“Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death” (James 5:20).
The serpent’s lie to Eve: “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen 3:4). This is the same lie told by countless ministers and preachers throughout the world, that we have an immortal soul.
Man is totally mortal. The theory of the possession of an “immortal soul” or “immortal spirit” is derived from pagan mythology. Man is made of the dust, and returns to dust. His “spirit” which he possesses is the life-giving force that is universal and which emanates from God. “Soul” is a word meaning a breathing creature, or denoting life. Because of the curse, man is a totally dying creature: immortality is given by God to the faithful. In death there is no entity that continues to live. When mankind dies, he is like the beasts that perish. He has no remembrance. He has no preeminence above a beast. At death both man and beast go to the grave (Hebrew “sheol”.) Man’s only hope to obtain an undying state is through the resurrection. No burning eternal torment at death, either. The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything.
What is the true hope of man? Can man hope for heaven after death?
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