This week I would like to address the concept of reincarnation and its relevance to the Bible. Next we’ll look at scriptures that some use to support reincarnation, as well as scriptures that opponents use to refute it. Finally, I’ll explain what my personal beliefs are on this fascinating subject.
Growing up and attending traditional church services, I was never told about reincarnation; it certainly wasn’t up for discussion in Wednesday night Bible study. Of course, you can hardly blame religious leaders for leaving it out of their teachings when everything they have studied and read probably refuted the idea. But many people today—including some religious leaders—do not know that reincarnation was a common belief at the time of Christ. In fact, even the disciples of Jesus accepted it. John chapter nine makes this absolutely clear. In this incident, the disciples and Jesus pass a blind man on the side of the road. The disciples then asked Jesus if it was this man or his parents who sinned to make him be born blind. The question reveals what they believed, for how can a man come into this world blind because of sin if he had not lived a previous life to do the sinning?
For many years following Christ’s ministry, reincarnation was believed by many of the most influential Christians. Origen stated, “The soul has neither beginning nor end. [They] come into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats for their previous lives.” Many centuries later, reincarnation was so widespread among Christians that the Roman emperor Justinian took action that led to its banishment in the mid sixth century AD. It is interesting that this was accomplished by a Roman emperor. At this time, the church was more of a state institution than an avenue of spirituality, and I imagine a belief in reincarnation probably wasn’t in the best interest of an emperor who demanded total obedience from his subjects; if the people were allowed to believe reincarnation was true, then eternal punishment really wouldn’t be the judgment for a soul who disregarded the divine orders of the Christian emperor.
Because of the efforts of Justinian and many others, it didn’t take long for this doctrine to be systematically removed from Christian theology. And as you probably already know, most Christians didn’t have access to the scriptures. In fact, at certain times in history, it wasn’t just reincarnation that was banned—READING THE BIBLE WAS TOO! So it REALLY shouldn’t surprise us that the idea of reincarnation didn’t survive the divine will of the emperor, and has only resurfaced in the last few centuries when more people are able to think critically about what the scriptures truly mean.
So where does the idea of reincarnation surface in the Bible? Actually, there are too many places for one blog post, so let’s go over the more popular ones used for reincarnation discussions.
One of the most well-known prophecies in the Old Testament is the return of Elijah. Prominent scriptures teach that Elijah must return to earth to prepare the way for the Lord. In fact, according to common Jewish belief, Elijah was to come and “restore all things” before any messiah could appear. So in order for Jesus to have been the messiah, this prophecy had to have come to fruition. And it seems that Jesus confirmed that it did.
In Matthew 11:14 Jesus tells the multitude of John the Baptist: “If you are willing to accept it, he [John] is Elijah who is to come.” Jesus also states in the Gospel of Mark: “But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
The phrase “…as it was written of him…” which is speaking of Elijah, makes this whole point pretty clear: Jesus was trying to convey that John the Baptist was of the same spirit as that of Elijah.
I think these scriptures are pretty clear about who John was. Nevertheless, and to be fair to the opponents of the idea of reincarnation being supported in the Bible, there do seem to be scriptures that refute it, at least on the surface. But upon close inspection, I do not think they are very strong. For instance, many Westerners—often ones that have not studied what reincarnation truly is or means—will combat the reincarnation of Elijah as John with Luke 1:17, which states that John will go before the messiah “…in the spirit and power of Elias [Elijah].” They conclude that “in the spirit and power of Elijah” means it wasn’t Elijah. This is probably one of the worst arguments an opponent could give. Why? Because returning to the earth in the “spirit and power” of someone who has already lived on the earth IS REINCARNATION! Actually, there isn’t really a much better definition for it. It would seem that the opponents of Biblical reincarnation haven’t thought this one through very well, and only someone who didn’t understand the concept of reincarnation would use this scripture as proof against it. The sad part is that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of websites that do in fact use this argument.
Opponents of Biblical reincarnation also use John 1:21-23 as ammunition. Here, the Levites ask John the Baptist point blank if he is Elijah that was to come. John responds by telling them no. So If John really was the reincarnated Elijah, why would he deny it?
We could also ask why John didn’t know Jesus was the true messiah while in jail before being beheaded. In the beginning of his ministry, the gospels make it clear that John understood exactly who Jesus was. But after being put in jail, he went through a period of doubt where he wasn’t sure if Jesus really was THE messiah or not, so he sent his disciples to personally ask him. It seems John lost faith when he failed to comprehend the full extent of Jesus’ ministry. Couldn’t John have also made the mistake of not realizing he was the reincarnation of the spirit to be in Elijah before?
When I began to understand more of what reincarnation was, I realized that just because John didn’t believe he was Elijah reincarnated doesn’t mean much. Each reincarnated life is a culmination of previous lives and conscious experiences before it. Reincarnation is not about the exact same person coming back to inhabit a different body. It’s about many life experiences that one soul goes through in order to grow and hopefully mature. Each incarnation of the soul can therefore still be understood to b a unique individual person. And when that soul dies, that same soul doesn’t come back. Why? Because what reincarnates is that same soul in addition to the culminate experiences that soul has had in perpetuity. Let’s say that I, Joshua Tilghman, was to reincarnate on the earth two hundred years from now. Is it Joshua Tilghman that is reincarnating? Not exactly. However, some of the same personality traits that made up Joshua Tilghman would reincarnate.
We must also remember that the Old Testament states Elijah must come back to prepare the way of the messiah. So if you don’t believe Elijah returned in the spirit of John, how can you believe Jesus was the messiah?
Another scripture often used to refute reincarnation is Hebrews 9:27. It states “…it is appointed men once to die…”
But even this is within the confines of reincarnation. As we already discussed, after death it is not the exact same soul that returns. It is the culmination of all of that soul’s incarnations which results in a unique individual every incarnation cycle. So even in the doctrine of reincarnation, it is still appointed unto man once to die! As both nature and Jesus taught, through death always comes more physical life! The death of one tree or plant produces thousands of more lives. Reincarnation is really not much different.
