The Immortality of the Soul is "the doctrine that the human soul will survive death, continuing in the possession of an endless conscious existence." (source) . What is the biblical basis for the immortality of the soul?

Belief in an immortal soul seems quite common in Christianity although some denominations do not seem to believe in this. What specific scriptures, and scriptural arguments, are used by those that do not believe in humans having an immortal soul separate from the body? **Update:** this is not a duplicate of this other question because this one is specifically asking for support for the opposite viewpoint. Additionally the other question has only answers which support the idea that humans **do** have a soul. If this **has** to be scoped to a particular denomination, I choose Jehovah's Witnesses.

These verses were used to teach conditionalism/ human souls are mortal. What is the “traditionalist” response to these verses. (1 Timothy 6:16): “who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” (Ezekiel 18:20 ): “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.”

Just about every branch of Christianity teaches the human soul becomes implanted in the embryo somewhere before birth. Many branches also believe the human soul is immortal. At the same time, I've read reports that as many as 60% of pregnancies end in miscarriage . This is in the context of our very developed medical system, historically speaking, so stands to reason the miscarriage rate was even higher in the past. Altogether, does this imply that most of the immortal souls in the afterlife are the souls of embryos, at least according to the views of most Christians?

The text of the Orthodox Divine Service speaks of salvation from the destruction of the human race and nowhere speaks of the immortality of the soul.

The Apostle Paul used to be a Pharisee at one point, and Pharisees believed in the immortality of the soul [citationneeded], but then Paul became a Christian through a dramatic conversion, and I don't know to what extent his beliefs on the afterlife might have changed. Did the Apostle Paul believe in the immortality of the soul? Can this question be answered objectively to any extent (on the basis of objective evidence)? Is there consensus among scholars and historians on this topic? ______________ **Note**: Is this an "obvious" question? At first glance it might look so for many, but once you have garnered some experience exchanging thoughts with [Christian mortalists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mortalism) and [Annihilationists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationism) (e.g. see [here](https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/27088/38524) & [here](https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/73790/38524)) , the answer to the question no longer looks so "obvious". _____ Related BHSE question: [What are the theological implications of Paul's continuing identifying himself as a Pharisee in Acts 23:6-10 despite being an Apostle of Christ?](https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/74210/38524)

I have seen people resort to arguments such as "if there is no afterlife, why be good (or religious)?". Counterarguments to living in sin during this life include final judgment and the infinite duration of eternity (which also form the basis of Pascal's Wager ), which I find compelling, but are there more reasons to be good than these? What Christian denominations advance an argument that is persuasive in favor of doing good in this life even if one thinks there is no afterlife, and what are those arguments?

I’ve been asked a question by a Muslim that’s kind of stumped me. They asked me something along the lines of “if Jesus is God, how could he have been God if He died on the cross while God is supposed to be immortal?” He used verses such as: > Which he will display at the proper time— he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, **who alone has immortality**, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. - 1 Timothy 6:15-16 I’m aware that death is merely a separation of body and soul. But, if to be immortal is to never be subject to such an event, how is Jesus God if He was evidently mortal during His earthly ministry? How can you be both mortal and immortal at the same time? I’m struggling to get around the idea that this isn’t an inherent contradiction.

So The Bible in The Book of Genesis describes that Adam and Eve were created as *immortal*,But this *immortal* is not equal to the Godly *immortal* as its tied to a law, if Adam and Eve break the law of God then they lose all rights to access this *immortality*. Proof that Adam and Eve were immortal prior to the fall. **Genesis 2:17** > but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die The verse above means that as long as Adam and Eve avoided the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the were never going to die. It can also be noted that this *immortality* needs the *Tree of Life* for perpetuation. God seals access to the *Tree of Life* to prevent Adam and Eve from eating of it to leave forever as sinners. Check out the verse below for more details. **Genesis 3:22** >And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. In order to protect the tree above then a flaming sword that turns in all directions was placed at the East of the garden after Adam and Eve are sent out. It could also be that the devil was jealous of Adam's and Eve immortality and lied to them so that they would lose it. But also this was part of the plan as Abraham sacrificing Isaac was a foreshadowing of God sacrificing the Christ for the sins of the whole world. So did Jesus come to restore the immortality that Adam and Eve lost? Is this immortality the same as that the enjoyed in the garden? Will Jesus allow the saints to eat from the tree of life?

