With a Bible in her hand, a friend of mine approached me one day with the question Do you believe in the immortality of the soul?  I thought for a moment then I responded that before I could answer the question, I needed to first clarify two things--number one, we are souls. You are a soul; I am a soul. Sometimes, we use the expression--the poor soul, he is one sorry soul, or oh, bless my soul, etc. We use this expression to denote a living entity.

In Leviticus 17:12 we read that God said to the children of Israel: "...No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you." And then in Revelation 16:3, we read that fishes in the sea are souls as well. Shocked? Let's read it: "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 other item I wanted to clarify is this: We do not have a soul--one that leaves the body at death to go to heaven or hell whichever applies. The spirit or the breath of life that God placed in man's nostril at creation, that goes back to God.

We are not immortal; however, if we are faithful to the end, we will be changed from mortal to immortal at the Resurrection Morning when Jesus Christ returns to this earth and raises up the dead in Christ and those who are alive in Christ will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The music you're hearing says: "In the resurrection morning (not before), when the trump of God shall sound, we shall rise, hallelujah! we shall rise!" See 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Not completely satisfied with my answer, my friend continued: "You are saying that the soul is mortal. Then, you are telling me that God is mortal because in Isaiah 1:14 God used the word soul in reference to Himself. He said 'Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.'" There are many texts in the Bible like this where God referred to Himself as a soul. Hebrews 10:38 says: "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."

I told my friend that God used the word soul in the text merely to denote Him as a living entity as I had already explained. This side of the Resurrection Morning, man, as a living entity, is mortal; God only is immortal.

She leafed through her Bible to find other texts that would prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that man has a soul and it is immortal. Waiting for her to find her texts, I added: "If the soul is immortal, like you said, then it cannot die. Correct?" She looked at me and responded in the affirmative. I then asked her how could she harmonize that with Ezekiel 18:4 which states: "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." She paused momentarily, then admitted that she couldn't harmonize it, at least not at the moment, but she would do more research on it. That's one thing I like about my friend. She was like the Bereans, more noble than those in Thessalonica, because they searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

I think this whole point would be clarified by the following paragraphs taken from Revelation Seminars that I attended sometime back. They explain the meaning of the spirit, breath, and soul, and a fitting illustration is presented.

Job 27:3 points out that the 'spirit' and the 'breath' are the same. Job further states that this spirit or breath is in his nostrils. Please remember that it was the 'breath' that God placed in Adam's nostrils at creation, Genesis 2:7. So the spirit that returns to God when a person dies is the breath of life. Keep in mind that the spirit, or breath, returns to God, at death, but not the disembodied soul.  Never, in the Bible, is the disembodied soul said to return to God at death.

The word 'breath', here, is not referring to one's common breathing, but breath as the 'divine spark of life'. It is this breath or 'divine spark of life' that returns back to God at death. Only God has the power to create life and He retains that power exclusively.

At creation, two things combine to make a soul: body and breath. Until these two things combine, a soul does not exist. At death, these two things (body and breath) separate. The body returns to dust and the breath returns to God, and once again, the soul no longer exists. The soul goes nowhere at death. It simply ceases to be.

A simple illustration may help clarify this point. Suppose that I combine lumber and nails and make a box: lumber plus nails equals box. Then suppose that I no longer want the box so I pull the nails, and put them in a pile, and stack the lumber in another place. What happens to the box? Where does it go? It goes nowhere. It simply ceases to be. The box is a combination of two things. There is no such thing as a box unless lumber and nails are combined to make it. The nails and lumber still exist but there is no box until the two are joined together. So with the soul: the breath exists and the body returns to dust, but the soul does not exist unless the two are combined.

Death is not life in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory. It is not life of any kind, anywhere. In death, the soul does not live, the spirit does not live. No shadowy substance of any kind lives. It is the exact opposite of life--death.

The words 'soul' and 'spirit' are used over 1600 times in the Bible, but not one time are either given any life or personality or wisdom or knowledge when separated from the body.

You asked "What about the thief on the cross? Didn't Jesus tell him that he will be in Paradise that same day with Jesus? Doesn't that substantiate this teaching?" Let's look those texts up. They're found in Luke, Chapter 23:42, 43 (Amplified version): "Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingly glory! And He answered him, Truly, I tell you, today you shalt be with Me in Paradise."  Please make a mental note that the comma above (in yellow and underlined) was placed after the word 'you'. This, unequivocably, gives the meaning that 'Today, Jesus and the thief will be in Paradise.'

