Our subject for study may seem arcane to most of us. However, as we shall see, it is a relevant issue for us to consider.
First, let’s define reincarnation. In its essentials, it a belief that a soul is eternal. The soul takes on a physical body. The physical body dies, but the soul lives on and returns in a physical body. Furthermore, this rebirth of the soul in another body can occur numerous times (some believe reincarnation can involve hundreds, if not thousands, of different lives).
Although there is disagreement and debate among believers in reincarnation in other aspects, this idea remains consistent.
As ridiculous as that may sound, this has been believed by a segment of people for thousands of years. There are over 1.5 billion people in the world today that believe in reincarnation. They primarily live in India and the Far East as reincarnation is a core belief of Hinduism and is believed by large portions of Buddhists and Sikhs.
More relevant is the results of a January 2003 Harris Poll® which found that 27% of Americans believe in reincarnation. They believe that they were once another person in a previous life. This includes 40% of Americans aged 25 to 29.
What is more disturbing is that the same poll found that 21% of Americans who profess to be “born again” Christians believe in reincarnation. A recent Gallup poll revealed the same figure and also learned that 24% of Catholics and 19% of Protestants believe in reincarnation. What is horrifying is that the trend of belief in the concept of reincarnation by American non-Christian and professing Christians is increasing.
How is this possible? How is it that even 1 in 5 professing “born again” Christians would adopt this doctrine?
I think there may be a few reasons. One of them is that leaders of Eastern Religions and the New Age Movement in this Nation are actively trying to convert professing Christians.
Over the last twenty to thirty years, numerous individuals have been trying to convince Americans - by means of books, videos and radio and television programs - that reincarnation is Biblical. They are preaching that reincarnation was believed and taught by Jesus and His disciples!
Let us examine the primary so-called “PROOF TEXTS” of those who assert that reincarnation is taught in the New Testament:
John 9:1-2, “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?’"
To understand why this passage is believed to teach reincarnation, we must understand that the Eastern belief in reincarnation is inseparably linked with the “law of Karma.”
Basically, the law of Karma is, in modern parlance, "what goes around, comes around."
The ultimate goal of the Hindu is to reach a spiritual level where they escape from the endless round of birth, death, and rebirth. That usually means either achieving godhead or the dissolving of all personality into the unimaginable abyss of Brahman.
If you lived a devout and charitable life, your next life may be characterized by fame or fortune, good health, or inner and outer peace.
On the other hand, if you do not live a devout life and do bad things, you will be corrected or chastened by having to suffer in your next life. Depending upon just how bad you were, you could be chastened in the next life by being born into poverty, or developing a physical or mental disease, or become a victim of a crime or an accident, or even being born as an animal in your next life.
With that in mind, we are presented in John 9 with a man who was born blind. It is claimed that since the disciples asked Jesus if this man’s blindness was due to his own sins, this passage shows that they had a belief in the law of Karma.
Since this man was born blind, the sins that caused his blindness must have been committed in a previous life.
Well, there is no doubt that there were small sects within First Century Judaism that adopted reincarnation. However, this passage does not provide any evidence that these disciples believed in it. If they believed in Karma, why do they mention the possible cause being the sins of the blind man’s parents?
Much more likely is the view that these disciples had been contaminated by the pharisaical interpretation of Deuteronomy 5:9 in which God told the Israelites that He would punish them for idolatry, even to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him. The Pharisees, in their harsh self-righteousness, claimed that all physical and mental illnesses were punishments of God.
But, no matter what the disciples believed and why they believed it, Jesus sets the matter straight in Verse 3, “Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”
Did you get that? Jesus said there was no connection between sin and the man’s blindness. So far from the truth is it that this passage teaches the law of Karma and reincarnation, it destroys their very foundation!
You see, if a person suffers for any other reason than for their past bad deeds, the validity of the law of Karma is destroyed. Why? Because the law of karma is supposed to explain ALL of this world’s suffering and perceived injustices.
The second and most often used "proof text" for Biblical reincarnation is -
Matthew 17:10-13, “And His disciples asked Him, ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ And He answered and said, ‘Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”
There was a widely held belief in the First Century that Elijah would return to Israel just prior to the coming of the Messiah or Christ. This was based upon a prophecy found in Malachi 4:1-6, “‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.’"
So, we have a prophecy that "Elijah the prophet" would come prior to the Messiah. Jesus told His disciples that Elijah had come as prophesied. John the Baptist is Elijah. Jesus repeated the statement in Matthew 11:13-15, “’For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’”
It is asserted, here, we have proof of reincarnation. Jesus Himself said that John the Baptist is Elijah reincarnated!
Well, it is true that Jesus stated that John was the fulfillment of that prophecy but it is a stretch to claim that John was LITERALLY Elijah reincarnated!
The fact is, this is not what is being taught. Here is why -
1. John Denied Being The Literal Elijah.
John 1:19-21, “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ They asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’"
2. Elijah Appeared To The Disciples Not As John But As Elijah.
Matthew 17:1-8, “Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, ‘Get up, and do not be afraid.’ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone."