Those who purport the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment/separation, which asserts that the wicked do not physically die at the final judgment, but are instead consciously separated from the presence of God for eternity while physically alive. However, as I point out in my question here , this is an inconsistent position. It is very clear from scripture that humans do **not** have eternal life in and of themselves, but *only* God and Jesus do. As a result, there is an unavoidable, inescapable consequence of being separated from their presence, i.e. **physical death**. This fact is made plainest in scripture in Genesis 3. Being banished from the garden, where God's presence was, meant the inevitable demise of Adam and Eve. I see ECT/ECS proponents point to scriptures like 2 Thessalonians 1:9 all the time, particularly to versions of the passage found in the NIV, NLT, and ISV, assuming that it supports their position. >2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction **and shut out from the presence of the Lord** and from the glory of his might (NIV) >2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, **forever separated from the Lord** and from his glorious power. (NLT) >2 Thessalonians 1:9 Such people will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction **by being separated from the Lord's presence** and from his glorious power (ISV) Notwithstanding that the original Greek says **none** of this whatsoever, which is evident by the following literal translations(even the KJV gets it right); >2 Thessalonians 1:9 who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction **from the face of the Lord** and from the glory of his might, (ASV) >2 Thessalonians 1:9 who will suffer justice—continuous destruction—**from the face of the LORD**, and from the glory of His strength, (LSV) >2 Thessalonians 1:9 who shall suffer justice -- destruction age-during -- **from the face of the Lord**, and from the glory of his strength (YLT) The source of eternal destruction IS the face of the Lord; the wicked undergo eternal destruction via the presence of the Lord. But never mind that, because even IF the original Greek said what was said in the NIV, NLT, and ISV translations, it would STILL not support eternal conscious separation/torment. Why? Because we *know* what the inevitable outcome of being separated from God's presence is; physical death! If God and Jesus are the only sources of life(which scripture attests to, e.g. John 5:26, John 6:57), then permanent separation from them means certain death. The NIV, NLT, and ISV translations of 1 Thessalonians 1:9 actually support conditionalism(conditional immortality/annihilationism), not traditionalism. So I realized... The only way that passages in the Bible that talk about condemnation/destruction being "separation from God's presence"(of which there are none whatsoever, but let's pretend) can be used to support traditional ECT/ECS is if one can prove that the wicked dead are resurrected in immortal bodies as the children of God are. If the wicked are resurrected as ordinary human beings, then if condemnation/destruction really *is* separation from God(and there's no evidence in the Bible that it is[erroneous translations of 2 Thessalonians 1:9 do not count]), they will necessarily die eventually, and eternal conscious torment/separation is proven false. Only if the wicked are resurrected in immortal, incorruptible bodies can they live for eternity in torment(or not in torment, either way). This is essential in proving eternal conscious torment/separation. You can throw any number of "destruction is separation" passages at me(not that there are any) and it'll do you absolutely no good *unless* you can prove that the wicked are raised immortal, on account of the fact that ***separation from God necessarily entails eventual death***. It is not an overstatement to say that the validity of the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment/separation hinges on whether or not you can prove the unrighteous are resurrected in immortal, incorruptible bodies. If one cannot do this Biblically, there is essentially no basis whatsoever for the doctrine of eternal conscious torment/separation. Everything reduces to this question; - What is the Biblical basis for the notion that the wicked are resurrected in immortal bodies just as the righteous are? **NOTE:** This question is directed towards those who purport the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment/separation, which asserts that the wicked do not physically die at the final judgment, but are instead consciously separated from the presence of God for eternity while physically alive.

