One of the most deceptive doctrines of Babylon is the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. This doctrine, more than any other, opens the door to incorrect views about the afterlife, and it has permeated the religious world with its false promises and claims.

Moreover, soul immortality offers promises of multiple choices for salvation and multiple chances to qualify for salvation. Spiritism, reincarnation, and necromancy are only possible in the light of this doctrine. The Word of God is very clear that the people of God should not tolerate any of these doctrines or practices because they are all rooted in a false perception of death.

The opposite of death is life. Scientists are able to describe the processes of life, but are unable to discern or duplicate its origin. Definitions of life include the functions of living organisms, but cannot be described accurately other than in negative terms as a "state of non-death." The term "death" suffers similar constraints, as dead objects or organisms can only be described as "non-living."

Breath, Life, and Spirit

The origin of life and death remains a mystery for which the scientific world can at best provide speculative answers. The Scriptures, however, provide clear-cut answers on the origin of life and the origin and state of death. According to the Creation account, humanity received the gift of life from God:

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 (Genesis 2:7).

The Hebrew word for "breath" in Genesis 2:7 is neshamah: the life-giving principle. The breath is equivalent to life itself (Isaiah 2:22). Another Hebrew word which is translated 28 times as "breath" in the King James Version is ruach, which can also mean "wind," "disposition," or "spirit." It is translated 237 times as "spirit" in the KJV. In Genesis 2:7, God's breath makes the inanimate material come to life, and transforms it into a living soul.

Job correlates the usage of breath and the spirit, saying, "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3).

Moses reported that the breath of life was in Adam's nostrils, whereas Job referred to both terms, saying that the spirit of the Lord was in his nostrils. Hence, the Hebrew terms neshamah and ruach are used here in a similar context—namely life itself. According to the Scriptures, all living creatures received life in the same way from God, and are subject to the same fate (Genesis 2:19; 7:15).

Both human and beast "have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast" (Ecclesiastes 3:19). And since humans and beasts have one breath, they also die the same way. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts...as the one dieth, so dieth the other (Ecclesiastes 3:19)." Both humans and animals were created from dust. When they die they return again to dust; the reverse of Creation (Genesis 3:19).

Learn more about the Biblical perspective on death, and some of the false doctrines that have distracted people from the truth: