Settling the Immortality of the Soul Debate
The Adventist, Jehovah Witnesses and the Armstrong splinter groups all say that the first big lie is the teaching of the immortal soul. They claim that Christianity in general follow the lie of Satan and promised that Adam and Eve would not die. And that the teaching of the immortal soul means that no one dies.
The question is what is "death " and what does it mean to die. The scripture says in Genesis, "in that day, that you eat of the fruit thereof you shall surely die" . What happened "in that day" that they ate of the forbidden fruit? The three church groups above say that death means annhilated. The body decays and the soul is vanished into thin air and no longer exists. But, were Adam and Eve annihilated "that day" ? Did they vanish into thin air never to appear again "that day"? No, what did happen? They were removed from the garden of Eden and separated from the presence from God. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
The bible speaks of death in two forms. We are all aware of the one type of death that is the death of the body. Some, however, are unaware of the death, which is spiritual. That is death by separation of our fellowship with God. This death is to be out of fellowship and out of God' s grace. It is to be cut off from God. In Genesis we find the first the death separation from God. Adam and Eve were first created in fellowship with God, they lived and walked in his grace with the hope of eating from the fruit of the tree of everlasting life. However, their sin brought forth death. Not only the promise of physical death in the flesh but more importantly, the spiritual separation of life giving grace from God. They were removed from the place of fellowship, Grace and Light in the garden to suffer spiritual darkness in the earth. From that moment, that very day, they suffered the first stage of spiritual death, their soul became bent toward ruin and darkness and the flesh began to corrupt.
They begin to suffer punishment, "that day" . and from that day on they suffered punishment and so has all mankind. Nowhere, does scripture call death "annihilation" .
Let us look at what the Apostle Paul says describes what it means to be "dead" and what it means to be "alive" In Eph.2.1 Paul writes, "1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; " Paul and Christ describes those who are physically alive are as yet "cut off" from God as being "dead" in there sins. Does he mean, "annihilated" ? Of course not, he means they were cut off from God! And that is how Adam and Eve "died that day!" . Christ in like manners say in Matt.8:22 "follow me, and let the dead bury the dead". Does Christ mean, let the "annihilated bury the annihilated" ? Of course not . He means let those who are not in God's Grace and separated from God bury those who died outside of God's Grace. Paul writes concerning the widow that lives in pleasure of sin in 1Tim.5:6 6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth" Meaning that while she lives and enjoys the pleasure of the flesh, she is dead in that she is cut off from God. To "live" is to being in God's Grace and it means to live forever even though the body may die. As Christ says, "they cannot kill the soul" when they kill they body in Mt.10:28a. In this same manner, God promises "eternal life" to those who die in God's Grace and "eternal punishment" to those who do not.
Annihilationist have argued that "eternal life" is reduced to simple existence, even if it's an existence in punishment. They will claim that if a person is in "everlasting punishment" then he has also the scriptural meaning of "eternal life" . We all know that eternal life which is promised by Christ means joyous everlasting life. The term "eternal life" is means the abundant, glorious and joyous life in Christ. The word "zoe" in the Greek (life) means an abundant life, not simply existence. In John 11:25 Christ promises that He is the "resurrection and the life" and that those who believe in him "Shall never die" . Christ understands that they will die in the flesh but though they do, they will never be separated from Him or God. Christ "is the resurrection" because though they have died in their sins and separated from God, He is a resurrection spiritually unto them and they now live and shall never again die as to be separated from God. Paul repeats this same thought in Rom.8:38-39 when he writes, " . 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Christ says in John 8: 51Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Yet, we know, and so did they, that the body will die, but the believer who keeps Christ sayings shall never die as to be separated from God.
Early in scripture, in fact at the very fall of Adam and Eve, we find that a hope is established, that would defeat and overcome the death that man incurred by the sins of Adam and Eve. The hope comes in the form of a promise. The promise that the seed of the woman, would crush the head of the serpent the devil which tempted and caused Adam and Eve to fall, Gen.3:15. Then they were cast out of the garden. By believing in that promised seed, there was hope that the sin which had made them fall would be forgiven, and thus brought the hope of eternal life back to them again. Though, the flesh must suffer death, by means of the promise seed, fellowship could be restored as long as they remained in that hope and trusted in that promise.
Death is the state of separation from God. Eternal death is being eternally separated from God, known as the "second death" in Revelation 20:6, 21:8 & 14. The promise seed of Christ restores our fellowship with God, wherein we have eternal life abiding in us, John 6:54. The resurrection day will restore to us our bodies incorruptible and eternal.