Man does not have an "immortal" soul.

[Bob corrigan]

Scripture does not teach of a place called "hell," a place of eternal punishment. Thus, I don't believe in a place called hell. I know what is found in the translations, but one fact is that the English word "hell" wasn't created until the 700s AD. The original meaning was "to cover." There is no biblical Hebrew or Greek word that can be translated into the English word "hell." The translators forced the word into their work because they believed in "hell." But I am not here to teach about "hell" in this post. Rather I am going to debunk false teaching that is absolutely necessary to teach "hell," a place of eternal punishment and torture. In order for people to suffer "eternally" must mean that all people have immortality, commonly stated as "the immortal soul."
My first question is where in Scripture is it stated, book, chapter, verse, that man is immortal? Or that he has an immortal soul? You can look, you can twist verses, but you won't find this taught in Scripture. Part of the definition of immortal is, "having no beginning or end." If I'm not mistaken, all people have a beginning, they don't exist until the sperm penetrates the egg. When God made the physical body of Adam, Adam wasn't alive until God gave him the breath of life. Adam didn't come to life because his "immortal soul," floating around somewhere, entered his body. If men's souls are immortal, then they would have to be in existence for as long as God and definitely around before God created anything. Scripture does not teach this. You will never find the phrase, "immortal soul" in Scripture. One of the biggest rules of studying and teaching Scripture is if it can't be shown in the bible, it's unbiblical.
I realize that because of the English translations and how certain verses are phrased in the translations, it is easy to believe that along with the immaterial spirit, there is another immaterial part of the body, known as the "soul." This is why it is crucial to study the original words of the original texts, Jewish culture and how the Jews wrote and spoke, and the Jewish meaning and context of words.
If you look up the Hebrew word for "soul", nephesh, it is defined as: a breathing creature, man or animal, vitality. used very widely in a literal or figurative sense. any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, dead, desire, discontented, fish, greedy, peril of life, lust, man, self, slay, they, thing, would have it. Hmm, no definition of "immortal soul." The word is used 755 times in the Old Testament. The KJV uses 42 different terms to translate it. The two most common uses for the word are either a living being or life principle. It is also translated as corpse, living creature, individual(s), remeant, dead, throat, discerning, hungry, breathing, neck, thirst, hate, gluttony, barrenness, justice, grief, joy, unhappiness, consciousness, thought or reputation. By no stretch can you relate any of these translations to "immortal soul." In the Old Testament, there is absolutely no teaching of man having an "immortal soul." In the Hebrew understanding, man is a living soul rather than man having a soul.
In the New Testament Greek, the word for "soul" comes from psuche: breath, heart, life, mind, us, you. It is also translated as spirit, life, person, Again, no hint of "immortal soul." We are as the animals in that animals also have a soul, a life force. It is the spirit that seperates man from mere animals, because of the spirit of man can interact with God. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit all work through the spirit, John 6:63. There are spiritual truths, the kingdom of God is spiritual, (It's here now, Jesus brought it to earth, John 18:36.)
Scripture clearly teaches that only God is immortal, 1Tim 1:17, 1Tim 6:15-16. According to verse 16, only God is immortal! If God is the only being who is immortal, then man does not have immortality!
But doesn't Scripture teach that believers will have eternal life? Yes. In order to live eternal lives, don't people have to be immortal? Yes again. Believers aren't immortal yet, but will become immortal after Jesus returns the second time,( not a third time as those who believe in the "rapture" must believe. In the Old Testament, the prophecies only teach that Jesus comes twice, not three times. There is no teaching of the rapture in the Old Testament.)
John 3:14-16, 6:27, 40, 47, 10:28, 17:2
Rom 2:7, 6:23
1Cor 15:51-54
1John 2:25, 5:13.
Nowhere are the unforgiven, evil, wicked, reprobates, ungodly, children of wrath, children of the devil, goats, etc., promised eternal life.

Some food for thought. One of the most important verses for non-preachers is Acts 17:11, ...and they searched the Scripture daily, whether these things were so. I know this verse is read by preachers, but they only read the verse, they don't teach or fully explain it. Why? Because the preachers don't want the people who listen to them to check out if what they are teaching is true or even found in Scripture. Rather than Paul chastising them for checking out what he was teaching, Paul praised them! Paul was teaching Scripture, so he had no fear of being caught in a lie(s). Those people were open and eager for what Paul was teaching, they just wanted to see it in Scripture for themselves! That is why I always list verses and define words, so the readers can see things for themselves. When people are taught something new, when is the lesson most effective, and has the greatest impact? When the one being taught realizes for themselves the truth of what is being taught! When the light clicks on! I enjoy teaching Scripture. And my main goal is to expose false teaching and teach the truth. But, anybody who is a true believer should want to see if they are being taught truth and to learn things for themselves. You don't have to go to a seminary or bible college to study Scripture for yourself. You don't have to be a super brain to learn what Scripture teaches. Anyone that has normal intelligence and can read can study Scripture for themselves. You just need the proper study tools and the desire to learn. A basic library for bible study will include:
A Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. This book list's every single English word in the KJV. It also shows you which verses use the word. In the back are Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, which show the original word in the original languages used in Scripture and define the words. This tool alone will show you mistakes and errors in the English translations.

A Hebrew Lexicon and a Greek Lexicon. While Strong's is a valuable tool, the definitions are often limited. Most of the original words in Scripture have many different shades of meaning and a Lexicon will further break down the different shades as to provide the proper context of what was written down by the original writers.

Use some commentaries. It is funny that most preachers downplay using commentaries, their favorite line is, "Well commentaries are good for background information, but they are not Scripture." They say this because they know much of what they themselves teach contradicts the true theological meaning of Scripture. God forbid someone in a pew catch a preacher in a lie or know more about a doctrine than the preacher! You don't have to buy any commentaries because an excellent bible tool, called Bible Hub, is free to access on the net. They have about 30 different commentaries you can read from. Don't hesitate to read different commentaries as they all don't agree and each commentary gets some things right and some things wrong. Bible Hub also gives different Bible translations of a verse, another helpful option.

Get one or two bible dictionaries. A Bible dictionary is not like Webster's, while it does define words, it also explains other biblical things, places, events, the meaning of names in the bible, characters, etc.

Get some books that are titled "Manners and Customs of the Jews." There are about 20 of these different books available. These will explain many of the things you read in Scripture that are hard to understand or make no sense in English.

A Bible handbook, Hailey's or Unger's is good.

Nave's Topical Bible. I love this tool. It lists every single topic and sub-topic in Scripture and lists all of the verses involved with the topic and sub-topic. One of the favorite tricks, methods of false teaching, is to only use certain selected verses. In order to fully understand all of the counsel of God is to look at most or all of the verses connected to teaching or a specific topic.