Now, Moses had been dead for 1200 years and Elijah for 875 years… yet these two great figures appeared with Jesus right in front of the disciples. If Elijah was reincarnated in the person of John the Baptist, how is it that he is back again in the body of Elijah?
The fact is that when Moses and Elijah died, they did not cease to be who they were when they were physically living. Their souls did not enter another body to be reborn as someone else. Moses will always be Moses and Elijah will always be Elijah. They are not awaiting reincarnation but the resurrection!
Jesus reveals this truth in Mark 12:26-27, "But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, `I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
When God introduced Himself to Moses in the burning bush, recorded in Exodus 3:6, He did not say He WAS (in the past) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. No, He said that He IS (currently) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Even though, by the time of Moses, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob had been physically dead for about 500 years, their souls were alive and well. They still had their identities. Their souls were awaiting the resurrection!
One last Scripture on this point: Jesus taught that Christian Gentiles would join Christian Jews - after the resurrection - and enjoy the company of the Patriarchs - Matthew 8:11, "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
If reincarnation is true, such a reunion would be impossible.
Thus, back to our point, John the Baptist was not Elijah reincarnated because Elijah was still alive as Elijah during the lifetime of John the Baptist. They possessed two separate souls. They are not literally the same person (soul) who lived two different lives in two different bodies.
(Before going to our third and final point. Let me address the concept of the soul. Those who believe in reincarnation believe that the universe has always been. Likewise, they believe that souls have always been. We know that Genesis teaches that God created the world - it had a definite beginning. Genesis 2:7 teaches that God creates the soul as well - “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man BECAME a living soul.”
When God creates a human being, that person’s soul is created at that moment. It has not always existed and just waited for a body.)
3. Elijah was the type of John the Baptist.
So why did Malachi prophesy of the coming of Elijah when it was referring to John the Baptist? The answer is found in the words of the archangel Gabriel found in Luke 1:13-17 - “But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’"
Note that Gabriel tells Zachariah that his son, John, would turn many of the Jews back to the Lord and that he would do so “in the spirit and power of Elijah”.
Some might assert that in saying John would come “in the spirit of Elijah”, we have reference to reincarnation. We have Elijah’s soul in John’s body.
However, this is not the case. The Greek word used to refer to the eternal soul of man is psuche. The word translated “spirit” is pneumati, which means "a spirit" or "one’s life" or "one’s manner of life".
Thus, John’s life and ministry would resemble that of Elijah. If you compare the two (Elijah and John), the similarities between them are amazing. They both lived very rough and austere lives out in the wilderness. They both wore leather girdles for clothing. They both were bold and uncompromising in their preaching. They both tried to turn the Jews back to God from Whom they had strayed. They both appeared before kings and told the kings to their faces that they were committing sin.
We do not have time to go into it but just as John was prophetically called Elijah, Jesus was prophetically referred to as David (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:22-24; Ezekiel 37:24-27; Hosea 3:5). Why? Not because Jesus was David reincarnated but, rather, just as David was God’s shepherd-king so is Christ Jesus God’s shepherd-king. Just as David ruled over a united Israel and his reign was characterized by righteousness of the people, so also Christ Jesus rules over a united spiritual Israel and His kingdom is characterized by righteousness.
These are the two primary “proof texts” used by those who assert that the Bible teaches the validity of reincarnation. They are simply wrong. They have twisted the Scriptures to support want they want to believe.
But, why would anyone want to believe in reincarnation?
Well, I suppose that for many, the concept of reincarnation is more comforting than the truth proclaimed in Hebrews 9:27, “inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”
I imagine that for many, it is a scary thing to accept 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” John 5:28-29, “an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
They want to believe that humans have a second chance at rectifying sins committed during their time on Earth. Reincarnation, they hold, gives a person another chance at this life. If a person does not achieve perfection in this life, then they get the opportunity of going back through this life again and, the next time, hopefully they will get it right.
When we think about this idea that you get ’another chance’, that assumes that there are those who ultimately make it to Nirvana. I’d like to know where are those people? Where are those upon the earth today who have reached near perfection? You would think that out of six billion people on the earth today that we would know somebody in that state. I don’t know anybody, though, that has reached even near perfection in this life.
The truth is that no one can or will get it right! The wonderful thing about true Christianity is that God knows perfection is impossible and that is why He sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
Any religion that has karma and reincarnation as its core beliefs is nothing but cold and dreary compared to the core beliefs of Christianity which are grace, mercy and forgiveness.
That grace, mercy and forgiveness is best illustrated on the Cross, in Luke 23:39-43, “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, ‘Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other answered, and rebuking him said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’"
Did you get that? Jesus didn’t say to the repentant, believing thief that paradise would be realized after several lifetimes and reincarnations, but "today" - for He, the Savior, does not impose an impersonal and cruel karma on this criminal, but grants immediate forgiveness and release from all sin and its consequences.
This is why Paul so urgently declares, in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,’ behold, now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION’.”
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 14:6, 1-2, “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me… Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”
You do not need multiple life times or reincarnations to know and fellowship the true Lord. Through believing and obeying the Gospel - Good News - of Christ Jesus, one can abide in God and God abide in you. Your sins can be forgiven and you can walk in newness of life - today!