So why does mainstream Christianity still vehemently deny reincarnation today? One of the most prominent reasons is because it contradicts the idea of a resurrection after death. However, this is where I believe the institutionalized church of antiquity also missed the point. The resurrection does not take place after death, as the literal interpretation supposes. The resurrection takes place while you LIVE, as a spiritual experience. As the Gospel of Philip, a Gnostic scripture, states:
“People who say they will first die and then arise are mistaken. If they do not first receive resurrection while they are alive, once they have died they will receive nothing.”
This scripture was written because the Gnostics of antiquity understood that the literalists did not fully comprehend the spiritual intent of the New Testament writings. Even Jesus told Nicodemus that you must be “born again”, which better translates as “born from above”. This being born from above is a spiritual birth that happens while one is yet alive in the physical. When you combine this with Jesus’ statement that the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, it all becomes very clear; becoming born from above IS a resurrection!
If we are honest with ourselves, even most children would find the idea of God putting back together a body after it has been decomposed by worms and bacteria a little far-fetched.
I would now like to share a little more about my personal beliefs on reincarnation. Consider the following scenario, as I have:
Imagine a baby dying and then appearing before God. Since we are judged by the deeds done on this earth, what crown would this baby be able to place at the feet of Jesus? In other words, what could the baby offer in return for reward? Not only would the baby be able to offer nothing, but what could the baby receive? Wouldn’t this be the ultimate example of something totally unjust and unfair? The baby would not have even had the chance of offering something to God.
Consider another scenario: how can a merciful God create a place of eternal punishment for a sinner, especially when that God KNEW before hand that the creation would end up there? If God really did this, is “merciful” the right word to describe Him?
After thinking for myself instead of believing what I have been told about the Bible, I can’t help but wonder how much institutionalized Christianity strayed from its spiritually humble beginnings. I am willing to bet a whole lot.
Finally, and as you probably already know, reincarnation works on the principle of karma. This is exactly the same thing as reaping what you sow! THAT is just. THAT is merciful. This is also truly in line with a loving Father who rains both on the just and unjust! So yes, I think the idea of reincarnation is a very logical belief, and personally, I am glad to see that Jesus supports it.
What do you think?
Issues of Bible facts become very complicated when we forget that the Bible is made up of WORDS which have a meaning when read. A string of sentences carry meaning when we read all of them. Isaiah 28:10 tells us that we get this meaning by taking “precepts upon precepts, line upon line; here a little, there a little;….etc”
Malachi 4:5 tells us that Elijah will come back before a certain time (day of the Lord)
Matthew 11:14 is Jesus, Himself, telling us that John the Baptist IS the “Elijah” who was to come, if we would receive it.
Matthew 26:52 and Genesis 9:6 tells us that those who live by the sword will die by the sword.
I Kings 19:1 tells us that Elijah killed many prophets of Baal WITH HIS SWORD.
Mark 6:14-16 tells us that John the Baptist was executed by his head being removed (SWORD).
Either these WORDS tell us, as a witness, that Elijah was reincarnated as John the Baptist, or those Scriptures are one heck of a coincidence!
Blessings to all who are growing….
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Now why would men say that he is John the Baptist? Mary and Elizabeth were pregnant at the same time. Jesus and John were alive at the same time. So, men could not have believed he was John
the Baptist reincarnated.
We must look at the meaning of names. John means, God is gracious: Elias means, sent by God; Jeremias means, God is Jehovah.
According to scripture, John is a “voice” crying in the “wilderness” or a “messenger” sent before our “face.”
What if John, Elias, and Jeremias are concepts or meanings of something bigger?
Some believe Adam and Eve were literal people, but scripture tells us in Genesis 5:2 that God created man, both male and female, and called THEIR name Adam. The name Adam simply means man. So all males and all females have the name Adam. So, me, as a female, am Adam or man. So what did God take from me and you after he caused a deep sleep to fall upon us? Adam called what was taken from him woman. That woman was given the name Eve. The name Eve means mother of all living. So, in summary, what was taken from man, us, is called woman and has the name Eve, which is also the mother of all living. My studies showed me that God removed our stoney heart and gave us a heart of flesh. So, could woman in scripture be our “heart?” I believe this to be the meaning of woman. Sin, after all, comes from the heart and flesh.
Karen,
I enjoyed your comment, a lot of great thoughts there! If I may add a few additional points for us to at least consider…
Man is the mind, and woman is the emotion nature allied with the mind.
The serpent (desire-mind) could only tempt Eve (not Adam) after the emotional nature and intellect were separated, in a physical body as you say!
The serpent could not tempt Adam because he represents the intellect. Our intellect is not what is tempted, but our desires which come from our lower emotional nature.
A righteous woman the scripture tells us is a blessing to man (the mind).
As Paul states, woman should be silent in the church. The church is the higher mind, and the intellect must rule over the lower emotional nature. But when the intellect does it’s job properly, the lower emotions can be trasmutted into the higher emotions (righteous woman) which then in turn gives the intellect intuition. The intellect alone cannot produce intuition, only the righteous woman can (higher emotions of love, unity, and wisdom). The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament know as WISDOM (intuition) is feminine as called many times by Solomon.
This is also why Paul states that women are to obey the man. This is not literal of course, but when the lower emotional nature is subjected to the intellect, the entire mind (Adam and Eve) become “ONE” again, which is the healed mind built up as the church. Christ is then the head of both when the mind is healed 🙂
Thanks again for your comment!
I thought “man” was the totality of who we are, and father was the mind. The old man being of a corrupt mind, of course, hence the reason Job said corruption was his father. (?)