Just these tools alone will enable anyone to increase their knowledge and understanding of Scripture. And you will start recognizing lies when you hear them. Something I never realized until I started studying Scripture for myself, mainly because no one I listened to ever pointed it out, was that the Bible is not two separate books, one for the Jews and one for Gentiles. The New Testament is not something "new," meaning new teaching. The New Testament is simply a continuation of the Old Testament. All of Scripture is a Jewish book for Jews and Gentile believers, written by Jewish men, from a Jewish culture who all taught things based on the Old Testament. Scripture can only be truly understood when read through a Jewish lens and a Jewish mindset. For those of you who are interested in broadening your understanding of the "Jewishness" of Scripture, I would strongly recommend that you obtain the following:
Jewish Jesus, by David Hoffbrand
Christian fruit-Jewish Roots, by John D Garr.
Both of these are available at Amazon or on Kindle. If you read them, you will get excited about learning more about Scripture. There are also different books that cover, "The difficult/hard sayings of Jesus," I would also recommend.

I know there is a big debate about which is the "best" translation or version of the Bible. What is more important, the words on paper in the English translations or the original meaning of the words? How many times do you come across a verse or passage in the Bible thats makes no sense in an English translation? What did Jesus mean in Lk 23:31? What did Jesus mean when he said, "The eye is the light of the body," Mat 6:22? What is the real meaning of "bind and loose?" What does, " the weeping and nashing of teeth" mean?

There are two translations that help explain the Jewish meaning of things in Scripture:
The One New man Bible. The sub-title reads, "Reavealing Jewish Roots and Power."
The Complete Jewish Study Bible.

I am not getting paid to plug these books. I have purchased and read each one and my understanding was greatly increased.

 

[Minister Monardo]

I am not getting paid to plug these books. I have purchased and read each one and my understanding was greatly increased.

So you read some books, learned some new things,
and you think that is what it means to receive a
revelation?
1 Corinthians 2:
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
for the Spirit searches all things, yea,
the deep things of God.

 

[Servant78]

Just read the story of Lazarus and the richman in hades. the soul doesnt die

 

[martymonster]

Just read the story of Lazarus and the richman in hades. the soul doesnt die

Um, yeah.... that's a parable.

 

[Daniel9v9]

There are many clear teachings on damnation in the Scriptures, such as the parable of Lazarus mentioned above, and this is also echoed in the teachings of the early church — that is, how they understood God's Word and what it says about salvation and damnation. In the Didache, for example, we find the Two Ways doctrine very strongly emphasised. According to it, the way of life is life in Christ that culminates in salvation, and the way of death is life apart from Christ which culminates in damnation. Now, the Didache is not the inspired Word of God — it's not Holy Scripture — but it's good to appreciate that their understanding of heaven and hell is the same as ours in our day, so the notion of hell being a later development is historically incorrect. (Though, one may argue that there are many strange and foreign ideas that developed out of it, such as the different levels of hell etc. But this does not mean that the Biblical doctrine of damnation is false, but rather that people throughout history have speculated on it and taught falsely regarding it)

In our Lord's parables, we find that at the judgment, the living and the dead are judged, and those who did not believe in Christ are thrown out into outer darkness or the lake of fire etc. The Bible uses different imagery, but they all point to a severely grim existence apart from God's grace. So, this does not mean that they seize to exist, but that they, with the angels who abused their authority, are cut off from God's love, mercy, and grace, which is what makes damnation so terrible. I think this teaching is particularly clear in 2 Peter 2.

 

[SarahsKnight]

Just read the story of Lazarus and the richman in hades. the soul doesnt die

It's not even the fact that it is obviously a parable that's the problem. Ezekiel 18 says in plain wording that the soul is in fact subject to death; it's a direct contradiction to the teaching of eternal conscious torment which necessitates that a soul be inherently immortal. Jesus also said that the soul can be destroyed in hell along with the body.

It makes absolutely no sense for words like death and destruction to be constantly used in Scripture in direct relation to the ultimate fate of the unredeemed sinner or his soul (whether the soul is the whole individual, as supported by Genesis 2:7, or whether the soul is in fact some separate entity from the body that is one's true self or consciousness or whatever, as suggested by Mark 8:36), if the soul or ANY part of a human being lives forever somewhere no matter what, upon his earthly death.

 

[Servant78]

Um, yeah.... that's a parable.

Revelation 14:11 clearly says so.
@martymonster

It's not even the fact that it is obviously a parable that's the problem. Ezekiel 18 says in plain wording that the soul is in fact subject to death; it's a direct contradiction to the teaching of eternal conscious torment which necessitates that a soul be inherently immortal. Jesus also said that the soul can be destroyed in hell along with the body.

It makes absolutely no sense for words like death and destruction to be constantly used in Scripture in direct relation to the ultimate fate of the unredeemed sinner or his soul (whether the soul is the whole individual, as supported by Genesis 2:7, or whether the soul is in fact some separate entity from the body that is one's true self or consciousness or whatever, as suggested by Mark 8:36), if the soul or ANY part of a human being lives forever somewhere no matter what, upon his earthly death.

 

[SarahsKnight]

Revelation 14:11 clearly says so.

Not really. Nothing in there about the nature of the human soul if you were using Revelation 14:11 to debunk me, and nothing about hell being eternal conscious torment and proving the Lazarus parable to be a true story if you were using Rev14:11 to counter @martymonster.

Although I'll give you credit as opposed to most eternal torment/immortal soul proponents; Rev14:11 at least uses words akin to if not identical to "eternal torment", along with Rev20:10, unlike every other verse in the Bible that concerns the fate of the unbeliever. However, considering that there are SO many more verses in Scripture that say exactly what conditionalists (annihilationists) like myself (and I presume, martymonster, as well) have been saying all this time as to what happens to the unbelieving in the end: using plain wording like "death", "destroy", "be no more", "consumed", "burned up", etc., as opposed to there being only two verses in all Scripture that uses words similar to eternal torment ("smoke of their torment goes up forever" in Rev14:11, and "they will be tormented forever and forever" in Rev20:10), I can only go with the weight of evidence, which is staggeringly in favor of unbelieving souls facing a permanent death and literal everlasting destruction, instead of living forever in torture.