Please don't lose me here now. Three days after Jesus hung on the cross and promised the thief that he would be with Him in Paradise, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to embalm His body, but the body wasn't in the tomb for Jesus was already raised from the dead. As Mary was weeping by the empty sepulchre, she turned back and saw Jesus standing there. Thinking that it was the gardener, she asked him where he put the body of Jesus. Then Jesus said: "Mary" and Mary immediately recognized that voice. She said "Rabboni".

I want you to notice verse 17 of John, Chapter 20: "Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Three days after Jesus had promised the thief that He would be with Him in Paradise that very day, He told Mary not to touch Him for He had not yet ascended to Heaven. It was forty days later that Jesus ascended to Heaven.

So, what's going on? Here we have apparent contradictory statements. Does the Bible contradict its own teachings? Can we depend on the Bible? Yes, we can depend on the Bible, and, no, the Bible doesn't contradict itself. Then how do we harmonize this apparent contradiction?

In the original Greek manuscripts of the Bible, punctuations were not provided. The translators, who were intelligent men but not inspired, provided these. A misplaced comma, substantiated the prevalent, yet erroneous, teaching of the times; but it gave the statement an incorrect meaning, a meaning that doesn't harmonize with a preponderance of texts about the subject. I'm going to copy Luke 23:42, 43 and place the comma where it's supposed to be--after the word 'today'. This simple change modifies the meaning totally. Watch. Luke 23:42, 43: "Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingly glory! And He answered him, Truly, I tell you today, you shalt be with Me in Paradise."

What Jesus told the thief was: "Truly, I tell you today...today when you and I are hanging on the cross dying, today, when we are hurting and in great pain, when we are thirsty and hot from the blazing sun, yes, today, when we are humiliated, forsaken and alone--you will be with me in Paradise. Paradise is heaven, and the thief will go to heaven in the future as corroborated and promised by Jesus in John 14:1-3.

John 14:1-3 say: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Clearly, this text teaches that God's people will go to Paradise at the second coming of Christ which is future--future for us and future for the thief who hung and died on the cross 2000 years ago. Placing the comma in the correct place harmonizes Luke 23:42,43 with other texts on the subject. The dead in Christ shall rise in that Great Resurrection Morning at Christ's Second Coming.

But, wait, what about the rich man and Lazarus? Doesn't that parable teach that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell? I'm glad you asked. I think this parable of Jesus is the most misunderstood parable in all the Bible, probably the one responsible for all this confusion about the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Jesus didn't intend it to be that way however.

A parable is a story to illustrate a point. It may be a true story or simply a fabricated illustration as was the case with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Parables cannot always be taken literally. See Judges 9:8-15. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) cannot be accepted literally because: (1) Abraham's bosom is NOT the home of the saved. Heb 11:10,16. Abraham's bosom is a FIGURATIVE representation of heaven. The representation of hell is also FIGURTIVE.  BOTH MUST BE LITERAL OR BOTH FIGURATIVE. (2) Those in heaven will NOT be able to talk with those in hell. Isaiah 65:17 says the former things will not even be remembered, and Rev 21:4 says the former things are passed away, which includes hell. (3) The Bible indicates that the dead, (good and bad), are in their graves, Job 17:13; Job 21:30-32; and that they will hear Jesus' voice FROM THEIR GRAVES, John 5:28,29, and not from Heaven or hell. (4) The Bible teaches that men will receive their reward at the second coming, and not at death, Rev 22:11,12; Matt 16:27. (5) It would make Jesus contradict Himself, Matt 13:38-42; Matt 16:27.

In the book Christ's Object Lessons, Chapter 21, we find the parable of the rich man and Lazarus beautifully explained. In giving this parable, Jesus was attempting to inculcate in the minds of His hearers precious truths through their preconceived notions and erroneous opinions about the hereafter. Here's Chapter 21:

"In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Christ shows that in this life men decide their eternal destiny. During probationary time the grace of God is offered to every soul. But if men waste their opportunities in self-pleasing, they cut themselves off from everlasting life. No afterprobation will be granted them. By their own choice they have fixed an impassable gulf between them and their God.

"This parable draws a contrast between the rich who have not made God their dependence, and the poor who have made God their dependence. Christ shows that the time is coming when the position of the two classes will be reversed. Those who are poor in this world's goods, yet who trust in God and are patient in suffering, will one day be exalted above those who now hold the highest positions the world can give but who have not surrendered their life to God.