Karen…
“Man” IS the totality to who we are. Even was taken out of man (Woman), which the text insinuates. But totality is a mind, which becomes dual as it manifest (think subject / object), which is the only way you can have a sense of the conscious “I,” as compared to a “You” or “Other.” This duality is manifested as lower intellect and lower emotions at first. The “old man,” is the first Adam after the fall, which is corrupt, because it is our lower nature, which is split, divided, separated, and in sin. Sin means to miss the mark, or be separated from God. Jesus said you must hate your “mother” and “father” in order to follow him. He didn’t mean your literal mother and father, but that of the dual mind, the mother and father which is intellect and emotion at odds. And thus we can better understand Paul’s words about woman being silent in the church, etc. Everything has an order to which it must follow to become ONE Flesh again, in which Christ MUST COME in the FLESH! The scripture is so beautiful and perfect in it’s spiritual understanding, not in it’s literal understanding. The “law” (literal) brings death, but the spirit (thought understanding) brings life.
If this can be accepted and understood, the scripture comes alive “within” you. Everything is within.
Perhaps changing the word “loer” to “foundation” and “foundational”, when referring to “emotion” as woman’s portion of mankind?
LOWER not
LOER!!!
I have read so many stories of those who have been reincarnated. How can a child of 5 or 6 remember so much from a past life without being taught the history of the time or place he stated he once lived in?
I have always felt that many people are “old souls” When my oldest son was born, I knew within my heart he was an “old soul”. He has always been wise beyond his years.
We will never know the mystery of life until we stand before God.
There are many explanations to these truths that have nothing to do with reincarnation.
Here is one:
we were a kind of angels who became humans, and who return to their spirit body afterward, now able to take human form.
We have had past lives insomuch as every different level of heaven we ascended and will ascend to is like a new life, like being born again because we have to reaclimate every of our understanding and habits in order to be integrated there and learn from that integration.
As it is described in the East as a task to accomplish to purge karma until we are free to ascend. A transitional predicament due to our shortcomings.
The basis of the gospel is grace: we are free from the tension of karma. We are able to access Go. That solve any requirment to reincarnate.
If reincarnation was a thing made for Christians, Jesus wouldn’t have went the trouble to make himself a body to show his disciples what to expect from their next life. Jesus body was not that of a baby born into a different family with blurry memories, but that of an adult who still had the marks of his cricuiction. And he is our model, our proof that our hope is real.
There is no possible way to believe Him, trudt his power, and yet believe that we will be reincarnated.
About the idea of learning experiences from multiple incarnations
The heavens are mysterious for the human mind, and when mankind try to explain something they compare it to what they know. What they know of a life where one can lear is the incarnate human life. So when they think multiple lifes, their subconscious imagine multiple human lifes.
But that idea makes no sense either:
There is a lot of freedom with our spirit-body/resurrected body.
As long as a spirit person remember a past life state, whether that lifestate was human or non-incarnate, they can reform their previous body and reexperience things through it thank to their imagination: for novelty they only have to visit currently incarnate and comoatible human souls and imagine living their experiences.
Indeed,
spirit persons we can fuse together, and when they do, their memories merge together. So it would only take one first hanf experience of body for a person’s soul to have the knowledge and recreate the experience of any being they fuse with, and this in the blink of a spirit-eye.
Hi Joan. Thanks for your insightful commments. Thinking outside the box is always good. But in my opinion, we must be very careful about this idea:
You state, If reincarnation was a thing made for Christians, Jesus wouldn’t have went the trouble to make himself a body to show his disciples what to expect from their next life. Jesus body was not that of a baby born into a different family with blurry memories, but that of an adult who still had the marks of his cricuiction. And he is our model, our proof that our hope is real. There is no possible way to believe Him, trudt his power, and yet believe that we will be reincarnated.”
The law of karma cannot be switched off. As Paul stated, a man shall reap what he sows, and Jesus of the Gospels echoes, whatever measure you meet, the same shall be returned (my paraphrase).
The law of karma is an immutable law that the modern Christian idea of “Grace” has a very wrong concept of. Karma is the law of complete impartial justice, the only true justice, and no idea of vicarious atonement can take its place. This is a Christian interpretation and in my opinion a very dangerous one that causes a misunderstanding of both physical, psychic, and spiritual realities. And your statement about Jesus is also one I must say I disagree with. Jesus is portrayed as being worthy only and simply because he “fulfilled the law,” but that does not excuse us from doing so also. The idea of renincarnation makes the most sense here, because a human cannot possibly be expected to fulfill all the law and balance out their karma in one lifetime. Balancing out karma is even a poor choice of words, because this is not how it works – I only use it to get my point across. The idea of a vicarious atonement, excusing man from his prior thoughts, actions, and words, goes against every ancient esoteric tenant of not just Jewish beliefs, but of all the esoteric understanding of all the ancient great religions which present only partial truths. The true idea of the vicarious atonement, the sacrificial lamb, when broken down esoterically, represents the higher manas (sentient being) which willing sacrifices himself to himself on the lower planes of manifested matter to further his own self conscious understanding through a manifold of varied experiences, and it is only through pain and suffering that one can truly learn anything in the early stages of developing self conscious thought. The book of Job is a great example, and also teaches reincarnation. Even the idea of Cain, the carnal mind, must be a wanderer and sojourner in the land (physical incarnation) until he (as a symbol of the great law), learns spiritual intelligence. Remember, the Isrealites come back to this same land, though disciplined mentally by the law, and must conqueror it (our lower nature), through ethical and mental growth. This is in a nutshell the entire story esoterically interpreted of the Isrealite exodus. Jesus, being a type of that line, eventually fulfills this (the ONE great law).
The law of karma and reincarnation are brothers, going hand in hand. One cannot accept one without the other, or else the soul or mind continues to fall in even foundational errors of the law of spiritual growth.
But I do agree and enjoy some of the other statements you made, and so I appreciate the comment to spark further discussion 🙂
Joshua,
You believe Jesus was a flesh and blood human being who walked on this earth?
I don’t. I believe he is formed in us and crucified with us. I believe he is, and always has been, spirit.