Also, to me Rev14:11 is easy enough to explain anyway as to how it is not definitive proof for ECT (eternal conscious torment for short). Please allow me to quote from an earlier post of mine when I once addressed this same argument in another time instead of trying to type it all over again: How does Rev 14:11 prove ECT when not only is it almost clearly still happening on Earth, but the smoke going up forever is an obvious reference back to the prophecies about the destruction of Edom in Isaiah 34? Oh, the fire was indeed called unquenchable, and its smoke went up "forever" ... and it was clearly wiped out. Not still burning. Revelation 14:11 also could not possibly be talking about the ultimate fate in Gehenna, because it would then require that traditionalists abandon the mainstream teaching that hell is being completely bereft of God's presence. In fact, some believe the eternal torment is simply the mental or emotional torment of that complete separation rather than physically being burned in fire forever. ... How then, if that is true, could this passage be speaking of hell when it says that the worshipers of the antichrist are being tormented with fire and brimstone IN the presence of the Lamb?

 

[Servant78]

Not really. Nothing in there about the nature of the human soul if you were using Revelation 14:11 to debunk me, and nothing about hell being eternal conscious torment and proving the Lazarus parable to be a true story if you were using Rev14:11 to counter @martymonster.

Although I'll give you credit as opposed to most eternal torment/immortal doul proponents; Rev14:11 at least uses words akin to if not identical to "eternal torment", along with Rev20:10, unlike every other verse in the Bible that concerns the fate of the unbeliever. However, considering that there are SO many more verses in Scripture that say exactly what conditionalists (annihilationists) like myself (and I presume, martymonster, as well) have been saying all this time as to what happens to the unbelieving in the end: using plain wording like "death", "destroy", "be no more", "consumed", "burned up", etc., as opposed to there being only two verses in all Scripture that uses words similar to eternal torment ("smoke of their torment goes up forever" in Rev14:11, and "they will be tormented forever and forever" in Rev20:10), I can only go with the weight of evidence, which is staggeringly in favor of unbelieving souls facing a permanent death and literal everlasting destruction, instead of living forever in torture.

Also, to me Rev14:11 is easy enough to explain anyway as to how it is not definitive proof for ECT (eternal conscious torment for short). Please allow me to quote from an earlier post of mine when I once addressed this same argument in another time instead of trying to type it all over again: How does Rev 14:11 prove ECT when not only is it almost clearly still happening on Earth, but the smoke going up forever is an obvious reference back to the prophecies about the destruction of Edom in Isaiah 34? Oh, the fire was indeed called unquenchable, and its smoke went up "forever" ... and it was clearly wiped out. Not still burning. Revelation 14:11 also could not possibly be talking about the ultimate fate in Gehenna, because it would then require that traditionalists abandon the mainstream teaching that hell is being completely bereft of God's presence. In fact, some believe the eternal torment is simply the mental or emotional torment of that complete separation rather than physically being burned in fire forever. ... How then, if that is true, could this passage be speaking of hell when it says that the worshipers of the antichrist are being tormented with fire and brimstone IN the presence of the Lamb?

Yes Revelation 14:9-11 explains it

 

[martymonster]

Revelation 14:11 clearly says so.
@martymonster

No, that verse does not prove that the parable of Lazarus and the Richman is not a parable. If you think that is a literal account, are you hoping to go to Abraham's literal bosom?

Also, if it's a parable (which it clearly is) then what is it a parable about?

 

[Andrewn]

It is the spirit that seperates man from mere animals, because of the spirit of man can interact with God. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit all work through the spirit, John 6:63. There are spiritual truths, the kingdom of God is spiritual, (It's here now, Jesus brought it to earth, John 18:36.)
Scripture clearly teaches that only God is immortal, 1Tim 1:17, 1Tim 6:15-16. According to verse 16, only God is immortal! If God is the only being who is immortal, then man does not have immortality!

So, in your view, what happens to the spirit after death?

 

[public hermit]

Scripture does not teach of a place called "hell," a place of eternal punishment. Thus, I don't believe in a place called hell. I know what is found in the translations, but one fact is that the English word "hell" wasn't created until the 700s AD. The original meaning was "to cover." There is no biblical Hebrew or Greek word that can be translated into the English word "hell." The translators forced the word into their work because they believed in "hell." But I am not here to teach about "hell" in this post. Rather I am going to debunk false teaching that is absolutely necessary to teach "hell," a place of eternal punishment and torture. In order for people to suffer "eternally" must mean that all people have immortality, commonly stated as "the immortal soul."
My first question is where in Scripture is it stated, book, chapter, verse, that man is immortal? Or that he has an immortal soul? You can look, you can twist verses, but you won't find this taught in Scripture. Part of the definition of immortal is, "having no beginning or end." If I'm not mistaken, all people have a beginning, they don't exist until the sperm penetrates the egg. When God made the physical body of Adam, Adam wasn't alive until God gave him the breath of life. Adam didn't come to life because his "immortal soul," floating around somewhere, entered his body. If men's souls are immortal, then they would have to be in existence for as long as God and definitely around before God created anything. Scripture does not teach this. You will never find the phrase, "immortal soul" in Scripture. One of the biggest rules of studying and teaching Scripture is if it can't be shown in the bible, it's unbiblical.
I realize that because of the English translations and how certain verses are phrased in the translations, it is easy to believe that along with the immaterial spirit, there is another immaterial part of the body, known as the "soul." This is why it is crucial to study the original words of the original texts, Jewish culture and how the Jews wrote and spoke, and the Jewish meaning and context of words.
If you look up the Hebrew word for "soul", nephesh, it is defined as: a breathing creature, man or animal, vitality. used very widely in a literal or figurative sense. any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, dead, desire, discontented, fish, greedy, peril of life, lust, man, self, slay, they, thing, would have it. Hmm, no definition of "immortal soul." The word is used 755 times in the Old Testament. The KJV uses 42 different terms to translate it. The two most common uses for the word are either a living being or life principle. It is also translated as corpse, living creature, individual(s), remeant, dead, throat, discerning, hungry, breathing, neck, thirst, hate, gluttony, barrenness, justice, grief, joy, unhappiness, consciousness, thought or reputation. By no stretch can you relate any of these translations to "immortal soul." In the Old Testament, there is absolutely no teaching of man having an "immortal soul." In the Hebrew understanding, man is a living soul rather than man having a soul.
In the New Testament Greek, the word for "soul" comes from psuche: breath, heart, life, mind, us, you. It is also translated as spirit, life, person, Again, no hint of "immortal soul." We are as the animals in that animals also have a soul, a life force. It is the spirit that seperates man from mere animals, because of the spirit of man can interact with God. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit all work through the spirit, John 6:63. There are spiritual truths, the kingdom of God is spiritual, (It's here now, Jesus brought it to earth, John 18:36.)
Scripture clearly teaches that only God is immortal, 1Tim 1:17, 1Tim 6:15-16. According to verse 16, only God is immortal! If God is the only being who is immortal, then man does not have immortality!
But doesn't Scripture teach that believers will have eternal life? Yes. In order to live eternal lives, don't people have to be immortal? Yes again. Believers aren't immortal yet, but will become immortal after Jesus returns the second time,( not a third time as those who believe in the "rapture" must believe. In the Old Testament, the prophecies only teach that Jesus comes twice, not three times. There is no teaching of the rapture in the Old Testament.)
John 3:14-16, 6:27, 40, 47, 10:28, 17:2
Rom 2:7, 6:23
1Cor 15:51-54
1John 2:25, 5:13.
Nowhere are the unforgiven, evil, wicked, reprobates, ungodly, children of wrath, children of the devil, goats, etc., promised eternal life.

