, individual, animated, sensitive and rational; and that the breath of life was neither a part of the Divine essence, nor the soul itself, but as it were, the inspiration of some Divine virtue fitted for the exercise of life and reason, and infused into the organic body; for man himself, the whole man, when finally created, is called in express terms, “a living soul.” Here then arises an important question, which, owing to the prejudice of [theologians] in behalf of their preconceived opinions, has usually been dismissed without examination, instead of being treated with the attention it deserves. Is it the whole man, or the body alone, that is deprived of vitality? And as this is a subject which may be discussed without endangering our faith or devotion, whichever side of the controversy we espouse, I shall declare freely what seems to me the true doctrine, as collected from numberless passages of Scripture; without regarding the opinion of those, who think that truth is to be sought in the schools of philosophy, rather than in the sacred writings.
Note that the Protestants who believed in conditional immortality state that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul comes from Roman decretals and heathen philosophy.
The Moral Argument Against Eternal Torment
There once was a king who claimed to be good. He loved to invite the people of his country to his castle once a year, where he would throw an immense party. There was a catch, though. Every year, while the party was going on, one person from the country would be dragged into the dungeon and tortured to death. The torturers, having scoured the writings of the inquisitors and collected tools and knowledge from all over the known world, had become very good at their job.
There was a group of dissenters—they claimed that even torturing one person was an unconscionable violation of human rights and dignity, and that, furthermore, the annual party was agony for them, simply knowing that someone was being tortured to death in the basement. When they petitioned the king to put an end to the annual festivities, however, they were denounced as heretics and infidels.
The Gospel—the Good News—is astonishingly beautiful. It’s healing and life-changing like nothing else could ever be. But an essential part of that good news is that nobody gets tortured forever. God really is good.
One more comment on morality:
The doctrine of eternal torture in hell is often combined with doctrines such as predestination, and/or the idea that only those who have literally heard and confessed the name of Jesus will be saved. These doctrines have created many infidels.
More articles on the topic:
David Tatum
Tarnya