Hi Karen…
If you look carefully throughout my site, I make a specific reference to the “Jesus” of the “Gospels” vs. the historical figure. The mistake often made on my stance is that the historical Jesus is conflated with the Jesus of the Gospels. They are not the same 🙂
Hi Joan, I also wanted to add this pertinent quote, which shows why we must never run on blind emotionalism (half the equation, and often a curse of New Age thought).
From Rhagavan Iyer:
“Normally, we think of mercy as gratuitous or arbitrary and justice as relentless or ruthless. In terms of the universal law of karma, human appellations like “justice” and “mercy” are misleading. They are merely approximations arising through an inadequate understanding of connections between causes and effects applicable only over very short time spans and also modified by the gap, not merely between any legal system and the moral justice of the universe, but between the theory of that legal system and its working in practice.”
Iyer speaks to a problem that many who would take a modern Christian idea of vicarious atonement and place it above the law, in such a little context without seeing the bigger picture of how cycles and history works, even on grand scales in the development of human self consciousness.
Arlene…
I like some of the connections you have made here and your thought process. This is what I like to call synthesis of thought in the scripture and actually is a necessary kind of thought process to begin decoding the “dark sayings” and parables of the Bible. Good stuff to ponder 🙂
Absolutely logical to me and I too am thankful. Thank you Jesus.
Minister Kimberly
Thank you for your comment, Kimberly.
If one is interested, there are present day sources, in addition to those in the Bible which may be researched and consulted, such as Dr Brian Weiss and Dr Ian Stevenson who can be consulted on the subjected, both high level researchers and authors who have not only theoretical knowledge but practical experience as well with reincarnation
I enjoyed reading Ian Stevenson, Nick. Thanks for commenting!
Jim Tucker’s predecessor was Dr. Ian Stevenson. Dr. Tucker has many interesting stories concerning reincarnation.
Joshua,
Some time ago I asked you whether you were familiar with, and knew the meaning of,
” The widow’s son”. Just wondering whether you had time to ponder?
Hey George…
Sorry got caught up and never got back to you on this.
The widow is free to marry another as she has no husband. Paul speaks about this process in the New Testament, as part of his mystery of Christ and the Church. The woman is the emotion nature, and without her husband (the mind / intellect), Christ steps in and raises the emotion nature to the higher emotions, and therefore her progeny, the son, is raised into the higher mind with the higher emotions. Sons and daughters always represent thoughts and emotions. This is why the firstborn son in the Old Testament is always to be dedicated to the LORD. When our thoughts are pure, the higher emotions are birthed (love, unity, wisdom, the new life and regenerated mind.
If you see every symbol in the Bible as an aspect of the higher or lower mind they become easier to decode. I hope that at least provides some further thought for your own studies. Blessings.
On target. I believe Paramahansa Yogananda taught the true Christianity of Jesus. His discourses on the gospels are quite amazing. To me the concept of eternal hell has never made sense. What loving parent could ever cast their child into eternal suffering regardless of the depth of their crimes? So how could God, the source of all love and compassion, do so? And how could a perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful God create a universe that allows souls no recourse but to suffer eternal torment? What makes more sense is a creation where God patiently and lovingly waits for every soul to learn from errors and thru many incarnations eventually elevate to sainthood and reunite with the Creator. Every soul will eventually rediscover their perfection.
Of what use is a reincarnated soul that has no memory of past mistakes?
Scott…
It is taught in the ancient wisdom teachings that when the lower and higher self are bridged, those memories come into play.
This is a strange question. Of what use? For the purpose of giving you another chance to ‘get it right’. For the purpose of the older you get the more you get set in your ways, the more difficult to change, the more rigid the opinions, right or wrong.
It is a blessing to have a fresh start, a fresh nervous system, free of past prejudices, and perhaps a new vehicle to ‘reap what you have sown’. If you were a corrupt judge and powerful person, that wrongfully and knowingly punished innocent people, then you may be born as weak and powerless in order to undergo and balance nature. Hopefully at the end, you will learn, because even though you don’t remember, at deepest levels of your mind, you always do. Its why we may have an instant liking for someone without knowing why, or the opposite, for example, or be drawn to certain languages, places, or countries.
And yes, we each have a deep, storehouse memory of the past lives and karmas, which can be accessed, as we work , well to say briefly, When we become ‘born in the spirit’ the more we identify with the spirit and as the egoic mind loosens our grip on us, we become enlightened to the higher realities, and with time the past life memories may be accessible even with out hypnosis, just as looking at our past.
You said “we each have a deep, storehouse memory of the past lives”
It seems to me this is not possible. There are more people alive today than were alive in past ages, so some of the people alive now must be “new” without any past lives.
Think of Adam and Eve. When Cain was born, nobody had died yet, so he had to be a new soul.
With an exploding population for thousand of years, humanity is growing faster than it is dying. There are not enough dead for everyone to have even one past life, not to mention the luxury of TWO past lives.
Any thought on this?
seem like the roar of the crowd is silenced. why no responders?
Reincarnations of spirits did not become possible until Adam’s(son of God) spirit was chosen or offered to return again as Jesus(second Adam) by God his Father for completion of God’s redemptive plan for mankind which was to mitigate the condition the first Adam’s spirit created through his disobedience. After it was “finished” on the tree by way of Jesus, this spirit returned to the Father once again which then was elevated to the highest state a spirit can reach aside from the Father’s own spirit and Jesus was then resurrected in complete form, body and spirit when the spirit rejoined to Jesus’ body in the tomb. This sacrifice and act of love achieved salvation for all mankind ultimately such that a spirit which does not learn or accept something in one lifetime can return again to have another chance to grow and maybe even experience some of the effects the wrongs of the past life created. All the lives(spirits)which lived previous to this sacrifice by the first son of God’s beloved spirit within Jesus are plenty to be reincarnated and especially when added to all those who have lived and died since. Just a theory like any of the others presented on this site. No more or less plausible I’d submit. Btw, Jesus preached the good news to the imprisoned spirits at some point after “it is finished” occurred. Right?