Some food for thought. One of the most important verses for non-preachers is Acts 17:11, ...and they searched the Scripture daily, whether these things were so. I know this verse is read by preachers, but they only read the verse, they don't teach or fully explain it. Why? Because the preachers don't want the people who listen to them to check out if what they are teaching is true or even found in Scripture. Rather than Paul chastising them for checking out what he was teaching, Paul praised them! Paul was teaching Scripture, so he had no fear of being caught in a lie(s). Those people were open and eager for what Paul was teaching, they just wanted to see it in Scripture for themselves! That is why I always list verses and define words, so the readers can see things for themselves. When people are taught something new, when is the lesson most effective, and has the greatest impact? When the one being taught realizes for themselves the truth of what is being taught! When the light clicks on! I enjoy teaching Scripture. And my main goal is to expose false teaching and teach the truth. But, anybody who is a true believer should want to see if they are being taught truth and to learn things for themselves. You don't have to go to a seminary or bible college to study Scripture for yourself. You don't have to be a super brain to learn what Scripture teaches. Anyone that has normal intelligence and can read can study Scripture for themselves. You just need the proper study tools and the desire to learn. A basic library for bible study will include:
A Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. This book list's every single English word in the KJV. It also shows you which verses use the word. In the back are Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, which show the original word in the original languages used in Scripture and define the words. This tool alone will show you mistakes and errors in the English translations.

A Hebrew Lexicon and a Greek Lexicon. While Strong's is a valuable tool, the definitions are often limited. Most of the original words in Scripture have many different shades of meaning and a Lexicon will further break down the different shades as to provide the proper context of what was written down by the original writers.

Use some commentaries. It is funny that most preachers downplay using commentaries, their favorite line is, "Well commentaries are good for background information, but they are not Scripture." They say this because they know much of what they themselves teach contradicts the true theological meaning of Scripture. God forbid someone in a pew catch a preacher in a lie or know more about a doctrine than the preacher! You don't have to buy any commentaries because an excellent bible tool, called Bible Hub, is free to access on the net. They have about 30 different commentaries you can read from. Don't hesitate to read different commentaries as they all don't agree and each commentary gets some things right and some things wrong. Bible Hub also gives different Bible translations of a verse, another helpful option.

Get one or two bible dictionaries. A Bible dictionary is not like Webster's, while it does define words, it also explains other biblical things, places, events, the meaning of names in the bible, characters, etc.

Get some books that are titled "Manners and Customs of the Jews." There are about 20 of these different books available. These will explain many of the things you read in Scripture that are hard to understand or make no sense in English.

A Bible handbook, Hailey's or Unger's is good.

Nave's Topical Bible. I love this tool. It lists every single topic and sub-topic in Scripture and lists all of the verses involved with the topic and sub-topic. One of the favorite tricks, methods of false teaching, is to only use certain selected verses. In order to fully understand all of the counsel of God is to look at most or all of the verses connected to teaching or a specific topic.

Just these tools alone will enable anyone to increase their knowledge and understanding of Scripture. And you will start recognizing lies when you hear them. Something I never realized until I started studying Scripture for myself, mainly because no one I listened to ever pointed it out, was that the Bible is not two separate books, one for the Jews and one for Gentiles. The New Testament is not something "new," meaning new teaching. The New Testament is simply a continuation of the Old Testament. All of Scripture is a Jewish book for Jews and Gentile believers, written by Jewish men, from a Jewish culture who all taught things based on the Old Testament. Scripture can only be truly understood when read through a Jewish lens and a Jewish mindset. For those of you who are interested in broadening your understanding of the "Jewishness" of Scripture, I would strongly recommend that you obtain the following:
Jewish Jesus, by David Hoffbrand
Christian fruit-Jewish Roots, by John D Garr.
Both of these are available at Amazon or on Kindle. If you read them, you will get excited about learning more about Scripture. There are also different books that cover, "The difficult/hard sayings of Jesus," I would also recommend.

I know there is a big debate about which is the "best" translation or version of the Bible. What is more important, the words on paper in the English translations or the original meaning of the words? How many times do you come across a verse or passage in the Bible thats makes no sense in an English translation? What did Jesus mean in Lk 23:31? What did Jesus mean when he said, "The eye is the light of the body," Mat 6:22? What is the real meaning of "bind and loose?" What does, " the weeping and nashing of teeth" mean?

There are two translations that help explain the Jewish meaning of things in Scripture:
The One New man Bible. The sub-title reads, "Reavealing Jewish Roots and Power."
The Complete Jewish Study Bible.

I am not getting paid to plug these books. I have purchased and read each one and my understanding was greatly increased.

Right, the immortality of the soul is something Christians adopted from Greek philosophy (Plato, in particular).

 

[com7fy8]

Nowhere are the unforgiven, evil, wicked, reprobates, ungodly, children of wrath, children of the devil, goats, etc., promised eternal life.

Eternal life does not just mean living forever, but there is the quality . . . the character . . . of this life. Eternal life is the life of God's love . . . and this eternal life of God's love is already in us who are children of God >

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5)

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11-12)

Jesus in us already is sharing with us His eternal life of His love living in us. We have this by living in this His love for any and all people > Galatians 2:20.

So, it is true that evil people can not have the eternal life which is in God's love. However, they do exist, and now already they are conscious and in various torments of Satanic things in them > of nasty and selfish anger, arguing, cruel hatred and unforgiveness, boredom and loneliness, dominating drives and demands for pleasure and trying to control people in order to use them while not loving them. And in fear and worry there is "torment" > 1 John 4:18.

And these cruel and nasty things of Satan will be in hell. So, they need to get with Jesus and get rid of such things so they don't go where they will go!

But while ones continue in sin, yes they already are conscious in the corruption of Satan's evil spirit > "the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" > in Ephesians 2:2. And in this spirit are the things of hell . . . now, already, in them. And they will reap so much more, after they leave their physical bodies >

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Galatians 6:7-8)

So, as far as love goes, yes they will be dead - - love-dead; but in Satan's spirit they will be conscious and will reap so much more than what they have sowed in this life.

