Re-incarnation, Re-Birth, Born Again:
According to the Bible, Jesus Christ clearly states that - J
ohn the Baptist was the
former Elijah of the O.T.
Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?(John 3:4)
Did you see that… every man must be re-born into a physical form again.
Jesus didn’t say that man’s
only rebirth is of spirit (as commonly taught)…even though their spirit may also need ongoing alteration, adjustments and fine tuning.
As Nicodemus was talking with Jesus,
he understood a certain fact…that a material physical life had to be lived AGAIN. And he was confused about how he was going to physically be ‘born again’.
Or else…why would Nic. have said what he did?
Further,
if re-incarnation is not true…why didn’t Jesus correct Nic. about that?
Why didn’t Jesus say… ‘
Oh, don’t worry about the body being born again, that is error…it’s just the spirit that needs rebirth?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.(John 3:5)
Jesus explains - that being ‘born again’ is experiencing a rebirth of -
BOTH the water (material life) and of the spirit (spiritual life). And as Nicodemus was already living and alive on earth…thus,
he would have to have another rebirth of water and spirit, either on another world…or perhaps come back to earth again.
Once more:
Paul says:
“There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body . . . first that which is natural and afterward that which is spiritual.”
Everyone has two kinds of bodies.
Obviously, we only use one at a time, and both of these (material on some world) and (spiritual in the spirit world) must be born again.
Absolute PROOF of Re-incarnation….John is the former Elijah.
Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. ( MAL 4:5)
For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you care to accept it, he(John) himself is Elijah, who was to come. (Matt 11:14)
This is the fulfillment of (Mal 4:5)
Jesus himself clearly acknowledges that his cousin
John is Elijah. Got it? John is the former Elijah.
Not some mystical spiritual abstract nonsense, as preachers try and tell us.
Jesus left no wiggle room.
One has to literally hide his head in the sand to not see this.
Jesus did indeed
teach re-incarnation,
re-birth into another physical body.
Please, take a moment to ponder this - and contemplate what Jesus is saying directly to you,… right now.
That is…
‘if you care to accept it.’
Now to answer the hard question:
First,
we have John himself stating that
he is NOT Elijah.
"And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." (John 1:19-21)
From John’s answers, he is not Elijah.
Therefore, if Johns answer is proof that re-incarnation is false…then, it also proves that the statements from the Lord Jesus Christ are false. Thus, Jesus is a liar.
Hummm, what do we do.?
Now to answer why John
may not have known - that he was the re-incarnation of another man who had lived and died, called Elijah,… all the while
Jesus did know this.
Jesus said concerning himself.
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. (John 12:49)
Jesus s
poke what the Father gave him to speak.
John and the rest of humanity…
do not speak with the some veracity and authority as Jesus did.
One time John understood that Jesus
was the Messiah (Matt 3:13-17).
But, in another time (Matt 11:3) he
didn’t know.
Secondly,
How did Elijah come?
A spirit entity, had incarnated and lived as a man who was known as Elijah… about 2000 years later, he came again, and was born again as a baby known as John the Baptist.
Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. ( MAL 4:5)
But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him. – (Mark 9:12-13)
...And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And it is he(John) who will go before Him(Christ) 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. ( Luke 1:16-17)
In the above (three verse), we see, that Elijah…
would come,
That Elijah…
did come as the man John the Baptist, but King Heard killed him
And that he… would
come in the spirit of Elijah, as John.
When man becomes incarnate into (a material earthly body, or in any physical body in whatever world) he finds himself on,… their little physical / material pee brains cannot handle all the experiences that they as a spirit have had over the last millions and millions of years…along with thousands of incarnation.
Thus, they start new and fresh as a baby with every incarnation. Throughout one’s material lifetime, he begins to add to its accumulative knowledge and experience - that only their spirit can understand and comprehend at that present moment.
Even Jesus in his incarnation as a man on planet earth…he did not know everything.
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. (2:40)
An But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Matt 24:36
Spirits at their origin, are like children, ignorant and without experience, but, by acquiring, little by little, from experiences in world after world… the knowledge which they lack, by passing through the different phases of human and other kinds of life – thus, by being ‘reborn’ again and again, we learn and advance.
You must be willing to constantly learn something new.
Jesus said: ‘Except ye become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.’(Matt 18:3)
Become as little children – be learning… Jesus Christ taught re-incarnation – adults are to become as little children again.
Summary:
--Jesus stated that a person (must) be ‘born again’ –--------------- and this is what re-incarnation affirms also.
--Jesus stated that (adults needed to become) as little children.
--Jesus stated that a person must be ‘born again’ (this is not an options- for just a select few) and when he is…he is born of water(physical) and of spirit(spiritual).
--We have Paul stating that we all have a natural body and afterwards a spiritual body.
--Nicodemus understood that (a material physical life) had to be lived again - and questioned about how to do that.
--If Nicodemus was in error about (a physical re-birth)…Jesus never corrected it.
--An O.T. prophecy – clearly states that (Elijah would come back) again.
--Jesus clearly affirms that (John was Elijah) who was to come.
‘If we care to accept that’. Thus, Jesus must have known about the doubters we have today.
--The N.T. fulfills the O.T. prophecy… declares that John would go before Christ (in the spirit of Elijah).
--The spirit of Elijah (became born again), in a little baby called John.
--Jesus stated - that (Elijah has come)…and men would do things to him.
--John emphatically denied that he was Elijah. But, John’s record of belief even about Christ - raises some questions about how much he really knew about spiritual matters.
--Jesus said that (even he didn’t know everything), during his human life on earth. Showing man has restricted limits to knowledge and understanding while living in a physical material body.
If you disagree with this study…that’s O.K.
But, it then becomes incumbent upon you - to come up with a BETTER study, that is more ACCURATE, with clearer SCRIPTURES, along with a HIGHER AUTHORITY than the Lord Jesus Christ - because Jesus clearly taught
re-incarnation, by re-birth, by being born again…that a spirit,
who once lived as one person on earth named
Elijah and then about 2000 years later
he again - came to live as another person named
John.
Many folks today think that in their next future spirit side of life…that God is going to wave some kind of ‘magical wand’…and PRONTO…everything is going to be all perfect for them. Well, I hate to pop your bubble folks, but, that simple isn’t so.
To learn more about this invaluable subject:
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By allen steinhauer, Eau Claire, Wis. - a traveler in training.--------my email is:allens1946@gmail.com