"The rich man did not belong to the class represented by the unjust judge, who openly declared his disregard for God and man. He claimed to be a son of Abraham. He did not treat the beggar with violence or require him to go away because the sight of him was disagreeable. If the poor, loathsome specimen of humanity could be comforted by beholding him as he entered his gates, the rich man was willing that he should remain. But he was selfishly indifferent to the needs of his suffering brother.

"There were then no hospitals in which the sick might be cared for. The suffering and needy were brought to the notice of those to whom the Lord had entrusted wealth, that they might receive help and sympathy. Thus it was with the beggar and the rich man. Lazarus was in great need of help; for he was without friends, home, money, or food. Yet he was allowed to remain in this condition day after day, while the wealthy nobleman had every want supplied. The one who was abundantly able to relieve the sufferings of his fellow creature, lived to himself, as many live today.

"There are today close beside us many who are hungry, naked, and homeless. A neglect to impart of our means to these needy, suffering ones places upon us a burden of guilt which we shall one day fear to meet. All covetousness is condemned as idolatry. All selfish indulgence is an offense in God's sight.

"God had made the rich man a steward of His means, and it was his duty to attend to just such cases as that of the beggar. The command had been given, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might' (Deut. 6:5); and 'thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' (Lev. 19:18). The rich man was a Jew, and he was acquainted with the command of God. But he forgot that he was accountable for the use of his entrusted means and capabilities. The Lord's blessings rested upon him abundantly, but he employed them selfishly, to honor himself, not his Maker. In proportion to his abundance was his obligation to use his gifts for the uplifting of humanity. This was the Lord's command, but the rich man had no thought of his obligation to God. He lent money, and took interest for what he loaned; but he returned no interest for what God had lent him. He had knowledge and talents, but did not improve them. Forgetful of his accountability to God, he devoted all his powers to pleasure. Everything with which he was surrounded, his round of amusements, the praise and flattery of his friends, ministered to his selfish enjoyment. So engrossed was he in the society of his friends that he lost all sense of his responsibility to co-operate with God in His ministry of mercy. He had opportunity to understand the word of God, and to practice its teachings; but the pleasure-loving society he chose so occupied his time that he forgot the God of eternity.

"The time came when a change took place in the condition of the two men. The poor man had suffered day by day, but he had patiently and quietly endured. In the course of time he died and was buried. There was no one to mourn for him; but by his patience in suffering he had witnessed for Christ, he had endured the test of his faith, and at his death he is represented as being carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.

"Lazarus represents the suffering poor who believe in Christ. When the trumpet sounds and all that are in the graves hear Christ's voice and come forth, they will receive their reward; for their faith in God was not a mere theory, but a reality. '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. And 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 tormented in this flame.'

"In this parable Christ was meeting the people on their own ground. The doctrine of a conscious state of existence between death and the resurrection was held by many of those who were listening to Christ's words. The Saviour knew of their ideas, and He framed His parable so as to inculcate important truths through these preconceived opinions. He held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see themselves in their true relation to God. He used the prevailing opinion to convey the idea He wished to make prominent to all--that no man is valued for his possessions; for all he has belongs to him only as lent by the Lord. A misuse of these gifts will place him below the poorest and most afflicted man who loves God and trusts in Him.

"Christ desires His hearers to understand that it is impossible for men to secure the salvation of the soul after death. 'Son,' Abraham is represented as answering, 'remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.' Thus Christ represented the hopelessness of looking for a second probation. This life is the only time given to man in which to prepare for eternity.

"The rich man had not abandoned the idea that he was a child of Abraham, and in his distress he is represented as calling upon him for aid. 'Father Abraham,' he prayed, 'have mercy on me.' He did not pray to God, but to Abraham. Thus he showed that he placed Abraham above God, and that he relied on his relationship to Abraham for salvation. The thief on the cross offered his prayer to Christ. 'Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom,' he said. (Luke 23:42.) And at once the response came, Verily I say unto thee today (as I hang on the cross in humiliation and suffering), thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. But the rich man prayed to Abraham, and his petition was not granted. Christ alone is exalted to be 'a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.' Acts 5:31. 'Neither is there salvation in any other.' Acts 4:12.