 

[Jesus is YHWH]

Immortal does not mean immortal and eternal does not mean eternal with Bob as he redefined words to suit his beliefs

 

[Der Alte]

Scripture does not teach of a place called "hell," a place of eternal punishment. Thus, I don't believe in a place called hell. I know what is found in the translations, but one fact is that the English word "hell" wasn't created until the 700s AD. The original meaning was "to cover." There is no biblical Hebrew or Greek word that can be translated into the English word "hell." The translators forced the word into their work because they believed in "hell." * * *

Total nonsense. If one searches long enough they can find something, somewhere which appears to be written by a scholar which appears to support almost any viewpoint.
Of course the word "hell" is not in the original manuscripts. Duh Uh. Neither was any other English word.
¢¢ Below are quotes from three credible Jewish sources; the 1917 Jewish Encyclopedia, 1972 Encyclopedia Judaica and the Talmud. Which to date have not been, and I am convinced cannot be, refuted. It does not matter how many non-Jewish "scholars" someone may quote.
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…..It is very enticing to claim that the Christian concept of "Hell" was somehow derived from Dante's 14th century writing “Inferno,” or some later writing. But according to these three sources, at least 16 centuries before Dante even scribbled one line, among the יהודים/Yehudim/ιουδαιων/Youdaion/Jews in Israel, before and during the time of Jesus, there was a significant belief in a place of everlasting torment of the wicked and they called it both sheol and gehinnom. Sheol and gehinnom are written Hades and Gehenna, respectively, in both the 225 BC LXX and the NT. As can be seen by the citations in this post The Jews later called both Sheol/Hades, and Ge Hinnom/Gehenna, “Hell.
…..There were different factions within Judaism; Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes etc. and different beliefs about resurrection, hell etc. These differing beliefs do not disprove anything in this post.

[1]1925 Jewish Encyclopedia, Gehenna
The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch … in the "valley of the sons of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32; xix. 6, 13-14). … the valley was deemed to be accursed, and "Gehenna" therefore soon became a figurative equivalent for "hell." Hell, like paradise, was created by God (Sotah 22a);[“Soon” in this paragraph would be about 700 BC +/-, DA]​

Note: This is according to the ancient Jews, long before the Christian era, NOT any assumed/alleged bias of “modern” Christian translators. DA
…..This refutes the false narrative that the fifteen [15] times Jesus mentioned “Gehenna” He was referring to the valley of GeHinnom/Gehenna where trash and bodies were supposedly always burning.

”(I)n general …sinners go to hell immediately after their death. The famous teacher Johanan b. Zakkai [30 BC-90 AD] wept before his death because he did not know whether he would go to paradise or to hell (Ber. 28b). The pious go to paradise, and sinners to hell(B.M. 83b).
“But as regards the heretics, etc., and Jeroboam, Nebat's son, hell shall pass away, but they shall not pass away" (R. H. 17a; comp. Shab [Talmud]. 33b). All that descend into Gehenna shall come up again, with the exception of three classes of men: those who have committed adultery, or shamed their neighbors, or vilified them (B. M. 58b).[/i]
“… heretics and the Roman oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors of the Babylonian Jews (Ber. 8b).[Talmud] “When Nebuchadnezzar descended into hell, [שאול/Sheol] all its inhabitants were afraid that he was coming to rule over them (Shab. 149a; [Talmud] comp. Isa. xiv. 9-10). The Book of Enoch [x. 6, xci. 9, etal] also says that it is chiefly the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment (x. 6, xci. 9, et al). "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity" (Judith xvi. 17). The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according toIsa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b)[Talmud].
Link: Jewish Encyclopedia Online
Note, scripture references are highlighted in blue.
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[2]1972 Encyclopedia Judaica:
Gehinnom (Heb. גֵּי בֶן־הִנֹּם, גֵּי בְנֵי הִנֹּם, גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם, גֵּיא הִנֹּם; Gr. Γέεννα; "Valley of Ben-Hinnom, Valley of [the Son (s) of] Hinnom," Gehenna), a valley south of Jerusalem on one of the borders between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, between the Valley of *Rephaim and *En-Rogel (Josh. 15:8; 18:16). It is identified with Wadi er-Rababi.
…..During the time of the Monarchy, Gehinnom, at a place called Topheth, was the site of a cult which involved the burning of children (II Kings 23:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35 et al.; ). Jeremiah repeatedly condemned this cult and predicted that on its account Topheth and the Valley of the Son of Hinnom would be called the Valley of the "Slaughter" (Jer. 19:5–6).
In Judaism the name Gehinnom is generally used as an appellation of the place of torment reserved for the wicked after death. The New Testament used the Greek form Gehenna in the same sense.
Link:
Gehinnom
http://www.jevzajcg.me/enciklopedia/Encyclopaedia Judaica, v. 07 (Fey-Gor).pdf
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[3]Talmud -Tractate Rosh Hashanah Chapter 1.
The school of Hillel says: . . . but as for Minim, [i.e. followers of Jesus] informers and disbelievers, who deny the Torah, or Resurrection, or separate themselves from the congregation, or who inspire their fellowmen with dread of them, or who sin and cause others to sin, as did Jeroboam the son of Nebat and his followers, they all descend to Gehenna, and are judged there from generation to generation, as it is said [Isa. lxvi. 24]:
"And they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men who have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." Even when Gehenna will be destroyed, they will not be consumed, as it is written[Psalms, xlix. 15]: "And their forms wasteth away in the nether world," which the sages comment upon to mean that their forms shall endure even when the grave is no more.
Concerning them Hannah says [I Sam. ii. 10]: "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces."
Link: Tract Rosh Hashana: Chapter I.​

When Jesus taught e.g.,

• “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41
• "these shall go away into eternal punishment, Matthew 25:46"
• "the fire of hell [Γέεννα/gehenna] where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die, 3 times Mark 9:43-48"
• "cast into a fiery furnace where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matthew 13:42, Matthew 13:50
• “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6 [A fate worse than death. DA]
• “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. …And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23
• “woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ” Matthew 26:24 [A fate worse than death]
• “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Luke 10:12​

[A fate worse than death. DA]
…..These teachings tacitly reaffirmed and sanctioned a then existing significant Jewish view of eternal hell, c.f. Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Judaica and Talmud, supra.
In Matt. 18:6, 26:24 and Luk 10:12, see above, Jesus teaches that there is a punishment worse than death or nonexistence.
…..A punishment worse than death without mercy is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31.

