Not all things created equal

Do all earthly and terrestrial beings have bodies, souls and spirits?

Earthly animals don’t have souls; they only have a spirit.  They are replicas of the animals God made in the heavenly places.

When God killed the animal (probably a little lamb) to clothe Adam and Eve, its spirit went into the earth.  An animal’s spirit is the source of its instincts, but there is no record in the Bible that they have souls.

Ecclesiastes 3:21

Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

It is the spirit that gives life, so everybody has a spirit.  But the soul is only associated with humanity.  So the spirits of animals go back into the earth when they die, just as the spirit of a lost man returns to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

God is the Father of spirits. 

Hebrews 12:9

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

But man is the only creature that has a soul that will go into the presence of God alive…

2 Corinthians 5:8

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

…or be separated from Him in the Lake of Fire.

Isaiah 66:23-24

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

But in the heavenlies there are angels and animals made of flames of fire.

Hebrews 1:6-7

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

So angels are fiery spirits.  There are similar beings in the heavens that are ‘animals’ according to our understanding; for example, horses.  The chariot of fire that came down and grabbed Elijah came with horses that were made of flames of fire just like the angels.

 

2 Kings 2:11

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Angels are spirits and do not have souls—at least I’m not sure of any verse that would make it clear that they do.

On the other hand, God the Father is a spiritual being and he also has a soul.  There are verses in the Old Testament in which Jehovah God (pre-incarnate) talks about his soul.

Isaiah 1:14

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

So that’s how we’re different from the angels; we have a soul and they do not.  We’re made a little lower than the angels in that the angels are ministering spirits:

Hebrews 1:14

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

But angels eat…

Psalm 78:24-25

And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.  Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.

They wear clothing:

Revelation 19:14

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

The Ancient of days (God, the Father) also wears a garment:

Daniel 7:9

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

This implies that in the heavenly places, flax is grown, harvested and made into linen.  So the things we see in the physical creation down here on earth are representative of things that exist in the heavenlies.

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…Paraphrased transcribed excerpt from an informal Q&A session at NCGF on 10/26/2011.