"The rich man had spent his life in self-pleasing, and too late he saw that he had made no provision for eternity. He realized his folly, and thought of his brothers, who would go on as he had gone, living to please themselves. Then he made the request, 'I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him Lazarus to my father's house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But 'Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'

"When the rich man solicited additional evidence for his brothers, he was plainly told that should this evidence be given, they would not be persuaded. His request cast a reflection on God. It was as if the rich man had said, If you had more thoroughly warned me, I should not now be here. Abraham in his answer to this request is represented as saying, Your brothers have been sufficiently warned. Light has been given them, but they would not see; truth has been presented to them, but they would not hear.

"'If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.' These words were proved true in the history of the Jewish nation. Christ's last and crowning miracle was the raising of Lazarus of Bethany, after he had been dead four days. The Jews were given this wonderful evidence of the Saviour's divinity, but they rejected it. Lazarus rose from the dead and bore his testimony before them, but they hardened their hearts against all evidence, and even sought to take his life. (John 12:9-11.)

"The law and the prophets are God's appointed agencies for the salvation of men. Christ said, Let them give heed to these evidences. If they do not listen to the voice of God in His word, the testimony of a witness raised from the dead would not be heeded.

"Those who heed Moses and the prophets will require no greater light than God has given; but if men reject the light, and fail to appreciate the opportunities granted them, they would not hear if one from the dead should come to them with a message. They would not be convinced even by this evidence; for those who reject the law and the prophets so harden their hearts that they will reject all light.

"The conversation between Abraham and the once-rich man is figurative. The lesson to be gathered from it is that every man is given sufficient light for the discharge of the duties required of him. Man's responsibilities are proportionate to his opportunities and privileges. God gives to every one sufficient light and grace to do the work He has given him to do. If man fails to do that which a little light shows to be his duty, greater light would only reveal unfaithfulness, neglect to improve the blessings given. 'He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.' Luke 16:10. Those who refuse to be enlightened by Moses and the prophets and ask for some wonderful miracle to be performed would not be convinced if their wish were granted.

"The parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows how the two classes represented by these men are estimated in the unseen world. There is no sin in being rich if riches are not acquired by injustice. A rich man is not condemned for having riches, but condemnation rests upon him if the means entrusted to him is spent in selfishness. Far better might he lay up his money beside the throne of God, by using it to do good. Death cannot make any man poor who thus devotes himself to seeking eternal riches. But the man who hoards his treasure for self can not take any of it to heaven. He has proved himself to be an unfaithful steward. During his lifetime he had his good things, but he was forgetful of his obligation to God. He failed of securing the heavenly treasure.

"The rich man who had so many privileges is represented to us as one who should have cultivated his gifts, so that his works should reach to the great beyond, carrying with them improved spiritual advantages. It is the purpose of redemption, not only to blot out sin, but to give back to man those spiritual gifts lost because of sin's dwarfing power. Money cannot be carried into the next life; it is not needed there; but the good deeds done in winning souls to Christ are carried to the heavenly courts. But those who selfishly spend the Lord's gifts on themselves, leaving their needy fellow creatures without aid and doing nothing to advance God's work in the world, dishonor their Maker. Robbery of God is written opposite their names in the books of heaven.

"The rich man had all that money could procure, but he did not possess the riches that would have kept his account right with God. He had lived as if all that he possessed were his own. He had neglected the call of God and the claims of the suffering poor. But at length there comes a call which he cannot neglect. By a power which he cannot question or resist he is commanded to quit the premises of which he is no longer steward. The once-rich man is reduced to hopeless poverty. The robe of Christ's righteousness, woven in the loom of heaven, can never cover him. He who once wore the richest purple, the finest linen, is reduced to nakedness. His probation is ended. He brought nothing into the world, and he can take nothing out of it.

"Christ lifted the curtain and presented this picture before priests and rulers, scribes and Pharisees. Look at it, you who are rich in this world's goods and are not rich toward God. Will you not contemplate this scene? That which is highly esteemed among men is abhorrent in the sight of God. Christ asks, 'What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?' Mark 8:36, 37.

