Lesson 11

Many Christians will find verses in the Bible that suggest humans have an immortal soul. Some wonder why others don’t agree with the clear meaning of those verses. Those who don’t agree, say they welcome clear instruction from Bible verses, however the verses used to support the immortal soul doctrine do not provide that clear instruction. The verses used are inconclusive and speculative. Those verses do not say humans have an immortal soul outright, but only reinforce the pre-existing belief. They do not prove the belief outright. Carefully studying the verses to find exactly what they are telling us, we see they don’t say what many first believed. Those verse’s circumstantial proof is outweighed by other scriptures clearly stating souls will die. To maintain biblical accuracy we must fit verses together, as Bible scripture cannot be contradictory. Jesus said he would die and then be raised from the dead. Jesus said he would raise his followers when he returned. The Bible declares all the rest of the dead, those who were not drawn to Jesus by God, will be raised back to life in the future, after Jesus rules with his followers here on earth for a thousand years. How do you fit all the verses together?

Romans 6:23 King James Version
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 16:21 Amplified Bible
From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples [clearly] that He must go to Jerusalem, and endure many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be killed, and be raised [from death to life] on the third day.

John 6:40 International Children’s Bible
Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day. This is what my Father wants.”

Isaiah 26:19 Easy-to-Read Version
But the Lord says, “our people have died, but they will live again. The bodies of my people will rise from death. Dead people in the ground, stand and be happy! The dew covering you is like the dew sparkling in the light of a new day. It shows that a new time is coming, when the earth will give birth to the dead who are in it.”

Revelation 20:4-5 Living Bible
4 (b) They had come to life again and now they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 This is the First Resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)