Perhaps Elijah was an example of another spirit given authorization to return due to the importance of making the way for Jesus and completing Go’s plan of redemption for mankind.
Hi Mike…
The deep storehouse memory of past lives does not reside in the brain, which is made anew with each incarnation, but in the higher mind. Until that is awakened to activity for all of us, no access to the memory is possible. And while it is true that there are more people alive today than in recorded history, this doesn’t mean there weren’t more people alive in prehistory, at a time that modern scholars know nothing about. Napolean once stated that our history is mostly accepted fables, and I tend to think he was correct. Most science books are completely rewritten every generation. The mind often is drawn to make incorrect assumptions, and understandably so without the bigger picture.
Thanks for reminding me of the Man Born Blind scene.
Here are a few more proofs in the bible that reincarnation is a fact!!
http://nonorthodoxy.com/2021/07/01/multiple-reassignments-are-required-to-reach-full-maturity/
John chapter nine makes this absolutely clear. In this incident, the disciples and Jesus pass a blind man on the side of the road. The disciples then asked Jesus if it was this man or his parents who sinned to make him be born blind. The question reveals what they believed, for how can a man come into this world blind because of sin if he had not lived a previous life to do the sinning? John CH 9 actually says : John 9:1-4 1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3″Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
John 9:8-12 8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10″How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12″Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.
Good point that you make. This passage suggests that Jewish people at that time had the belief that congenital disabilities were punishment for sins committed before birth. They seem to have at the least wondered about the possibility of reincarnation. This fits with Jewish life today, in which many Rabbis accept reincarnation, and while some do not, there is nothing very clear in the Jewish Bible to say that reincarnation is a false doctrine.
Belief in reincarnation was almost universal at the time of Jesus, and if Judaism was an exception, one would think there would have been some kind of statement in Jewish scripture critical of the doctrine.
You missed knowledge of Judaic traditions. Maybe you have not read the bible as a whole.
And just from that you made a weak conclusion:
it is explicitly mentioned in the Torah that gid used to pubish the faults of father until the fifth generation and bless them until the hundredth.
The most logical conclusion is that this is a reference of dna habits being hard to break and that children inherits which sabotage their human free will to change their life..
.
And more pretinent for your case, it is also written later in prphecies that God declared that he would never again punish the children for the faults of the forefathers.
Good on you Jamie. The author of this article warped the Word just like satan did. This is why we always need to be in His Word, day and might, meditating on it, keeping it close to our heart so that we cannot be fooled by a warping of His Word. Praise God!
That’s a very abusive comment, Helene. If people respected the beliefs and ideas of others rather than calling them ‘satanic’ the world would be a better place.
What you see as ‘warping’, is actually interpretation. Christians have reinterpreted the OT Jewish scriptures, as have Jewish people themselves, for example neither tradition takes it literally that insolent children or adulterers should be killed. Do you?
Agreed! I think people can twist the Word of God to mean whatever “they” want it to mean and miss the whole truth of the Word and the gospel. Even Satan used scripture to try and tempt Jesus but Jesus always came back with the whole truth of the Word! We have to be very careful that we aren’t just reading into things what we want. That is a very slippery slope!
Helene… {& CJ…}
This is an absolutely SHAMEFUL comment to make towards anyone, let alone YOUR BROTHER IN CHRIST! The scripture is literally written in parables on top of parables and EVERY person who reads it will interpret the text differently. To put others down simply because 𝒚𝒐𝒖 don’t innerstand what they are saying, or how they got to that end point is not only childish & rude but it’s something you ought to be absolutely ashamed of.
This attitude is what drives people like me away from the church and almost anything at all involving christianity. This is the second biggest thing in the church that keeps outsiders from ever considering going.
This is an in depth analysis of scripture that is apparently going above your head. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in admitting it. I can guarantee you that the author of this article has meditated upon these scriptures to come to such an in depth and complex analysis. And putting all those different scriptures together …WOW! Even reading through the comments I can tell that they have an innerstanding that is very rare within the church and christianity in general. I literally have only found one person in my day to day life who can get an analysis comparable to this one (she’s also a starseed soul- not that it means anything to you). I very rarely enjoy scripture analysis, much less get involved in the discussion and go through (and save) comments to meditate upon later & share with others (& my “website”). It’s not often I can enjoy the revelations and feel that ring of truth in my soul.
I apologize to the author, Joshua Tilghman. I am sorry that there will always be that one person, and I honestly pray that they see the caca-critter they manifest with their abusive comments and honestly take the time to work on it. It’s so easy to drag someone down when you aren’t looking them in the face & can hide behind anonymity. I honestly think sometimes that the internet is as much a curse as it is a blessing as it brings out the deepest depths of people. I also apologize for loosing my temper in the comments on your post. I know that churchy-things tend to trigger my lower emotional states and I should have perhaps taken a few more breaths. (Though sometimes I think that the type of person who puts others down for their interpretations – especially the snooty church women (it’s usually women in my experience) – needs someone to tell them that they should be ashamed now and then because the people who they often surround themselves with won’t or don’t).
I really enjoyed your article. Thank you for that. My heart swells in gratitude towards you. It’s a feeling like home, and childhood, when I can genuinely enjoy reading anything about scripture. Your interpretations and analysis had me enthusiastically reading, looking up different passages, and taking screenshots to share with others -to their surprise. For that, I can not thank you enough. I can not wait to read more of your work. I look forward to taking notes on this article later.
And Thank You to everyone who contributed something in the comments! I particularly enjoyed Karen Menser’s and Arlene’s comments.
꧁- 𝕊†𝕒𝕪 𝔹𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕕! -꧂
ॐ 𝓛𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓢𝒽𝒶𝒹࿂𝓌𝓈𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉
The idea of the literal resurrection of corpses is disgusting and materialistic. It reeks of attachment to the matter and flesh, and is as far from the Divine as one can get.
