The Bible says our spirit never dies. If you ever had a natural body... you have a spirit. Even if your body never left your mothers womb, you had a body for a little while.
All of us...everyone reading this has a body, a soul, and a spirit.
One day your body will die. Everyone's physical body will die some day. There are only 3 people in the Bible that never really died, in the physical sense that everyone else will die.
Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus. Jesus was dead for a few days (His body was). But now... even His body is alive.
Our soul is our mind, our will, our emotions, the things we want and desire. In a way this dies too.
When the Bible says we are putting our "self" to death, what it really means is... we are putting our wants and desires to death. When we are born again, we don't new physical body right at that moment to replace our old body.
I am old now, my body has wounds, scars, wrinkles, grey hairs, and bad eyes. I could use a new body, but just because I was born again... I didn't get a new body yet.
That leaves our spirit. Our spirit never really dies. It goes on forever and forever. Everyone spirit lives forever. It doesn't matter whether you are a Christian or not. Your spirit lives forever.
But lets define "living" here for a moment.
You are alive right now... you are in a good or bad situation. You are saved or unsaved, you are old or young, healthy, or... not so healthy. But you are alive.
One die you WILL die. All of us will. Everyone one of us will... but our spirit will live on.
Your spirit will end up one of a few places.
The Bible says some people will inherit the earth, it says some will rule and reign with Jesus on the earth. Some people believe they will go to heaven. The Bible mentions a place called the New Jerusalem.
These are places the saints will go. Those who are "saved" by faith in Jesus. The Bible says these people will get a "new" body someday. It says they will "live" forever. They have eternal life.
The Bible also speaks of sheol, hades, and the lake of fire.
Hell/hades is a temporary holding place. Even hell won't last forever... the Bible says eventually even hell itself will be thrown into the lake of fire. ( Rev 20:14; )
The Bible says one day everyone will be judged. Some believe Christians will not be, but even if this is the case.... the unsaved will certainly be.
Rev 20:12; And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
Some people... in fact the Bible appears to say the MAJORITY of people will go to hell and eventually the lake of fire.
The Bible calls the lake of fire the second death. But even here, you don't really die. Your spirit still lives, forever and ever, and ...ever.
The Bible says people here will feel pain. It says they will be in torment. It says they will be in agony. It says there will be gnashing of teeth.
They won't be gmashing their teeth because they aren't with God and the saints, they will be gnashing their teeth in pain. They have already been without God (in some cases a hundred years or more)
on this earth during their whole lifetime. They didn't gnash their teeth then... and that's not why they gnash their teeth now.
Hell and the Lake of fire are places of torment. Places or agony. The people who go there will still be alive... they will feel pain. ...forever.... and ever.
Rev 19:20; And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
Rev 20:14; Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Rev 20:15; And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev 20:10; And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Rev 14:11; "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
Not only will Satan and the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire..... but whoever receives the mark of the beast, whoever chooses to follow Satan... will burn forever and ever.
Matt 5:29; And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matt 18:9; And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
But what you didn't receive the mark of the beast? What if you simply rejected Jesus?
Rev 20:15; And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The Bible gives a special warning to people who add or take away scripture from the Bible... that includes all the verses above.
Rev 22:19; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Your spirit doesn't die... even in hell.
Matt 25:46; "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The punishment is eternal.
Isa 66:24; "Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."
Mark 9:47; "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,
Mark 9:48; where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.
(NIV) where "'the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.'
(GNB) There 'the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.'
(GW) In hell worms that eat the body never die, and the fire is never put out.
(MSG) You're better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell.
The maggots that will feed on your corpse will never die... they feed on you forever (how can that be if you cease to exist at some point).. and the fire never goes out.
Even (fallen) angels face eternal punishment.
Jude 1:7; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Anyone who disagrees with the verses above... is a false teacher, and believes a false doctrine.