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [A fate worse than death. DA] ​

…..“how much sorer punishment,””Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord,””It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” these deprecations certainly do not sound like everyone will be saved, no matter what.
…..Jesus is quoted as using the word death 17 times in the gospels, if He intended to say eternal death, in Matt 25:46, that is what He would have said but He didn’t, He said “eternal punishment.”
….The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, see Acts of the Apostles 23:8. They knew that everybody died; rich, poor; young, old; good, bad; men, women; children, infants; sick, healthy, and knew that it was permanent and often it did not involve punishment.
When Jesus taught, e.g., “eternal punishment” the Sadducees would not have understood it as simply death, it very likely would have meant something worse to them.
…..Re: Matt 25:46 concerning “punishment” one early church father wrote,

“Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.” Justin Martyr [A.D. 110-165.] Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 4​

…..Jesus attended Temple and synagogues for about 25 years +/-. He undoubtedly knew what the Jews believed about the fate of the unrighteous. He opposed the Jewish leaders many times, If the Jewish teaching on hell was wrong, why wouldn’t Jesus tell them there was no hell, no eternal punishment etc? Why would Jesus teach “eternal punishment,” etc. to Jews who believed, e.g.

"The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity"[/i] ([Judith xvi:17]Judith xvi. 17).
Link: Judith, CHAPTER 16​

 

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Another "hell-no" argument is that when Jesus spoke about "Gehenna " He was not talking about "hell" but the valley of Gehenna outside Jerusalem where fires supposedly burned continuously burning trash and dead bodies. Another internet myth.
There was a trash dump outside Jerusalem it was not the valley of Gehenna but the next valley over, the Kidron valley.

Miqweh of Second Temple Period. ......Jerusalem City-Dump in the Late Second Temple Period, ZDPV, 119/1 (2003),
The chance discovery of an Early Roman city dump (1st century CE) in Jerusalem has yielded for the first time ever quantitative data on garbage components that introduce us to the mundane daily life Jerusalemites led and the kind of animals that were featured in their diet. Most of the garbage consists of pottery shards, all common tableware, while prestige objects are entirely absent. Other significant garbage components include numerous fragments of cooking ovens, wall plaster, animal bones and plant remains. Of the pottery vessels, cooking pots are the most abundant type.
…..Most of the refuse turns out to be “household garbage” originating in the domestic areas of the city, while large numbers of cooking pots may point to the presence of pilgrims. Significantly, the faunal assemblage, which is dominated by kosher species and the clear absence of pigs, set Jerusalem during its peak historical period apart from all other contemporaneous Roman urban centers.
...
Recently, the contemporaneous city-dump was identified on the eastern slope of the south-eastern hill of Jerusalem in the form of a thick mantle (up to 10 m, 200,000 m3 ) (Reich and Shukron 2003). The dump is located roughly 100 m outside and south-east of the Temple Mount on the eastern slope of the Kidron Valley (fig. 1), and extends at least 400 m and is 50–70 m wide. Large amounts of pottery and coins date the dump to the Early Roman period (the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE up to the destruction of the city by the Romans in 70 CE). A preliminary study of the garbage (Bouchnik, Bar-Oz and Reich 2004; Bouchnik et al. 2005) showed the presence of animal bones.
https://www.researchgate.net/public...udy_of_the_City-Dump_of_Early_Roman_Jerusalem
Jerusalem’s Garbage

The Myth of the Burning Garbage Dump of Gehenna – BiblePlaces.com
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@SarahsKnight

No, that verse does not prove that the parable of Lazarus and the Richman is not a parable. If you think that is a literal account, are you hoping to go to Abraham's literal bosom?
Also, if it's a parable (which it clearly is) then what is it a parable about?

…..The word “parable” is from the Greek word “παραβολή/parabole” which means to place or throw beside, a parable should clarify/explain something unknown/not understood by comparing it to something known or understood. All of the unquestioned “parables” have this comparison.
Jesus identified 5 parables as such. Others identified 26 parables as such.
…..1. The Lazarus/rich man account does not have the grammatical structure of a parable it presents no worldly situation which was or can be likened to heaven. There was no comparison.
2. It is not introduced as a parable and Jesus did not explain it later to His disciples.
…..None of the unquestioned parables refer to unreasonable, fictitious or imaginary events. All of the unquestioned parables refer to real life type events which had happened at some time in history; e.g. a widow found lost coins, a shepherd found a lost sheep, a wayward son squandered all of his inheritance.
…..All of the unquestioned parables refer to anonymous people, “a certain man,”” a certain widow,””a certain land owner,” etc. The Lazarus account names two specific people “Lazarus,” otherwise unknown, and Abraham, an actual historical person, whom the rich man refers to as “father Abraham.” If Abraham was not in the place Jesus said and did not say the words Jesus quoted, then Jesus lied.
All of the ECF who quoted/referred to the Lazarus and the rich man account considered it to be factual.See below.

• Irenaeus Against Heresies Book II Chapter XXXIV.-Souls Can Be Recognised in the Separate State, and are Immortal Although They Once Had a Beginning.
Ireneaeus, [120-202 AD], was a student of Polycarp, who was a student of John.
1. The Lord has taught with very great fulness, that souls not only continue to exist, not by passing from body to body, but that they preserve the same form [in their separate state] as the body had to which they were adapted, and that they remember the deeds which they did in this state of existence, and from which they have now ceased,-in that narrative which is recorded respecting the rich man and that Lazarus who found repose in the bosom of Abraham. In this account He states that Dives [=Latin for rich] knew Lazarus after death, and Abraham in like manner, and that each one of these persons continued in his own proper position, and that [Dives] requested Lazarus to be sent to relieve him-[Lazarus], on whom he did not [[formerly]] bestow even the crumbs [[which fell]] from his table.
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus | Christian Classics Ethereal Library
•Clement of Alexandria [A.D. 153-193-217] The Instructor [Paedagogus] Book 1
On the Resurrection.
This was the day. “And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at the rich man’s gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.” This is the grass. Well, the rich man was punished in Hades, being made partaker of the fire; while the other flourished again in the Father’s bosom.
•Tertullian IX A Treatise On The Soul Chap. VII [A.D. 145-220.]
In hell the soul of a certain man is in torment, punished in flames, suffering excruciating thirst, and imploring from the finger of a happier soul, for his tongue, the solace of a drop of water. Do you suppose that this end of the blessed poor man and the miserable rich man is only imaginary? Then why the name of Lazarus in this narrative, if the circumstance is not in (the category of) a real occurrence? But even if it is to be regarded as imaginary, it will still be a testimony to truth and reality . For unless the soul possessed corporeality, the image of a soul could not possibly contain a finger of a bodily substance; nor would the Scripture feign a statement about the limbs of a body, if these had no existence.
•Tertullian Part First A Treatise On The Soul Chapter 57
9. Moreover, the fact that Hades is not in any case opened for (the escape of) any soul , has been firmly established by the Lord in the person of Abraham, in His representation of the poor man at rest and the rich man in torment.
•The Epistles Of Cyprian [A.D. 200-258] Epistle 54 To Cornelius, Concerning Fortunatus And Felicissimus, Or Against The Heretics
Whence also that rich sinner who implores help from Lazarus, then laid in Abraham’s bosom, and established in a place of comfort, while he, writhing in torments, is consumed by the heats of burning flame, suffers most punishment of all parts of his body in his mouth and his tongue, because doubtless in his mouth and his tongue he had most sinned.
•Methodius . [A.D. 260-312] XIX he Discourse on the Resurrection. Part III. [A.D. 260-312]
But souls, being rational bodies, are arranged by the Maker and Father of all things into members which are visible to reason, having received this impression. Whence, also, in Hades, as in the case of Lazarus and the rich man, they are spoken of as having a tongue, and a finger, and the other members; not as though they had with them another invisible body, but that the souls themselves, naturally, when entirely stripped of their covering, are such according to their essence. ​

