Is the soul immortal?

I was raised with the belief that after death, our soul goes to either heaven or hell. I have come across a few sites and posts about the immortal soul being false doctrine (from the Greeks). Some of their supporting passages were Ecclesiastes 9:5, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten." And 1 Corinthians 15:50, which says we are perishable until the last day, when we are made imperishable - and before that the perishable cannot inherit the kingdom. John 3:13: "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." And also Acts 2:34 says even David did not ascend into heaven. Is the soul immortal, or do we "sleep" until the last day?

You have been taught accurately. Numerous Scripture passages speak of human beings having an immortal soul. Here are a few such references: Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 16:26; Luke 16:19-31; 2 Corinthians 5:6-9; Revelation 6:9; and, Revelation 20:4.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 needs to be understood in its context. Much of Ecclesiastes speaks of “life under the sun,” life in this world. With that in mind, the verse from Ecclesiastes accurately speaks of death removing people from this world. If there is any thought of Ecclesiastes denying the biblical teaching that people have an immortal soul, that thought is shattered in the last chapter of the book: “…and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

1 Corinthians 15:50 teaches that the bodies of believers, affected by sin, need to undergo a change, a transformation, before they can enter God’s presence in heaven. Verse 54 of that same chapter speaks of that transformation taking place on the last day.

The context of John 3:13 shows us that Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about entering into God’s kingdom. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that no one can enter heaven except through faith in Jesus as his/her Savior. In verse 3 Jesus speaks about being born again. People enter this world spiritually dead and they have a need for spiritual rebirth (Ephesians 2:1-10). In verse 6 Jesus says that the Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. In verse 13 Jesus explains that no one enters heaven on his own except the one who came from heaven, and in verses 15-18 Jesus says that only those who believe in him as the Savior will have eternal life in heaven.

Acts 2:34 states that David died, and yet before he died, he spoke in Psalm 110 of the Messiah to come. The apostle Peter drew upon this and another of David’s psalms—Psalm 16—in his sermon in Jerusalem on Pentecost.

When death takes place, body and soul separate. Any biblical references to sleep pertain to the body, which is motionless. The soul is in heaven or hell, based on Christian faith or the absence of it. Luke 16:19-31 illustrates that God’s judgment is final and eternal.

All this demonstrates how important it is to attend to spiritual matters now (2 Corinthians 6:2).