What will happen to the spirit and soul upon death of the body?

Compare these verses:

Genesis 2:7 "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."

Job 27:3 "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;"

God was the one who formed our body, the temple of God, by which his Spirit may dwell in. Genesis 2:7 tells us that God took the dust of the ground and formed “man,” and then he breathed into the nostrils of man the “breath of life,” and afterwards man became a living soul. Job 27:3 tells us that the breath in a man is the spirit of God in his nostrils. Compare this with:

John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

The word “quickeneth” in this verse is to make alive, as in John 5:21 “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them…” Connect this to Genesis 2:7 when God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Therefore, the breath of life is “the spirit that quickeneth.” Moreover, Jesus also tells us in the same verse that the breath of life is “the words that I speak unto you.” That would be a reference to the written word of God in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. It was the word of God that God has breathed into man’s nostrils, and it became life in the body, which our soul is. The breath of life is not life, but the spirit that imparted the life in the body, just like in this verse:

Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."

The breath of the Almighty is the breath of life that has produced life in the body made from the dust of the ground, the life in the body being the soul of a man. Moreover, Jesus tells us in this verse that the body and the soul are separate entities, even though they belong to the same person:

Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

The body can die physically, but the soul continues to live on. Bodily death will separate the body from the soul. At physical death, the body returns to the ground, just like what God told Adam in Genesis 3:19 “… till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art.” However, the soul of a sinner, according to Jesus in Matthew 10:28, will end up in hell to be tormented for ever and ever. Afterall, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) Read the account of what happened to the Rich Man in Luke 16. How did death happen?

Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Death happened because man went against the word of God by which he lived. The word of God is the “breath of life” by which “man” created from the dust of the ground became a living soul. In departing from the word of God, God promised man in Genesis 2:17 that he shall surely die. The words “thou shalt surely die” is not just bodily death, but it is also the destruction of the soul in hell for a sinner, the life which was in the body. Having come this far into the study, we have established that the life in the body is our soul. The body is alive because of the breath of life which came from God that sustains it, and the breath of life is the word of God. The breath of life is not life itself, but the breath that produced the life in the body. The bible tells us in Genesis 2:17 that “thou shalt surely die,” the word “die” being a reference to death. What is death? The bible tells us in:

Luke 23:46 "¶ And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."

Physical death happens when the spirit departs from the body, or in the words of this verse “gave up the ghost.” Another name for the Holy Spirit is the Holy Ghost, and so ghost is another word for spirit. When Jesus gave up the ghost, his physical body died on the cross. Moreover, his soul is also departed from the body, the soul being the life in the body, the “life of the flesh” (Leviticus 17:11) which is in the blood. The bible tells us in these two verses what happened to the soul of Jesus after he died bodily at the cross:

Psalms 16:10 "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."

Acts 2:27 "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."

These verses tells us that Jesus’ soul went to hell for a time, but it did not remain there. It did not remain there because his body did not see corruption, and the Spirit of God raised him from the dead the third day. BTW, I believe this is also a prophecy that the Spirit of God will raise up the dead in Christ the third day, and “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years“ (2 Peter 3:8) means that it will happen in “the third day” counting from the day of Pentecost, Christ’s resurrection from the dead being an esample of what is to come for born again believers. Previously, I have done an extensive bible study in this post:

1 Peter 3:18-20 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

After his physical death at the cross, the soul of Jesus went and preached unto the “spirits in prison.” Those were the spirits of men that were not perfectly obedient to the will of God during the days of Noah, when once the longsuffering of God awaited while the ark was a preparing. This prison, a place where David’s soul was also imprisoned for a time, was in a place located in hell according to Psalms 16:10 and Acts 2:27. We read in Luke 16 that after Lazarus the Beggar died bodily, he was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. There, he met Abraham who died long before, and he could also see the Rich Man afar off, being tormented on the other side of hell. That would be the “outer darkness” according to Matthew 8:12, Matthew 22:13 and Matthew 25:30, where Jesus said “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 8:12 "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jude 1:6 "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

The words “outer darkness” is a reference to what Jude tells us in Jude 1:6 that God hath reserved the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation. Angels are spirits according to Psalms 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7. These spirits, according to Jude hath been reserved in everlasting chains “under darkness” unto the judgment of the great day. The same will also happened in the resurrection of the unjust in Acts 24:15 and Revelation 20:5, where they shall be judged out of the things which were written in the books according to their works. In the meantime, they were all imprisoned in “outer darkness,” separated from the spirits of men who died in faith by a great gulf.

Luke 16:26 "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."

Jesus tells us in this verse that both Lazarus the Beggar and the Rich Man were separated by a great gulf fixed, so that one could not possibly pass from one side to the other, nor cross over from the other side to this side. However, they could still see and talk to each other from both ends: on one end where Lazarus the Beggar were comforted, and the other end (outer darkness) where the Rich Man were tormented in hell fire. Remember what Jesus said to the repentant thief on the day of his crucifixion?