 

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Immortal does not mean immortal and eternal does not mean eternal with Bob as he redefined words to suit his beliefs

Does the Greek word "aionios" mean eternal?
“aionios” occurs 107x in the N.T.
“aionios” is translated world only 40 times in the N.T.[37%]
“aionios” is correctly translated eternal 42 times in the N.T.[39%]
“aionios” is correctly translated everlasting 25 times in the N.T.[23%]
Jesus used “aionios” twenty eight [28] times, 26% of the total, Jesus never used “aionios” to refer something common, ordinary or mundane which was not/could not be “eternal.”
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Juxtapose means "the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast."
In twenty four [24] of the following verses aionios is defined/described as eternal, everlasting, eternity etc, by paralleling or juxtaposition with other adjectives or descriptive phrases.
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…..Some people claim that “aionios” never means eternity/eternal/everlasting because it sometimes refer to something which is not eternal, e.g. “world.”
However, “aionios” is never defined/described, by adjectives or descriptive phrases, as meaning a period of time less than eternal, in the New Testament, as in the following 24 verses.
…..Jesus used “aionios” twenty eight [28] times. He never used “aionios” to refer to anything common, ordinary or mundane that was not or could not be eternal.
…..In the following ten [10] verses Jesus defines “aionios” as “eternal/forever/everlasting.”

[1] Luke 1:33
(33) And he shall reign [basileusei][Vb] over the house of Jacob for ever; [εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας/unto the eternity [aionas [PlMas] and of his kingdom [basileias][Nn] there shall be no end.[telos]​

In this verse the reign/basileusei, which is the verb form of the word, is "aionas" and of the kingdom/basileias, the noun form of the same word, "there shall be no end.” “Aionas” by definition here means eternity.

[2] John 6:58
(58) This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. [εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα/aiona]​

In this verse Jesus juxtaposes “live forever” with “death.” If “live aiona” is only a finite period, a finite period is not opposite “death.” Thus “aiona” by definition here means “eternity.”

[3] John 10:28
(28) I give them eternal [αιωνιον/aionion] life, and they shall never
[εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα/ eis ton aiona] perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ​

In this verse Jesus parallels “aiona” with “[not] snatch them out of my hand.” If “aionios” means “age(s), a finite period,” that is not the opposite of “[not] snatch them out of my hand’” “Aionios life” by definition here means “eternal life.”

[4]John 3:15
(15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal [aionion] life.
[5] John 3:16
(16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting [aionion] life. ​

In these two verses Jesus parallels “aionion” with “should not perish,” twice! Believers could eventually perish in a finite period, thus by definition “aionion life” here means eternal or everlasting life.

[6]John 5:24
(24) Verily, verily, [Amen, Amen]I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting [aionios] life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. ​

In this verse Jesus parallels “aionios” with “shall not come into condemnation” and “passed from death unto life.” “Aionios” does not mean “a finite period,” by definition here it means “eternal,” unless Jesus lets His followers come into condemnation and pass into death.

[7]John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting [aionios] life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.​

In this verse Jesus juxtaposed aionios life with “shall not see life.” If aionios means an indefinite age that is not opposite “shall not see life” By definition aionios means eternal.

[8]John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never [ου μη/ou mé] thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting [aionios] life.​

In this verse Jesus paralleled aionios with “shall [ου μη/ou mé][fn] never thirst.” If aionios means an indefinite age that is not opposite “shall never thirst.” By definition aionios means eternal. See footnote [fn] on “ou mé” below.

[9]John 6:27
(27) Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting [aionios] life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. ​

In this verse Jesus contrasted “aionios meat” with “meat that perishes” If aionios means an indefinite age that is not opposite “meat that perishes.” By definition aionios means eternal.

[10]John 8:51
(51) Very truly [amen amen] I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never [ou mé eis ton aiona][fn] see death."​

In this verse Jesus juxtaposes “unto aion” with “never see death.” By definition “aion” means eternity.

[Character Limit. Continued next post]

 

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[Previous post continued]

Paul used the word “aionios” eleven [11] times. In the following 12 verses Paul defines “aionios” as eternal.

[11]Romans 5:21
(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal [aionios] life by Jesus Christ our Lord.​

In this verse Paul juxtaposes “aionios life” with death. “A finite period life” is not opposite death. “Aionios life” by definition here means ‘eternal life.”

[12]Ephesians 3:21
(21) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever [tou aionios] and ever! [ton aionion] Amen. ​

In this verse Paul parallels “tou aionios ton aionion” with “throughout all generations.” "Age(s)" a finite period cannot refer to "all generations." By definition “tou aionios ton aionion” means forever and ever.

[13]Romans 1:20
(20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal [aidios] power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
[14]Romans 16:26
(26) But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting [aionios] God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:​

In Rom 1:20 Paul refers to God’s power and Godhead as “aidios.” Scholars agree “aidios” unquestionably means eternal, everlasting, unending etc. In Rom 16:26, Paul, the same writer, in the same writing, refers to God as “aionios.” Paul has used “aidios” synonymous with “aionios.” Thus in this verse by definition “aionios” means eternal, everlasting.

[15]2 Corinthians 4:17-18
(17) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal [aionios] weight of glory;
(18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal;[proskairos] but the things which are not seen are eternal [aionios]​

In this passage Paul juxtaposes “aionios” with “for a moment,” vs. 4, and “temporal,” vs. 5. “Age(s)” an indeterminate finite period, it is not the opposite of “for a moment”/”temporal/temporary” “eternal” is. “Aionios” by definition here means “eternal.”

[16]2 Corinthians 5:1
(1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal [aionios] in the heavens.​

In this verse Paul juxtaposes “aionios house” with “earthly house which is destroyed.” Is God going to replace our destroyed earthly house with a house which only lasts a little longer and will be destroyed at the end of an age? The aionios house is not destroyed, the opposite of “is destroyed.” Thus, “aionios” by definition here means “eternal.”

