Happy Sabbath!

One of the verses that is used to support the heresy of the immortal soul is Ecclesiastes 12:7. This verse tells us, "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it." Upon death, the human body decomposes into the dust from which it was created and the spirit in man goes back to God. Some erroneously interpret the spirit returning to God as a reference to righteous souls going to heaven. However, the context shows this interpretation is wrong. For one thing, it says that the spirit of everyone who dies, not just the righteous, goes back to God who gave it. The preceding verses in the same chapter speak of aging and death taking their natural course in every person.

Why would the spirit of man return to God upon death? Consider how God will resurrect the dead. He will not simply put life back into the bodies of those who have died. For even if the body has remained intact when they died, it will eventually decompose, just as Ecclesiastes 12:7 stated. So, the bodies of most people will no longer exist by the time of the resurrections. It is likely, therefore, that the spirit in man serves as the permanent record of every human being, by which God will resurrect them at the appointed time, with a new body (1 Corinthians 15:23; 42-49). By way of analogy, it's possible to recreate a destroyed building if one has the blueprints of the original. God can resurrect a person by the record held within the spirit in man.

In in obvious statement against the immortality of the soul, Christ tells us not to "... Fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). In a statement meant to give courage to his followers not to be dismayed by physical persecution, it is plainly said that God has the power to destroy the soul. This means the soul is not immortal but can indeed be destroyed. In other verses we are told that immortality is not inherent in an individual but is a gift of God (Romans 2:5-7, Romans 6:23, 1 Peter 1:4).

What impact does this understanding have on ideas about heaven and hell? We will look at that next time. Till then, we can put some time into thinking on the topic.

I pray this is an uplifting Sabbath to you all!

Devin Schulz