Luke 23:43 "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

Both Jesus and the repentant thief died on the same day, and they both went to a place called “paradise.” That would be the place where the souls of the dead in Christ were gathered, the same place where Lazarus the Beggar met Abraham in Luke 16. One of the things that Jesus came to earth as the Son of man was to preach deliverance to the captives:

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;"

Isaiah 61:1 is an elaboration of what Jesus said in Luke 4:18, and in this verse, to preach deliverance to the captives is to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound. We find the fulfillment of this in 1 Peter 3:18-20 where after the physical death of Jesus at the cross, he went and preach deliverance to the “spirits in prison:” to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound.

Romans 3:23-25 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;"

Those would be the spirits of men who have died bodily before Jesus came and died for them on the cross. Even though they were not perfectly obedient to the will of God, they were justified by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. The opening of the prison means that those “spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19) were now set free. They would now be like the spirit of Stephen:

Acts 7:59-60 "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep."

Stephen was a born again believer after Jesus died and rose from the dead. He was a martyr who believed in Jesus Christ, and was stoned to death for the word of God’s sake. At his death, his spirit went to be with Jesus. Likewise, for those men who died in faith before Jesus died for them, whose spirits were imprisoned for a time in Paradise, and after they have been set free, they also went to be with Jesus. Paul tells us in these verses:

2 Corinthians 5:7-8 "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

For a born again believer who died in faith after Christ died for them, their absence from the body is to be present with the Lord. That means that both their spirit and soul would be present with the Lord after they died bodily. Furthermore, we also have a second witness in this passage of scripture, which describes a scene in heaven:

Revelation 6:9-10 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"

Notice that the souls of them that were slain for the word of God was with the Lord in heaven? This is further confirmation of what we have learned so far into the bible study, that the spirit and soul of born again believers that have died bodily are present with the Lord in heaven. Solomon tells us in this verse:

Ecclesiastes 8:8 "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it."

The day of death is the day when the spirit in a man departs from his physical body, the day when a man gave up the ghost. This verse also says that no man hath power over the spirit to retain it in his body. The body returns to dust where it came from, and the spirit and soul departs from it. For born again believers, their spirit and soul will be present with the Lord, but for the unregenerated, theirs will be tormented in hell, in a place call “outer darkness,” where the Rich Man presently is. This verse tells us that the spirit of man is a candle:

Proverbs 20:27 "The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly."

Just like the flame of a candle, the spirit of man vanishes from the body at physical death. When the spirit departs from the body, when the breath that produces life departs from the body, physical death happens, and the life in the body, the soul of the sinner will either be carried into hell to be tormented for ever and ever like the Rich Man of Luke 16; or in the case of a born again believer, it will be with the Lord and will suffer no more.

James 4:14 "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

James tells us that our life on earth is even as a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. We only have “a little time” on earth and after this, the judgment:

Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

The day of death is the day of our appointment to be judged for the deeds that we have committed in this “little time” on earth. For a born again believer, the day of his death is better than the day of his birth:

Ecclesiastes 7:1 "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth."

Why? Because he has obtained a good name during his little time on earth. For the unregenerated, however, their little time on earth is all the good that they will ever receive from the Lord. At the day of death for them, when they gave up their ghosts and their bodies return to the dust, their souls will be carried into hell to be tormented for ever and ever, like the Rich Man in Luke 16. Compare these two verses:

Proverbs 20:27 "The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly."

Ecclesiastes 3:20-21 "All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?"

The candle of the LORD is a reference to the seven golden candlesticks (Revelation 1:20) and the flames on the seven golden candlesticks are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5). Likewise, the spirit of a man is the flame on a candlestick. The difference between a born again believer and a unregenerated person is that a born again believer will have a “new man” (Ephesians 4:24) in him, which after Christ is created in righteousness and true holiness. This is opposed to the “old man” (Ephesians 4:22) in a unregenerated person which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts. The new man is the “new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:26) that God has put within us when we were born again by the Spirit of God, and this is the spirit that will return to the Lord at physical death of our body.

Job tells us in this verse:

Job 18:3 "Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?"

The word “vile” means as beasts. Just like natural brute beasts which are without understanding: seeing they see with their eyes, and hearing they hear with their ears, but they understand not. (2 Peter 2:12) Every unregenerated person is counted as beasts, and reputed vile in the eyes of the LORD. The word “reputed” is a reference to the name of a person. For a born again believer, Ecclesiastes 7:1 says a “good name” is better than precious ointment. Those who have obtained unto a good name are reputed wise in the sight of the LORD, as opposed to the unregenerated who have not obtained unto a good name, but are reputed vile in the sight of the Lord. Theirs is the spirit of “the beast” that goeth downward to the earth according to Ecclesiastes 3:21.

Jeremiah 17:13 "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters."

These are they that have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters, whose names shall be written in the earth. Well, if their names are written in the earth, that means they are not written in the book of life. Those whose names are written in the book of life are the ones who have obtained unto a good name, whose day of death will be better than the day of their birth. BTW, notice it is called the “spirit of the beast” in Ecclesiastes 3:21? This term is a reference to the “spirit of antichrist” in 1 John 4:3, the spirit which confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, whereof it was told to us in 1 John 4:3 that this is the spirit that is already in the world.