[17]1 Timothy 6:16
(16) Who only hath immortality, [aphthartos] 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 [aionios] ​

In this verse Paul paralleled “aionios” with “immortality.” If “aionios” is only a finite period, God cannot be “immortal” and only exist for a finite period at the same time. Thus “aionios” by definition means “eternal.”

[18]Galatians 6:8
(8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; [fthora] but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. [aionios] ​

In this verse Paul juxtaposes “aionios” with “corruption.” “Fleshly” people reap “corruption” but spiritual people reap “life aionios,” i.e. “not corruption.” “Age(s), a finite period, is not opposite of “corruption.” Thus “aionios life” by definition here means “eternal/everlasting life.”

[19]Romans 2:7
(7) To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, [apftharsia] he will give eternal [aionios] life. ​

In this verse Paul parallels “aionios” with “immortality.” If “aionios” is only a finite period, believers do not seek for “a finite period,” and “immortality” at the same time. But they can seek for “eternal life” and “immortality” at the same time. Thus by definition “aionios life” here means “eternal life.”

[20]1 Timothy 1:17.
(17) Now unto the King eternal, [aion] immortal, [aphthartos] invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever [aion] and ever [aionios]. Amen. ​

In this verse Paul parallels “aion” with “immortal.” “Aion” cannot mean “age(s),” a finite period and immortal at the same time. Thus “aion” by definition here means “eternal.”

[21]Romans 5:21
(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal [aionios] life by Jesus Christ our Lord. ​

In this verse Paul juxtaposes “aionios life” with death. “A finite period life” is not opposite death. “Aionios life” by definition here means ‘eternal life.”

[22]Ephesians 3:21
(21) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever [tou aionios] and ever! [ton aionion] Amen. ​

In this verse Paul parallels “tou aionios ton aionion” with “throughout all generations.” "Age(s)" a finite period cannot refer to "all generations." By definition “tou aionios ton aionion” means forever and ever.

[23]Hebrews 7:24 but because Jesus lives forever [aion] he has an unchangeable [aparabatos] priesthood.​

In this verse “aion” is parallel with “unchangeable.” If “aion” means “age(s),” Jesus cannot continue for only a “finite period” and simultaneously be “unchangeable.” Thus “aion” by definition here means “eternal.”

[24]1 Peter 1:23
(23) For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, [aphthartos] through the living and enduring word of God. …
1 Peter 1:25
(25) but the word of the Lord endures forever.[aion] " And this is the word that was preached to you.​

In verse 23 Peter parallels “word of God” with “imperishable.” The same writer, Peter, in the same writing 1 Peter, in verse 25 writes the word of God “endures eis ton aiona/unto eternity. ” The word of God is not a finite age long but imperishable. Thus by definition “aion” here means “eternity”

[25]1 Peter 5:10
(10) And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal [aionion] glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, [oligon] will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ​

In this verse Peter contrasted “aionios” with “little while” Jesus does not give His followers a finite period of glory then they eventually die. Thus “aionios” here, by definition, means “eternal.”

[26]Revelation 14:11
(11) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever:[eis aionas aionon] [lit: unto the eternity of eternities] and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.​

In this verse “aionas aionon torment” is paralleled with “no rest day or night.” If “unto the aionas, aionon” means “a finite period” at some time they would rest, “Aionas, aionon” by definition here means “forever and forever.”
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Footnotes ου μη/ou mé

●The double negative [ου μη] signifies in nowise, by no means. Θεωρήσῃ[theōrésé], denoting steady, protracted vision, is purposely used, because the promise contemplates the entire course of the believer's life in Christ. It is not, shall not die forever, but shall live eternally.[Vincent word studies]
● ④οὐ marker of reinforced negation, in combination w. μή, οὐ μή has the effect of strengthening the negation (Kühner-G. II 221–23; Schwyzer II 317; Mlt. 187–92 [a thorough treatment of NT usage]; B-D-F §365; RLudwig: D. prophet. Wort 31 ’37, 272–79; JLee, NovT 27, ’85, 18–23; B-D-F §365.—Pla., Hdt. et al. [Kühner-G. loc. cit.]; SIG 1042, 16; POxy 119, 5, 14f; 903, 16; PGM 5, 279; 13, 321; LXX; TestAbr A 8 p. 85, 11 [Stone p. 46]; JosAs 20:3; GrBar 1:7; ApcEsdr 2:7; Just., D. 141, 2). οὐ μή is the most decisive way of negativing something in the future.
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000)
A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian Literature.(3rd Ed). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
● The combinations with οὐ μή also be noticed as, ουδεν οὐ μή (Lu. 10:19); οὐ μή se σε άνο ουδ ου σε εγκαταιπο (Heb. 13:5); ουκετι οὐ μή (Rev. 18:14). There is no denying the power of this accumulation of negatives. Cf. the English hymn "I'll never, no never, no never forsake."
Grammar Of The Greek New Testament In The Light Of Historical Research
By A. T. Robertson, M.A., D.D., Ll.D., Litt.D. p.1165.​

 

[ViaCrucis]

Right, the immortality of the soul is something Christians adopted from Greek philosophy (Plato, in particular).

Kind of. It's a confluence of 2nd Temple Jewish thought as well as Greek thought, and the interaction between the two (which had been going on since Alexander the Great conquered Persia). It is that confluence of 2nd Temple Jewish thinking and Greek thinking that is the context for Jewish thinkers like Philo of Alexandria.

While the Platonic view of the soul is that the soul is "immortal", it's also true that Jews of the 2nd Temple Period believed also in "the immortality of the soul", in that the person continued to exist beyond death. While Jewish beliefs about the afterlife were diverse and complex, that a person's life or soul or something continued beyond the death of the body was part of popular Jewish belief, especially the Pharisees (the Sadducees did not believe in either life after death or in the resurrection of the body).

We can see this going back to parts of the Old Testament, for example the incident where King Saul had a clandestine meeting with a medium, and to everyone's surprise, the shade of Samuel appears. Or we can see how the Psalmist speaks of making his bed in She'ol (and still, God is there, even in the deep pit of death), or how David looks forward to being reunited with his infant son in the grave.

So there is plenty biblical and Jewish thought that forms the basis of the Christian belief in life after death (between bodily death and bodily resurrection); though there was Greek influence as well, both in good ways and also in potentially problematic ways (and the early fathers while both using Greek philosophy also warned against the over-use of that philosophy, Tertullian remarking "What have Jerusalem and Athens to do with one another?" and St. Basil the Great wrote that those seeking wisdom will be like honey bees choosing only to take the choice nectar and leaving the rest.

-CryptoLutheran