The Biblical account of the creation of man is allegorical and symbolic. Your literalist interpretation is a disservice to your religion and the Bible, just as Young Earth Creationism is an insult to human intelligence and the metaphorical nature of the word of God.
The Genesis account was written for people with almost no understanding of science or the vast aeons of time, in simple mythological terms they could understand. In the same way the harsh rules of Leviticus, were for people of that time, not ours. You should read a little science, as that has been given to you by God in the present day for your betterment.
Are you being serious? Is that what you take from this?
Reincarnation is not: coming back to your previous body after it’s rotted to walk around like a zombie.
Reincarnation IS: a soul going through multiple lives (as multiple people, in multiple bodies, at different times) in order to learn, grow, balance karmas & life debts, or simply because the soul enjoys the experience.
Though the scriptures were written by what you consider simpletons, remember that THE WORD was divinely inspired. The text reads & can be interpreted differently depending upon how one reads it. Demonstrated in it are allegories, parables, allegorical parables, historical narratives, figurative, personal narratives, descriptive, prescriptive, and some is exegesis or astrological allegory. I’m sure that there are other ways of interpreting the texts that I don’t know, there are still intricacies being discovered. So I do not think that it’s ONLY meant to be simple.
Please return to third grade English for reading comprehension, and leave your better-than-thou snootypoot attitude in the drama department. You literally made yourself look a fool.
Please consider being more kind to your brothers and sisters. You come off as brash, rude, and honestly …ignorant.
Again, your attitude is a crystal clear and perfect representation of what repels people from the church and christianity (in every color) in general.
𝕋𝕠 𝔸𝕊𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕖, 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟 @$$ 𝕠𝕗 𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕖.
ॐ 𝓛𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓢𝒽𝒶𝒹࿂𝓌𝓈𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉
Look in the nearest mirror and read your own words back to yourself. Be a better example of what you are craving others to be.
God Bless.
Thank you, Madonna, absolutely. We all need to self reflect, and always strive to improve. We all have so far to go in this wonderful, and sometimes painful, journey.
Hi. The “rules” of Leviticus are meant for us today same as they were then. You have to understand the spiritual meaning behind them to understand what those “rules” really mean. Look for the metaphysical meaning, instead of the literal meaning. 😉
Exactly
What a well written piece. I’ve had some very strange experiences that defy explanation- that have led me to believe that reincarnation is infant, very real. I’ve never been very religious, however it makes me feel a bit better that it (reincarnation) is written about in such an important historical book like The Bible. Thank you!
CC…
My pleasure. To deny either reincarnation or the concept of karma in scripture to me is ridiculous. Karma is spoken about directly in many scriptures. For example, “Let God not be mocked, for a man reaps what he sows.” That’s just one.
Reincarnation, which is an abstract intellectual concept discovered in relation to the esoteric scriptures as a whole, takes a little more thought, but it there as well, but in a holistic manner understanding what the heart, soul, and mind is. This takes study.
For those who insist on evidence for what they believe in, there are thousands of people who remember past lives. And those who say they believe in a loving God and then say they believe he created hell to torture his creations is absurd. Those who can torture usually end up being serial killers. According to the teachings, we are God’s children. I have children and there is nothing they could do to make me torture them. If they were committing heinous acts I might be able to confine them, but not tie them to a chair and run pins under their fingernails for a day let alone eternity. So if you follow the logic and reason, you have to know that the evidence of reincarnation and the logic of it just follows.
Thank you very much for this <3
May peace be with you always <3
Sorry, but no. The idea of reincarnation does not survive a thorough reading of the Bible either. I’ll give you a small sample of a study I’m putting together for a friend who thinks you’re onto something here, but it’s still enough for anyone who actually uses the Bible as the foundation for their Christian faith (as opposed to Grandma’s stories and their own fever dreams, I suppose):
Rev 14:10, 20:11-15
– Compare that last reference with the one in Rev 3:5 and tell me how anyone can reconcile the idea of reincarnation with what the Bible tells us is coming in the next life.
I taught Rhetoric for 40 some years and that is one well structured argument! You get an A and then some! Absolutely fascinating! I was raised in Christian Science (a religion I saw as quite open to reincarnation). I believed in reincarnation from a very young age and I still do. It’s helpful to read it placed in a Christian historical context. Really fine article. Thank you!
John Chapter 9 has nothing to do with reincarnation. It has to do with Jesus opening the eyes of the blind. Read verses 39 through 41. “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
Why did the Pharisees ask if they were blind also if it were a literal story? Wouldn’t they already know they were literally blind? The Pharisees thought they saw who Jesus really was and they wanted no part of him, so their sin remained.
Hello. When I read John, I feel that we are being told that there are two “lights”. A false light and Jesus the true light. Before Jesus came, the Pharisees thought they had the true light within them, but they did not. Therefore, they were blind.
John the Baptist came to tell mankind that the light they had within them was not the true light. The true light was coming into the world. Some people believed him and were baptized. Jesus came into the world and the world did not know Him because mankind was blinded by the false light.
The Pharisees asked if they were blind because they believed that the spirit within them was the true light. Jesus is pretty much saying that if they had admitted that they were blind and did not know the true light, they were telling the truth- therefore not sinning. Because they say they have the true light already they are lying to themselves – therefore they were sinning.
“Many jews are surprised to learn, or may even wish to deny, that reincarnation is an integral part of jewish belief”. This from the site: ” Judaism and Reincarnation – Chabad.org”
Interesting research has been done, and is still ongoing, at the University of Virginia with Child Psychiatrist
Jim Tucker. He leads a program which is already 50 years in progress concerning Children and reincarnation.
Go to YouTube and Jim Tucker ( 50 years of reincarnation) and you’ll find several great videos! Simply
fascinating stuff. Personally I do not think we can deny this anymore.
What do you think of Matthew 17:12 in terms of possible referring to reincarnation?
