Immortality or Resurrection (Updated) by William West (reading strategies book .TXT) 📖

a person
has an immortal soul? Maybe because there is no passage that really teaches it, and this is the best
that can be found.
[8] THE SPIRIT OF MAN AND THE SPIRIT OF BEAST
Ecclesiastes 3:21
If this SPIRIT [ruach] were an immortal soul, then it is like Ecclesiastes 12:7 above in that it
would prove ALL are saved at death. See notes above.
"THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME BREATH [ruach] and there is no advantage for man over
beast"
• "WHO KNOWS that the SPIRIT [ruach] of man" goes up when the body return to the
dust?
• "WHO KNOWS that the SPIRIT [ruach] of beast" goes down when the body return to
the dust?
There is an old saying "That which proves to much proves nothing." The SPIRIT of a person
going up after his death is used to prove a person has a SOUL that does not die when his body
dies, therefore, this soul is immortal. If it does, then the beast having a spirit that goes down after
its death would prove that the beast has a soul just as immortal as a person's soul and that it does
not die when it body of the beast dies, therefore, its soul is immortal. THE "SPIRIT [ruach] OF
A BEAST" AND THE "SPIRIT [ruach] OF A MAN" ARE IN THE SAME SENTENCE
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and both times “spirit” if from the same Hebrew word, THEREFORE, THERE IS NO
WAY TO MAKE ONE "SPIRT" BE AN IMMORTAL SOMETHING THAT CANNOT
DIE AND THE OTHER "SPIRIT" BE ONLY THE LIFE OF THE BODY THAT IS NOT
IMMORTAL. If a beast has a soul or spirit that separates from its body and goes anywhere after
its death, then it is just as alive after its death as the soul of a person would be after it separated
from its body. If the spirit going up proves it is immortal, then the spirit going down would prove
that it is immortal.
This is spoken of ALL MEN, not just the good ones. If it is an immortal spirit going to
Heaven, then both the good and the bad go to Heaven at death, and this was before the death of
Christ. If all were going to Heaven ["up" which they say is back to God in Heaven] at death
before and without the death of Christ, before anyone had ascended to Heaven, why did Christ
die? HAS NOT THE DEATH OF CHRIST BEEN MADE USELESS?
This is a question that Solomon asked but did not give an answer. Yet, many give their
own answer and say, “Yes I know where the spirit of man goes, it goes to up all the way to
Heaven,” and then use their uninspired answer to prove that Solomon said a person has an
immortal soul that goes up to God in Heaven or down to Hell at death. THAT THE LOST ARE
TRANSPORTED DIRECTLY DOWN TO HELL AT DEATH MUCH BE ADDED, FOR IF
NOT, THEY HAVE MADE THIS PASSAGE TEACH ALL WILL BE SAVED AT DEATH,
AND THAT BEFORE AND WITHOUT THE DEATH OF CHRIST. BUT WAS SOLOMON
ASKING WHETHER ANYONE KNOWS THAT THE DEAD GO TO HEAVEN? In the time of
Solomon the Pagans that were all around Israel believed in reincarnation. The doctrine of an
immortal soul as taught today is not in the Old Testament and did not come about unto the Dark
Age. His question might have been to the Pagans asking them how do they know about
reincarnation, how do they know a spirit, or soul of a person or beast goes anywhere after death
and is reincarnated. According to Pagan teaching, all, both persons and beasts do have an
immortal soul and they believe this soul goes somewhere after death. He asked by what authority
do you know this; how did they know some reincarnated down to a lower life and some up to a
higher life? Their only answer would be none. They had no revelation, no way to know about
reincarnation but human reasoning.
Unconditional immortality must change what Solomon said. He said, "For the fate of the sons
of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the
same breath [ruach] and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the
same place, All come from the dust and all return to the dust. [After clearly saying man and beast
go to the same place, he is made to say in the next sentence that they do not go to the same place].
Who knows that the breath [ruach] of man ascends upward and the breath [ruach] of beast
descends downward to the earth?" His question must be changed into a statement of fact that is a
direct contradiction of what he had just said for it to teach today's theology. Solomon says the
living knows something, but the dead do not know anything. [Ecclesiastes 9:5]. He did not say,
"Dead bodies do not know anything." There is no way anyone can say the dead know anything
unless they say Solomon did not tell the truth for if the dead go immediately to Heaven or Hell at
death they do know something. How could they be in torment in Hell if those in Hell do not know
anything?
[9] LIFE DEPARTING AND RETURNING 1 Kings 17:2
"Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord, and said, 'O
Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's LIFE [nehphesh] return to him.'" [1 Kings 17:21 New
American Standard Version]. The same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 1:30. "And to everything
that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is LIFE [nehphesh]." Nehphesh is translated "life" or
"lives" 108 times in the King James Version. A person having an immortal part that is not subject
to death is not in this passage. Since the child later died again, he was still mortal after this
resurrection, just as mortal as before.