I'm specifically referring to this article: https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8092-immortality-of-the-soul -- **Some quotes** > IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL (late Hebrew, "hasharat ha-nefesh"; "ḥayye 'olam"): By: Kaufmann Kohler > > **The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is a matter of philosophical or theological speculation rather than of simple faith, and is accordingly nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture**. As long as the soul was conceived to be merely a breath ("nefesh"; "neshamah"; comp. "anima"), and inseparably connected, if not identified, with the life-blood (Gen. ix. 4, comp. iv. 11; Lev. xvii. 11; see Soul), **no real substance could be ascribed to it**. **As soon as the spirit or breath of God** ("nishmat" or "ruaḥ ḥayyim")**, which was believed to keep body and soul together, both in man and in beast** (Gen. ii. 7, vi. 17, vii. 22; Job xxvii. 3)**, is taken away** (Ps. cxlvi. 4) **or returns to God** (Eccl. xii. 7; Job xxxiv. 14)**, the soul goes down to Sheol or Hades, there to lead a shadowy existence without life and consciousness** (Job xiv. 21; Ps. vi. 6 [A. V. 5], cxv. 17; Isa. xxxviii. 18; Eccl. ix. 5, 10). **The belief in a continuous life of the soul, which underlies primitive Ancestor Worship and the rites of necromancy, practised also in ancient Israel** (I Sam. xxviii. 13 et seq.; Isa. viii. 19; see Necromancy), **was discouraged and suppressed by prophet and lawgiver as antagonistic to the belief in Yhwh**, the God of life, the Ruler of heaven and earth, whose reign was not extended over Sheol until post-exilic times (Ps. xvi. 10, xlix. 16, cxxxix. 8). > > **As a matter of fact, eternal life was ascribed exclusively to God and to celestial beings who "eat of the tree of life and live forever"** (Gen. iii. 22, Hebr.), **whereas man by being driven out of the Garden of Eden was deprived of the opportunity of eating the food of immortality** (see Roscher, "Lexikon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie," s.v. "Ambrosia"). It is the Psalmist's implicit faith in God's omnipotence and omnipresence that leads him to the hope of immortality (Ps. xvi. 11, xvii. 15, xlix. 16, lxxiii. 24 et seq., cxvi. 6-9); whereas Job (xiv. 13 et seq., xix. 26) betrays only a desire for, not a real faith in, a life after death. Ben Sira (xiv. 12, xvii. 27 et seq., xxi. 10, xxviii. 21) still clings to the belief in Sheol as the destination of man. **It was only in connection with the Messianic hope that, under the influence of Persian ideas, the belief in resurrection lent to the disembodied soul a continuous existence** (Isa. xxv. 6-8; Dan. xii. 2; see Eschatology; Resurrection). > **Hellenistic View.** > Page from the First Edition of Immanuel ben Solomon's "Meḥabberot," Brescia, 1491.(In the Columbia University Library, New York.) **The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato**, its principal exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian and Egyptian views were strangely blended, as the Semitic name "Minos" (comp. "Minotaurus"), and the Egyptian "Rhadamanthys" ("Ra of Ament," "Ruler of Hades"; Naville, "La Litanie du Soleil," 1875, p. 13) with others, sufficiently prove. > **It is not quite clear whether the Sadducees, in denying resurrection** (Josephus, "Ant." xviii. 1, § 4; idem, "B. J." ii. 12; Mark xii. 18; Acts xxiii. 8; comp. Sanh. 90b), **denied also the immortality of the soul** (see Ab. R. N., recension B. x. [ed. Schechter, 26]). **Certain it is that the Pharisaic belief in resurrection had not even a name for the immortality of the soul**. For them, man was made for two worlds, the world that now is, and the world to come, where life does not end in death (Gen. R. viii.; Yer. Meg. ii. 73b; M. Ḳ. iii. 83b, where the words , Ps. xlviii. 15, are translated by Aquilas as if they read: , "no death," ἀθανασία). -- **Question** How do believers in post-mortal consciousness respond to this article? Is it true that post-mortal consciousness is *nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture*? Is it true that the belief in post-mortal consciousness *came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato*?

The Catholic Church has traditionally affirmed the unconditional "immortality of the soul", with its final destination either to the blessedness of Heaven or to the eternal torments of Hell. Purgatory was meant to be for the souls of the elect, still in need of some "cleansing" or "purging". On the other hand, there is the position of some theologians who, following suit from some theologians in the Protestant world, put the biblical faith in the resurrection in stark contrast with the traditional belief in the "immortality of the soul" (e.g. see Summary of *Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead?* , Oscar Cullmann, 1955, @religion-online.org). An authoritative document from the CDF, *Letter on certain questions regarding Eschatology* (Rome, Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on 17 May 1979, Franjo Cardinal Seper, Prefect) tries to "forestall the dangers that could threaten this faith in the minds of the faithful", regarding the "article of the Creed concerning life everlasting and so everything in general after death". The document is worth reading in its entirely, in spite of its ambiguities. A simple, immediate statistic confirms the impression, that the CDF's main concern is to reaffirm the faith in the **resurrection** (6 times), whereas it uses the word **soul** (2 times) with full awareness of its having become problematic for the faithful ("the question is put of what happens between the death of the Christian and the general resurrection") and that the Catholic Church still uses it mainly because of pastoral and liturgical reasons ("the Church thinks that there is no valid reason for rejecting it; moreover, she considers that the use of some word as a vehicle is absolutely indispensable in order to support the faith of Christians"). It is worth noting that the expressions "immortality of the soul", or "immortal soul", are **never** used throughout the whole document ... A more recent document, *Some Current Questions in Eschatology* (1992, International Theological Commission, under the leadership of Rev. Candido Pozo, S.J., with the approval of His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, President of the Commission) seems to resume a more traditional approach (in a "post-modern way, we may say ...), and a more balanced (albeit **exorbitant**) recourse to the words **resurrection** (151 times) and **soul** (68 times). Unnlike in the previous document, we see reappear the expressions "immortality of the soul" (1 time), and "immortal soul" (3 times). In this document we can see the effort of skirting the pitfalls of Platonism ("Christian anthropology has characteristics proper to itself and quite different from the anthropology of the Platonic philosophers"). ---------- All the above being premised ... Is there an element of ambiguity in the Catholic Church's position on eschatology? ------------------------------------------------------------------------