Doug,
Interesting point about Paramahansa. What might get your interest, in terms of early Christianity, might be
the following site: ” The Mystic order of the Essenes” by Enid Smith. Look it up?
Has anyone checked this site: ” The Mystic Order of the Essenes” by Enid Smith?
Law of thermodynamics states: Energy is not created nor destroyed. Jesus also said i am the light I am eternal. Consciousness is also eternal. The Whole universe is a conscious being. Consciousness uses the fabric of light (the only one material that exists) as a tool to express itself through. Language is only a tool for communication it does not authenticate reality. If we believe in the concepts of language that would create distortions, fear, & separateness within the mind creating massive blockages to reach our true power & not perceiving reality correctly. I believe in God but God is a concept. The concept of God is too small for the reality of what God actually is. The totality of creation is the being called God. We all are apart of the anatomy of God. We are like cells in his body. We are all divine. We are God too. Only God exists. God was & always will be. You, a part of God is eternal. Heaven is another concept and it is a state of consciousness, again we are part or the totality of God consciousness. I believe in the original Christianity but it was comprised later by unenlightened people who wanted to control the masses for their own power & profits. They changed the format & teachings to manipulate the people with fear for their benefits. For example “ save us from the fires of hell”. They wanted to control you by lying to you about your own powers to keep you powerless. Like how governments do to divide & conquer the people with Manipulation by controlling content.
so perfectly stated by one who does not believe in the completeness of language to describe being.
Excellent.
Marc,
Thanks for your explanation. I agree that almost everything changed 325 years after Yehoshua. Teachings of
Yehoshua were that “The Kingdom of God is within you” and “You are the Temple”. They built a Temple of stones rather than of living stones. They put a guy in there with a big belly and a white collar around the neck and told the people that he was the “Father”.
So, what happened here was an externalization of an internal, Spiritual, message!
Dear Josh,
Thank you for this blog and this post. I have proven reincarnation to my satisfaction and it has been very healing for me, as much of what wasn’t working in my life had roots in other embodiments. I will note that the following words always, never, forever are to be used carefully as our soul is timeless and these things can carry over to other time periods.
Edgar Cayce, a devout Christian, became the Sleeping Prophet and provided healing information for many in his readings. After thousands of healing readings that were accurate, reincarnation information began coming through. Cayce didn’t believe in this but had to give some credence because his work had been accurate and beneficial to many. He asked for it to be proven to him. And it was.
Carol Bowman has written some excellent books on reincarnation with focus on children. Her first is Children’s Past Lives. She references Ian Stevenson. Her interest began after eczema on her son’s arm cleared when he remembered he had been a black soldier manning a cannon in the Civil War and had received a burn at that location in the other body. Note: birth marks can be at locations of previous wounding.
Back to Cayce. Edgar Cayce called Jesus the Master. There is a book titled The Story of Jesus based on Cayce’s material. One of the chapters is about Jesus’s past lives. I found that fascinating and wondered if anyone had written about these lives. I found Glen Sandefur wrote a book based on Cayce readings, titled The Past Lives of Jesus. It connected many dots for me and was especially helpful in increasing my understanding of scripture. We are now in a culminating time of what Jesus came to accomplish here. I have recently become clear that The Lord’s Prayer is about bringing Heaven to Earth which was part of Jesus’s purpose, not to accept him so we could go to heaven.
It is helpful to know when something didn’t originate in this embodiment. Physical healing and more happens with greater ease when things can be addressed from which they arose. Psychiatrist Brian Weiss, MD addresses this very well in his books. He didn’t have a context for past lives when they showed up either.
Note: I’m fairly certain that reincarnation was taken out of church concepts during the Council of Nicea, when things began to be standardized.
According to researchers like Enid Smith, Prideau, Graetz, and Schultz ( In “The Mystic Order of the Essenes by Enid Smith) Jesus was an Essene. These were Gnostics/Mystics! That thought was not accepted to
get into the Canon: In fact, if people were found with these Gnostic texts, the consequences were dire!
Good point. And to really nail down the identify of Jesus, look at Blavatsky’s history on such. Eye opening!
Roger that, on the Council of Nicea and removal of Reincarnation. Such a concept also removed significant power from the power brokers… By the time of that council the Roman Elite Families were mostly captured by those behind the “Moneychangers”, that Jesus so well lambasted and correctly characterized…The Synagogue of Satan.
Also consider the dry bones prophecy in Ezekiel 37. The resurrection or reincarnation of those passed is described in detail. The dead coming back to life with a new bodies and spirit of understanding? Sounds like karma coming full term.
Your writing is very thought provoking. I have gone back and forth in regards to reincarnation (looking at scriptures) and I DO believe that this is so.
Since I was a very young child, I clearly remember vivid dreams of past lives. I was only the age of 3,4,5,6 7 with no television or outside influences. In each dream I saw my death. It was very confusing as a child. in one dream I had black short hair with finger waves. (approximately 18-20 years old) riding with a male driver in an old time black vehicle with long skinny horizontal window in back. We went off a small bridge and he disappeared. I was left inside this vehicle. I climbed to the back as the water filled the vehicle and the front was already full. I was banging on the window and drowned. I was very fearful of bridges as a child because of this dream. I knew it was me, though it did not look like me and I was grown up. Very confusing to see as a child.
Another was of my older sister and me. She was African American! I knew it was my sister in awake life, though she was blonde and blue eyes. Against n. Very confused as a child. I was shocked when years later, I actually saw someone of color in school. The only African American ide seen before, in my dreams and later, national geographics.
In another dream, I was a little girl of five or so. I was with my actual stepfather in awake life. In the dream, he looked very different though but I knew it was him. He was driving this old open topped jeep of sorts. We were going down a mountain road very, very fast. I can still remember my legs pushing on the steel in front of my seat, attempting to brace myself. I was wearing black patent leather shoes and ruffles white ankle socks. We went over the cliff and I died. I woke up and kept asking my stepfather to remember the accident…he said..”No. You were dreaming.”
