Looking at the original language words in the Bible, we see something very important....something that tells us that Christendom’ adherents have been fed lies about what the “soul” and the “spirit” actually are.
We have to remember that Jesus was Jewish and that the ancient Jews (as opposed to modern day ones) never believed in an immortal soul. For them a “soul” was a living, breathing creature....both humans and animals are called “souls” in Genesis. Both breathe the same air and die the same death. (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20) But only because of Adam’s sin. Humans were not created to die. Sin is what caused death.
At Genesis 2:7 e.g. we read that:
“The man came to be a living soul.”...when God breathed “the breath (spirit) of life” into his lungs and started him breathing. Here the word “soul” appears, and it is translated from the Hebrew word “neʹphesh”. This Hebrew word comes from a root meaning “to breathe.” However, it signifies “a living being, an individual, a person.”
So a soul is only alive when it is breathing, once breathing stops, the soul (person) dies. (Ezekiel 18:4)
It is also interesting when we compare the words for “spirit” in the languages of the Bible....Hebrew and Greek. Both the Hebrew word (ruʹach) and the Greek word (pneuʹma) basically mean “breath” or “wind.” And the English word “spirit” comes from the Latin spiritus, which means “breath.”
In English we have words like “pneumonia” or “pneumatic” which are taken from these ancient words. These relate to the lungs and to air.
To learn the truth about “soul” and “spirit” we must distinguish between their two different meanings and distinctive applications. That there is a difference is clearly seen in the Bible at Hebrews 4:12, where it says:
“For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit.”
How does one
divide “soul and spirit” if they believe that they are one and the same thing?
This distinction is also shown at 1 Thessalonians 5:23...
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may the spirit and soul and body of you brothers, sound in every respect, be preserved blameless at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Many have referred to this verse to prove that humans are made up of three components....body, soul and spirit, but on further investigation regarding the original language words and the context of this statement, we see a very different story.
This verse is speaking metaphorically about the “body” of Christians as a whole, not as individuals. So the body here is the brotherhood....the “soul” is the life they have as a body, and the “spirit” they show would be their firm determination to remain faithful.
Most people take survival of a person after death for granted....it is assumed that this is what the Bible teaches, but this is not true.....life continuing immediately after death was never a belief held by the ancient Jews. So reasoning and thinking people should not be interested in mere assertions.....they want convincing biblical proof....right?
If death takes us to a better place, why does it feel so wrong? Why do we grieve instead of rejoicing?
What exactly does the Bible say happens to us when we die? What does the Bible tell us directly rather than by suggestion or assertion?
Firstly we can see that man IS a “soul”, not that he possesses one.
And “spirit” is the ‘animator’ that keep us breathing.....the air in our lungs. Why or what mechanism is attached to “breathing” remains a mystery, but we know where that comes from. These are what the original languages reveal, and therefore what Jesus as a Jew, taught. He only had the Hebrew Scriptures.
Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6....
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward, because all memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also, their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they no longer have any share in what is done under the sun.”
So the dead “know nothing” and their emotions are also gone...even their love, God’s principle quality given to us.
Solomon then goes on to say in verse 10....
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might, for there is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave [sheol] where you are going.”
So right away we have direct statements that show us the condition of the dead.....they are in an unconscious state...they know nothing, can feel nothing, and have lost their ability to do anything.
Psalm 146:4 says...
“His spirit goes out, he returns to the ground;
On that very day his thoughts perish.”
The soul has died, and the spirit that “goes out” or departs, is the last breath that leaves the lungs.
There is no conscious entity that goes on living. No matter how much we want this to be true, the Bible does not lie....humans do. Satan wants us to believe that we don’t really die.....just as his first lie stated, so he promotes this idea.
The Bible however teaches “resurrection”.....which is not the same thing at all.
Take the example of Lazarus.....his sisters had sent word to Jesus that his friend was gravely I’ll and Jesus did not get up and immediately go to heal him as he could have, no, but he waited for four days and said to his apostles....
“....Lazʹa·rus our friend has fallen asleep, but I am traveling there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples then said to him: “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get well.” 13 Jesus, however, had spoken about his death. But they imagined he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus said to them plainly: “Lazʹa·rus has died”.
Where was Lazarus before Jesus resurrected him? Did Jesus drag him out of heaven back to this life, only to die again later? No! Because the Jews had faith in the resurrection as Martha revealed.....
John 11:21-24....
“Martha then said to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever you ask God for, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” 24 Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
So Martha knew that her brother would “rise in the resurrection on the last day”....(in the future) but Jesus said he was going to bring him back to life there and then. Lazarus was “sleeping” in his tomb, as Jesus had said....he hadn’t gone anywhere.
So you see, “soul sleep” is biblical, but immortality of the soul is not. Only the elect are promised that.
