The Origin of the Doctrine of the Immortal Soul
What the Bible Says About Life After Death
Aug 3, 2008
What does the Bible teach about the soul? When a person dies, does he or she continue to live on in another entity? Is death really the end of existence, or is it, as many believe, the beginning of a new form of life?
How God Made the First Soul
Genesis is the first book of the Bible and it is the beginning of all things. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Sometime after this perfect beginning, humanity through our first parents Adam and Eve, fell into sin.
Satan's First Lie
Satan, in the form of a serpent met Eve at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and tempted her to sin. God had told Adam and Eve that of all the plants of the garden they could eat freely. But they were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating the fruit from this tree would result in death. God told them in no uncertain terms that if they ate from that one tree, they would “surely die.” (See Genesis 2: 15-17.)
But Satan found Eve and lied to her, saying, “Ye shall not surely die,” but instead, he assured her, “in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3: 4, 5.)
Throughout the ages, Satan has promulgated this lie and the result is that millions believe that the soul is immortal and that the dead have a secret knowledge that they would like to share with their loved ones.
What the Bible Says About the Dead
The Bible’s teachings on this idea are clear, though. The dead are resting in their graves and cannot communicate with the living. Furthermore, they have no awareness of anything that is happening in the land of the living.
Here is what the Bible says about what the dead know. “So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” (Job 14: 12). Job adds also that a dead man does not watch over his loved ones living on earth. Verse 21 says, “His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.”
The Bible is clear. The dead know nothing. The grave is a silent place.