I’ve had many past life visions when I was very young and I believe we come back over and over. Why do we come back over and over?
I used to be terrified as a small child to go to bed. White, spinning, vibrant lights would sporadically swirl around me and take me very high up in the sky. There was such a strong vibration of these lights going through me. I was terrified because of the never knowing when they would arrive.. one time I was up in the sky and looking down. The white lights were gathering around me very fast and somehow they could talk to each other. When I looked down…I saw a globe 🌎 and I saw white spinning lights going down and white lights going up past where I was. I woke up yelling out to family , “The world keeps going over and over and over.” I wanted to know why we have to live and die and come back…and why we never die.” These things are not of a small child’s imagination.
I am closing in on 60 years old and I still remember them clearly. In the past decade I have received the gift of prophecy and I am able to dream of past, present and future events. I have had Jesus appear to me many times and teach me spiritual things. This is why I believe on him because I see him! He’s really alive! I was so fascinated by these spiritual things of God that I published three of my journals on Amazon. People don’t believe me until they see that they have made the news headline after the publishings.(Many of them unfortunately have already ) Now I am called the devil. Because of it by the superstition church. Oh my! Yes. I have even met and warred with the devil in the spiritual. It began when I began having these visions and dreams of scripture, Hebrew words, Jewish holidays, etc. It’s amazing.
The Devil is real and so is Jesus and the Father and Mother Holy Spirit. We ARE in the end times….so be warned to close all of your spiritual doors and do not be sexually immoral. He has told me that it is the worst defilement. I could tell you the vision that I had but it would terrify you to hear it…it terrified me to the point that I was terrified and crying when I woke up. I cleaned my act up big time and literally keep everything of that type of stuff away from me now because of seeing the outer darkness and where people will go. I ain’t going there!
Great article! God bless you on your path of spirituality that is NOT RELIGION. They lie! Everything Jesus has shown me and then taken me to scriptures is completely different then what men are teaching. I cried when I saw it years ago. I can’t even sit in the churches and listen to the lies. They don’t have the true Gospel! Disturbing!
❤️ JG
I was given these Ideas and did not know where to find the answer, but I knew it was the truth. Thanks for your post and I will add, the tree of life was hidden and guarded from us for this reason! If you are interested in a discussion, I would Love to share.
I am an ecumenical Roman Catholic. I am “agnostic” regarding reincarnation. But I think it should be discussed by church leaders when the subject arises rather than just the usual, reactionary blanket rejection of the idea. Who’s to say? Many ancient philosophers and spiritual teachers explored the idea. There are numerous Biblical passages, as well as apocryphal gospel references, that can be interpreted as indicating reincarnation. It does not appear to negate or conflict with belief in resurrection teachings.
Thank you for your comment, Luigi.
I did not read the entirety of your article, but I read enough to see that you are an externalist.
Every single story in the Bible is to be taken internally. The blind man is in us, the blind man’s parents are in us. Jesus is in us, Jesus is born in us, crucified in us, resurrected in us, and comes the second time in us.
The Kingdom of God is in us, which means, God is in us, and since God is in us, his throne is in us. Now since God is in us and Satan stands before God accusing us, that would also mean Satan is in us.
We have a big task dealing with the issues in us. For me, the concept of whether or not reincarnation is a thing has no relevance to any issues at hand.
Hi Karen…
Thanks for the comment. Actually, I would consider myself both an externalist and internalist, to use your word. Matter is crystalized spirit, and spirit, potential matter. For me, and in line with the teachings of Blavatsky, the whole purpose for the evolution of the universe is for the soul (the mental bridge between the two poles) to gain self consciousness, and then finally divine self consciousness. If her teachings of the ancient wisdom is correct, then reincarnation and karma become foundational to this process, as one life could never provide the experience to make such leaps.
It is also my belief that we must mentally make a distinction between the fleeting personality, and the permanent individuality to truly grasp this process.
Perhaps the closest we can come to “scientific” truth concerning reincarnation comes from the
University of Virginia where there is a program ( 50 years of reincarnation studies) performed now
by Dr. Jim Tucker, child psychiatrist. The scientific principle is based on both, but mainly objective
data. If one listens to the videos of Jim Tucker it becomes clear that, even though only
subjective data, it is overwhelmingly convincing! Please watch these remarkable videos?
Watch Dr. Jim Tucker ( Child Psychiatrist ) in his videos regarding reincarnation? He is associated
with the University of Virginia. Very interesting videos!
In my humble opinion, “Christ” was not Jesus ( Yeshua) his last name: In fact, Yeshua taught about the
“Christ” ( Christos= oil) that we all have within us. Those teachings have been either deleted, or changed,
325 years after Yeshua in the First Council of Naicea or shortly after that.
These were the teachings of Yeshua who was an Essene. This group called “The Essenes” were mystics/
Gnostics. They are also referred to as Forerunners of “Christianity”. I think that the reason why we never
heard about the Essenes is because of their knowledge. So, we were left with only the Pharisees and
the Sadducees.
Good point, George. Being able to separate mentally / intellectually the “Christ” vs the idea of the historical person is also following what the Apostle Paul did, who wrote his epistles before the Gospels. Herein lies just one of the keys to figuring out “the mystery” Paul speaks of. The Initiate Paul knew no historical man Jesus presented to us in the gospels 🙂
Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation
https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Cases-Suggestive-Reincarnation-Enlarged/dp/0813908728
Belief in Jesus, taking on the Name, and becoming part of the Adamic kingdom causes reincarnation to cease. That is why Jesus says, believe in me and you will have eternal life because you will no longer come back via reincarnation.
Hello Brian…
Perhaps. Or, perhaps the Bohdisattva way as taught in Theosophy, which states in alignment that the first shall be last and the last first, would choose to come back once reaching a certain conscious level to help all of humanity no matter the cost. I like this ideal. How can one enjoy eternal bliss knowing some have not made it yet, and be content? Just something to think about.