Does Man Have An Immortal Soul?

It is widely taught that man is comprised of a material body and an immaterial soul. At death it is believed that the immaterial soul survives the death of the body and goes on to experience conscious existence either in heaven with God or experiences conscious torment in hellfire. Does the Bible teach this concept?

First of all, rather than teach that man has an immortal soul, the Bible shows that the soul is mortal. (Matt. 10:28)

Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
(Mat 10:28 WEB)

However, Jesus words would show that it is possible for the soul to survive the death of the body. How are we to understand this? It is only God who decides who lives and who dies eternally. Note Jesus speaks of God destroying souls in Gehenna not tormenting them. So this reference cannot be used as proof of Hellfire.

While I disagree with the Watchtower society on many things I do think they are correct on this issue. Note what is stated in their Bible dictionary:

“While men can kill the body, they cannot kill the person for all time, inasmuch as he lives in God’s purpose (compare Lu 20:37, 38) and God can and will restore such faithful one to life as a creature by means of a resurrection. For God’s servants, the loss of their “soul,” or life as a creature, is only temporary, not permanent.—Compare Re 12:11. (Insight on the Scriptures vol. 2 pgs. 1006-1007)

From Jesus words, it would be reasonable to conclude, that, aside from creature or breather, one definition of the soul would be the person, meaning all the information that makes you a unique individual, for example what is encoded in your DNA. Furthermore, since what makes up your personality are your memories gathered from all your life experiences, this would have to also be included in that definition of soul and known by God, or Jesus, the one entrusted with the resurrection, in order for you to really be you when you receive your resurrection body. In that sense, it could be said that at death the soul/person, is separated from the body and at the time of the resurrection is reunited with a new body. (1 Cor. 15:35-49; 2 Cor. 5:1-10)

Secondly, both Jesus and Paul likened death to sleep which is a state of unconsciousness. (John 11:11-13; 1 Cor. 15:51,52; 1 Thess. 4:13-16)

He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.” The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep. So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead.
(Joh 11:11-14 WEB)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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 have fallen asleep. 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. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
(1Th 4:13-18 NASB)

Notice that Paul did not comfort the Thessalonians by telling them their loved ones were with God. Rather he pointed to the time when in the future “God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” by means of a resurrection.

A favorite scripture of those in favor of the soul’s immortality is the story of the rich man and Lazarus.

“Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish. Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’ “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”
(Luk 16:19-31 WEB)

However, this is a parable and not to be taken literally. Certainly, if you were being tormented in fire you would not ask for a drop of water on your tongue. You would ask for enough water to put the fire out completely. Obviously, by the rich man’s suffering, a different message is being conveyed by Jesus in this parable. Furthermore, if the dead are indeed asleep as both Jesus and Paul state, this would rule out the possibility of any conversation between the souls of the dead in heaven and those in Hades.

In the Bible, God is described as calling the things that do not exist as though they are in existence it would mean that anyone no longer in existence, due to having died, that he deems worthy of a resurrection is really alive to him. (Luke 20:38; Romans 4:17)

Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.”
(Luk 20:38 WEB)

As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” This is in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.
(Rom 4:17 WEB)

Between the time of death and resurrection I believe a person/soul exists in the sense that he/she is alive in the mind of God in much the same way as Jeremiah was known by God before he was born. (Jer. 1:4)

Since, God is eternal, only in that sense can it be said that the soul is eternal. If God decides to forget you, you then cease to exist for all eternity. Since Jesus has been granted this authority and given the keys of death and Hades, Christians can speak of dying and being absent from the body but at home with the Lord awaiting the resurrection.

The apostle John was given a depiction of this state. (Rev. 6:9,10; 20:4)

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
(Rev 6:9-10 WEB)

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
(Rev 20:4 WEB)

But this is highly symbolic language and not to be taken literally as if disembodied souls experience conscious existence in heaven with God. (Rev. 1:1) In any event, in Revelation chapter 6 they are told to rest a little while longer, which indicates that the language of sleep is not in reference to the fleshly body but to the soul. Chapter 20 specifically states that these souls came to life indicating that they were dead. This agrees with both Jesus and Paul about those sleeping in death. (John 11:11-14; 1 Thess. 4:13,14)

While the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) portrays a conversation taking place between the rich man and Abraham it should be noted that Jesus uses, not Gehenna but, the word Hades to describe the place where the rich man was tormented. Hades is the word for the realm of the dead where both good and bad go. (Acts 2:31) And from where a future resurrection is possible. (Rev. 20:13) Gehenna on the other hand is the same as the second death or lake of fire and describes total annihilation from which no resurrection is possible. (Rev. 20:14,15) Notice that in Revelation, Hades, the grave is also thrown into the lake of fire, thus showing that the fire and torment is not literal but only symbolic. This is just one indication among many that instead of a historical account Luke 16:19-31 is a parable or illustration. If not, we would have to admit that Jesus also suffered torment in Hades. (Acts 2:24)

So in conclusion it would appear that according to the Bible the soul/person is immortal only in the sense that after death, he/she rests in the mind of God who is immortal.

On this topic of death and resurrection I would highly recommend listening to Greg Stafford. His discussions harmonize more scriptural statements than I have done here.