In City of God , Book XIII, Ch. 1, Augustine wrote, >Having disposed of the very difficult questions concerning the origin of our world and the beginning of the human race, the natural order requires that we now discuss the fall of the first man (we may say of the first men), and of the origin and propagation of human death. For God had not made man like the angels, in such a condition that, even though they had sinned, they could none the more die. He had so made them, that if they discharged the obligations of obedience, an angelic immortality and a blessed eternity might ensue, without the intervention of death; but if they disobeyed, death should be visited on them with just sentence—which, too, has been spoken to in the preceding book. It is my belief that only God is inherently immortal (1 Tim. 6:16 ), being the Creator, and all else, being created, and existing by Him (Acts 17:28 ), is granted immortality according to His grace. Thus, angels do not die like men, for they are granted immortality. Furthermore, man's soul/ spirit, is also granted immortality according to God's grace. Hence, upon death, while man's body perishes and endures corruption, his soul/ spirit continues existence. But, I wonder, how is it that angels who have sinned (2 Pet. 2:4 ; Rev. 12:9 ) continue to exist in an immortal state (for it is certain that Satan sinned, yet he still exists, as the biblical authors attest), yet man dies as a result of Adam's sin? What is the explanation of this phenomenon?

Eve's comment to Satan in Eden seems to indicate that she and Adam believed that eating of the forbidden tree would result in absolute death. They likely had witnessed the death of animals and would have understood what death was like. Catholics subscribe to the belief that the physical body is all that dies and the soul continues alive. This sounds very much like what Satan told Eve: "Thou shall certainly not die" (Genesis 3:4). Do Catholics believe that Satan lied to Eve or that he revealed to her that she had an immortal soul that until then she was unaware of?

This is partially a follow-up question onto this question which left some unanswered questions in my mind. According to an answer to that earlier question, Jesus seems to have literally died on the Calvary but only in the physical sense. The answer says that one needs to separate between physical death and spiritual death. I wanted to get a clarification on what spiritual death means but firstly some background. **Please note:** I am asking ***from*** the perspective of an atheist, but I am not looking for the perspective of an atheist. This is simply a question of how to understand what the Bible says according to the Catholic tradition. Just to clarify what I mean with the atheistic point of view, I want to here share a quote by Ann Druyan (wife of astronomer Carl Sagan 1981-1996): > When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being > a believer, many people would come up to me-it still sometimes > happens-and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a > belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will > see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never > sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would > never see each other again. I don't ever expect to be reunited with > Carl. Now with that out of the way, I was reading a paranormal book that was probably written by some Christian because it had a lot Bible references. The book said the following about death: > So here we can ask, what did "death" mean to Adam? Did God tell Adam > that he would burn in hell for all eternity? No. What God told Adam > can be seen in Genesis 3:17-19 (New International Version, 1984): To > Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree > about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the > ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it **all the** > **days of your life**. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and > you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you > will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you > were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” The author made these points out of above: 1. Adam would eat his food all the remaining days of his life. 2. Adam would eat his food until he returned to the ground. So the author of that book connects the Adam's remaining lifespan to his eating the food. The book continued: > The sentence meted out to Adam was for him to return back to dust, to the > state where he had existed before he was created. And where was Adam > before he was created? He was nowhere. That is the state he was > destined to end back in. So this explanation seemed to support the notion that there was no afterlife for Adam. After that the book quoted these Bible verses. This in Ecclesiastes 9:5... > For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; > they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. ...this in Ecclesiastes 9:10... > Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the > grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor > knowledge nor wisdom. ...and this in Psalms 146:3-4: > Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. > His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his > thoughts perish. So if there was no afterlife for Adam, does it not then mean that the Bible's point of view about death is also like the atheistic point of view? Or if this all fits together in some sense with "spiritual death" then what is "spiritual death" in the context of Adam and Jesus? The questions I wanted to ask: 1. Is spiritual death some kind of "death in God's eyes" (e.g. that he no longer considers you alive even though you may be), a destruction of the soul (an inner part that would survive death of the physical human body), or some kind of conceptual death? 2. And what does it mean in context of Adam and Jesus? Did either one of them ever become "dead" as viewed from the atheistic perspective?

