A passage that some think that is
supporting the doctrine of “souls” continuing living after death is in Matthew
22:32. There we read:
“I
am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? God is not the
God of the dead, but of the living."
So people say: “you see: God is the God of Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob and since He is not a God of the dead but of the living,
therefore Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, though they died, they are alive”. However
such an isolated consideration of the passage completely ignores its context
and can only give wrong results. In fact if you read the above passage you will
understand that the first part of it is a half sentence. What happened is the
following: the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, came and
challenged Jesus asking him whose wife a woman that married seven times will be
in the resurrection. Then Jesus gave them the following reply:
Matthew 22:29-32
“Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in
marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead,
have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, “I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?” God is not the God of the
dead, but of the living."”
All that Jesus said was about the resurrection! When he said
“have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ' I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?' God is not the God of the
dead, but of the living.", his sentence did not start there! Instead he
said this speaking about the resurrection: “But concerning the resurrection of the dead…”.
Indeed, God is not a God of dead but of living. Why? Not because the dead are
now living somewhere, but because God will raise the dead and they will live
again. It is “concerning the resurrection of the dead” that “He is not a God of
dead but of living”.