Bible Questions Answered:
“...so my friend does not believe in a soul, and says I can't prove it.”
Rachel/ San Diego, California U.S.A.
Bible Answers:
Our God is a God of truth:
Deuteronomy 32:3,4 KJV
3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 He is the Rock, ( who is the Rock? Our Lord God! ed.) His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.
II Samuel 7:28 KJV
And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
Psalm 146:5,6 KJV
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
John 1:14 KJV
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 14:6 KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
John 18:37 KJV
Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art thou a King then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice.
Romans 3:3,4 KJV
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Titus 1:2 KJV
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Hebrews 6:17-20 KJV
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
What does our God, say regarding the soul?
The Soul Is Eternal:
Job 19:25-27 KJV
25 For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
Daniel 12:2 KJV
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Matthew 16:26 KJV
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Luke 20:36 KJV
Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
John 5:28,29 KJV
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
John 8:51 KJV
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Acts 24:14,15 KJV
14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
Romans 2:6-8 KJV
6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done.
7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.
8 But He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.
I Corinthians 15:51-56 NLT
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
II Corinthians 5:1 KJV
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 in the heavens.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died.
16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.
II Timothy 1:9,10 KJV
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (Romans 8:29-God's Foreknowledge.)
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Revelation 20:4 NLT
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Has anyone ever seen a soul?
Yes!
Matthew 17:1-6 NLT
1 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.
2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light.
3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.
4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Dearly Loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him.”
6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
Christ, seen after death, in His resurrected body:
Seen of Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9)
Seen by two other women (Matthew 28:9)
Seen by two disciples (Luke 24:15)
Seen by eleven disciples (Luke 24:36)
Seen by Peter (I Corinthians 15:5)
Seen by the ten disciples and Thomas (John 20:19)
Seen by the eleven disciples (John 20:26)
Seen by the disciples at Galilee (John 21:1)
Seen by more than 500 at one time (I Corinthians 15:6)
Seen by the eleven disciples on a Galilean Mountain (Matthew 28:17)
Seen by James (I Corinthians 15:7)
Seen by His disciples at Bethany (Luke 24:50)
Seen by Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road (Acts 9:5/I Corinthians 15:8)
Is belief in the eternal soul important, absolutely! Not to believe in an eternal soul, is to make the author of salvation, a liar, and not a Saviour.
John 11:20-27 KJV
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Romans 10;9,10 KJV
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