"When Christ gave the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, there were many in the Jewish nation in the pitiable condition of the rich man, using the Lord's goods for selfish gratification, preparing themselves to hear the sentence, 'Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.' Dan. 5:27. The rich man was favored with every temporal and spiritual blessing, but he refused to cooperate with God in the use of these blessings. Thus it was with the Jewish nation. The Lord had made the Jews the depositaries of sacred truth. He had appointed them stewards of His grace. He had given them every spiritual and temporal advantage, and He called upon them to impart these blessings. Special instruction had been given them in regard to their treatment of their brethren who had fallen into decay, of the stranger within their gates, and of the poor among them. They were not to seek to gain everything for their own advantage, but were to remember those in need and share with them. And God promised to bless them in accordance with their deeds of love and mercy. But like the rich man, they put forth no helping hand to relieve the temporal or spiritual necessities of suffering humanity. Filled with pride, they regarded themselves as the chosen and favored people of God; yet they did not serve or worship God. They put their dependence in the fact that they were children of Abraham. 'We be Abraham's seed,' they said proudly. (John 8:33.) When the crisis came, it was revealed that they had divorced themselves from God, and had placed their trust in Abraham, as if he were God.

"Christ longed to let light shine into the darkened minds of the Jewish people. He said to them, 'If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham.' John 8:39, 40.

"Christ recognized no virtue in lineage. He taught that spiritual connection supersedes all natural connection. The Jews claimed to have descended from Abraham; but by failing to do the works of Abraham, they proved that they were not his true children. Only those who prove themselves to be spiritually in harmony with Abraham by obeying the voice of God, are reckoned as of true descent. Although the beggar belonged to the class looked upon by men as inferior, Christ recognized him as one whom Abraham would take into the very closest friendship.

"The rich man though surrounded with all the luxuries of life was so ignorant that he put Abraham where God should have been. If he had appreciated his exalted privileges and had allowed God's Spirit to mold his mind and heart, he would have had an altogether different position. So with the nation he represented. If they had responded to the divine call, their future would have been wholly different. They would have shown true spiritual discernment. They had means which God would have increased, making it sufficient to bless and enlighten the whole world. But they had so far separated from the Lord's arrangement that their whole life was perverted. They failed to use their gifts as God's stewards in accordance with truth and righteousness. Eternity was not brought into their reckoning, and the result of their unfaithfulness was ruin to the whole nation.

"Christ knew that at the destruction of Jerusalem the Jews would remember His warning. And it was so. When calamity came upon Jerusalem, when starvation and suffering of every kind came upon the people, they remembered these words of Christ and understood the parable. They had brought their suffering upon themselves by their neglect to let their God-given light shine forth to the world.

"The closing scenes of this earth's history are portrayed in the closing of the rich man's history. The rich man claimed to be a son of Abraham, but he was separated from Abraham by an impassable gulf--a character wrongly developed. Abraham served God, following His word in faith and obedience. But the rich man was unmindful of God and of the needs of suffering humanity. The great gulf fixed between him and Abraham was the gulf of disobedience. There are many today who are following the same course. Though church members, they are unconverted. They may take part in the church service, they may chant the psalm, 'As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God' (Ps. 42:1); but they testify to a falsehood. They are no more righteous in God's sight than is the veriest sinner. The soul that longs after the excitement of worldly pleasure, the mind that is full of love for display, cannot serve God. Like the rich man in the parable, such a one has no inclination to war against the lust of the flesh. He longs to indulge appetite. He chooses the atmosphere of sin. He is suddenly snatched away by death, and he goes down to the grave with the character formed during his lifetime in copartnership with Satanic agencies. In the grave he has no power to choose anything, be it good or evil; for in the day when a man dies, his thoughts perish. (Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:5, 6.)

"When the voice of God awakes the dead, he will come from the grave with the same appetites and passions, the same likes and dislikes, that he cherished when living. God works no miracle to re-create a man who would not be re-created when he was granted every opportunity and provided with every facility. During his lifetime he took no delight in God, nor found pleasure in His service. His character is not in harmony with God, and he could not be happy in the heavenly family.

"Today there is a class in our world who are self-righteous. They are not gluttons, they are not drunkards, they are not infidels; but they desire to live for themselves, not for God. He is not in their thoughts; therefore they are classed with unbelievers. Were it possible for them to enter the gates of the city of God, they could have no right to the tree of life, for when God's commandments were laid before them with all their binding claims they said, No. They have not served God here; therefore they would not serve Him hereafter. They could not live in His presence, and they would feel that any place was preferable to heaven.

"To learn of Christ means to receive His grace, which is His character. But those who do not appreciate and utilize the precious opportunities and sacred influences granted them on earth, are not fitted to take part in the pure devotion of heaven. Their characters are not molded according to the divine similitude. By their own neglect they have formed a chasm which nothing can bridge. Between them and the righteous there is a great gulf fixed."