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Passages that speak of life departing and returning (to the body)
1 Kings 17:21
• "And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said,
O Lord my God, I pray thee, let the child's SOUL [life - nehphesh] come into him again.
And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the SOUL [life - nehphesh] of the child came
into him again, and he revived" King James Version.
• "Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord, and said,
'O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's LIFE [nehphesh] return to him,' And the
Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the LIFE [nehphesh] of the child returned to him and
he revived" New American Standard Bible.
• "Then he stretched himself out on the body three times and cried to the Lord, 'O Lord my
God, let this boy's LIFE [nehphesh] return to him!' The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the
boy's LIFE [nehphesh] returned to him and he lived" New International Version.
• "He called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I
am staying by killing her son?' Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times
and called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, my God, let the LIFE BREATH [nehphesh] return to
the body of this child.' The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the LIFE BREATH
[nehphesh] returned to the child's body and he revived" The New American Bible.
Genesis 35:18
• "And it came to pass as her SOUL [life - nehphesh] was in departing (for she died)" King
James Version.
• "As she BREATHED HER LAST [nehphesh] -for she was dying" New International
Version.
• "Then with her LAST BREATH [nehphesh], as she was dying" Revised English Bible.
• "As she LAY DYING [nehphesh], she named the boy" New Century Version.
• "Rachel was about to die, but with her LAST BREATH [nehphesh] she named him
Bensni" New Living Bible.
• "With her LAST BREATH [nehphesh]...for she was at the point of death" The New
American Bible.
An immortal undying part of a person can be read into this only by applying today's meaning
of the English word "soul" to the Hebrew word "nehphesh" See Acts 20:9-10. It was "LIFE" that
departed, not some inter immortal part of a person that cannot die departing for Heaven or Hell
before and without the Judgment. Psalm 104:29-30 "You take away their SPIRIT [ruach-sea
creature and animals-see verses 24-25], they expire, and return to their dust. You send forth Your
SPIRIT [ruach-sea creature and animals] they are created."
[10] GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE Genesis 25:8-9
See chapter three.
[11] DAVID'S SON 2 Samuel 12:23
"I shall go to him, but he will not return to me" 2 Samuel 12:23. How and where did David
think he would go to his son? See [10] above. Many years after David's death, Peter says David
has not gone to Heaven [Acts 2:29].
[12] SAMUEL OR A DEMON 1 Samuel 28:7-28
From the days of the "church fathers," it has been debated whether this was Samuel or a
demon. Those who believe in an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man" say this was
Samuel to prove all are living after death. If it were Samuel, then it proves he was in the earth or
the ground [in sheol - the grave]. Whether it was Samuel or a demon, he "came up out of the
earth." Saul said, "Bring UP Samuel," not "Bring DOWN Samuel from Heaven." "And the
woman said to Saul, I see a divine being COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH," not coming down
from Heaven [1 Samuel 28:13]. This being did not come from Heaven or Hell. An immortal
"immaterial, invisible part of man" being in the earth is not what is believe by many today and
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she would not have been able to see an invisible spirit. If it were Samuel, instead of proving he
was alive, it proves he was dead and in the grave. To bring one back from the dead is a
resurrection of the dead; if not, why not? If it were Samuel, it would have been as all the other
temporary resurrections of the Bible. Lazarus and other temporary resurrections lived a normal
human life and died as all others do. They were not raised immortal. They were raised still in the
image of Adam, not immortal, not with the spiritual body in the image of Christ. If this were a
resurrection of Samuel, then Samuel knew that he would be back in the grave the next day;
therefore, he was not raised immortal. How can this be used to prove a person now has a
part that is immortal? A temporary resurrection of Samuel from the grave or an evil spirit
impersonating Samuel would tell us nothing of life after death or that a person now has an
immortal "immaterial, invisible part.
SAUL DID NOT BELIEVE TODAY'S THEOLOGY THAT THE DEAD ARE IN HEAVEN;
HE BELIEVED THEY ARE IN THE EARTH. HE ASKED THE WOMEN TO "BRING UP"
SAMUEL, NOT "BRING DOWN" SAMUEL.
• "And BRING UP for me whom I shall name to you" [1 Samuel 28:8]
• "Whom shall I BRING UP for you?" [1 Samuel 28:11]
• "I see a divine being COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH" [1 Samuel 28:13]
• "Why have you disturbed me BY BRINGING ME UP?" [1 Samuel 28:15]
If this were Samuel, it would be a contradiction to today's theology of the saved going to
Heaven at death for Samuel would be UP IN HEAVEN without the resurrection, not DOWN IN
THE GRAVE (sheol – hades) unto the resurrection of the dead. It must first be assumed that there
is a part of