I am having difficulty reconciling several End Times passages together, so let's see if anyone can help me. There's a lot to quote from, so I'm removing the white space. I hold to pre-Millennial beliefs. My trouble lies in determining who the mortals will be during the Millennium, as you can see in the following passages: > I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, **at the last trumpet**. For **the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.** When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: **'Death is swallowed up in victory.'** 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' > (1 Corinthians 15:50-55)

> And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, '**If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger**, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. **And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.**' > (Revelation 14:9-11)

> **And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.** And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. **And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse**, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. > (Revelation 19:19-21)

> Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, **and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.** This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. > (Revelation 20:4-6)

> '**For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.** But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. **No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.** They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for **like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be**, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,' says the LORD. > (Isaiah 65:17-25) That verse, Isaiah 65:20, is the one that brings me the most difficulty. If the saints and everyone who doesn't worship the Antichrist rule and reign with Christ for 1,000 years, and after those 1,000 years death is defeated forever (Revelation 20:14; 21:4; Isaiah 25:7-8), then ***who are these people that are dying 100 years young or older in the future, presumably during the Millennium, as mortals***? It seems like a black and white situation during the Great Tribulation: you either believe and resist the beast or you don't. Can someone explain how all this works to me? Thanks. Some passages that may be relevant: > Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. > (Zechariah 14:16) > > Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. > (Isaiah 24:6) > > For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. > (Isaiah 24:13) > > On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. **He will swallow up death forever;** and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. > (Isaiah 25:6-8) > > Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts: **Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age**. > (Zechariah 8:3-4) > > Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. > (Revelation 20:14-15) I also have an interesting theory, based on the wording of several verses in 2 Peter 3, that the last trumpet isn't blown until many years after the Tribulation, and in several cases where it says "in/on that day" it's referring to the "day of the LORD" as the 1,000 year Millennium. Just a theory.

Non Christian asking a question here. My understanding is that Christianity claims that: A) Souls are immortal. B) Everything that exists (except God Himself) needs to be continually maintained by God, or it'll simply disappear. This seems to me to be contradictory. Assuming souls are not an exception to the above rule, it seems to me that immortality means that something will exist as long as God sees fit to maintain it. My problem with this is that surely God can maintain anything indefinitely, so there's nothing special about Souls. God could maintain a speck of dust indefinitely, say. One could say that souls being immortal isn't an inherent trait, but a prediction of sorts. It's not that souls *can* exist forever that makes them special; it's that they *will* exist forever. However, I've yet to see any Christian argue for this view. Regards, Peter.

I'm looking for a list of arguments for the immortal soul with the bible verses supporting the arguments (finding the arguments against it is very easy).

On a separate post, [the question about who populates the Millennium](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/50913/who-populates-the-millennium-as-mortals) brought this question to mind. The belief is that Christ rose first, then believers, whether dead or living at the time of the rapture will receive their immortal bodies. Next, martyrs of the tribulation period would be resurrected to immortality to live through the Millenium, and finally, all others will be resurrected or receive immortality at the Great White Throne. At the Great White Throne, believers would be resurrected to or granted access to eternal life in the New Heaven and New Earth, because their names are recorded in the book of life, while unbelievers would be resurrected to eternal damnation in the lake of fire, along with the antichrist, false prophet, Satan and all of the demons. The relationship to the original question about the Millennium was with regard to some people dying "young" at 100 years old during that period, and who those mortals would be if all saints received immortality before the Millennium began, and unbelievers will have perished, according to Revelation 19: >He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. > >17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,[d] both small and great.”

1 Timothy 6:16 speaks of Jesus and is in King James Version translated as: > Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can > approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour > and power everlasting. Amen. However rather than the expression "Who only hath immortality", the original Greek text refers to Jesus being **the only one** having immortality. Here is the text from the interlinear bible at BibleHub : And here is how it is scripture4all interlinear : Here's the passage from verse 13 to verse 16, for context. This is according to KJV (from here ). > **13** I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a > good confession; **14** That thou keep this commandment without spot, > unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: **15** > Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only > Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; **16** Who only hath > immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; > whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power > everlasting. Amen. If everyone has an immortal soul then certainly when Paul wrote this there would have been other persons (either among those who had died, or those who were alive at the time) who also had immortality. What is the Mormon perspective on how Jesus is here the only one having immortality if everyone has an immortal soul?