Expert: Marilyn - 2/15/2006

Question
Hello Marilyn,
What are your feelings on reincarnation / past lives.
Could Jesus resurection be considered a reincarnation.

Are there any Biblical references to past lives or reincarnation.
I enjoy reading my NLT translation of the Bible because it is an
easier to understand Bible, but i am having difficulty finding
direct scripture regarding reincarnation. My wife has the KJV
which is somewhat harder to read.

Can you direct me to any scripture that might relate to
reincarnation.
I have always speculated about the possibility of past lives /
reincarnation. Is there any validity or biblical truth to it.

Thanks !!!! for taking time to answer my questions. I know it is a
controversial subject.

I have my doubts that Jesus resurection could be considered a
form of reincarnation. His resurection was from divine
intervention " God " and the purpose is clear. To enlighten us
about eternal life through Jesus.

Thanks again !!!!
Ron

Answer
Hello Ron;

Reincarnation is the belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of an animal may live again in another human or animal body.  Jesus' resurrection is not a reincarnation because He returned to His original body.  The resurrection of the dead the Bible teaches is not reincarnation, but a restoration of the living spirit of a believer to his own original body raised to life and free of death.

The Bible places unique value on the individual person.  Our genders and identities continue in the spirit realm after our deaths.  In Heaven we are known as we were known here, for instance you would still be male, you would look like a mature, but youthful you, free of any disabilities or deformities and your name would still be Ron.  

The Bible teaches you are the only one of you ever created.  Reincarnation teaches persons must endure many lives as they pay for evil deeds and sow good deeds until they finally reach a state of "perfection."  In reincarnation a person may be a tyrant king in one life and a broken spirited beggar in the next, a male in one life and a female in the next, or even an animal.  His personal identity does not continue.  

When King David's first son by Bathsheba died, David said, "...now that he is dead, why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again?  I will go to him, but he will not return to me," NIV translation.  David believed his son, though dead as an infant, had a personal identity and that identity would continue into Heaven and that he would recognize his son in Heaven once he arrived.  

This belief is consistent throughout the Bible.  You, as an individual person, matter a great deal to the Father.  You were uniquely created, crafted and gifted to do missions and tasks only you can complete while you live on this earth.  You have not had a past life, this life, as a mortal in the material world is the only one you will get.

Meanwhile, reincarnation equalizes every living, sentient thing to the same value and usefulness--in reincarnation there is no difference between a bug and a human being.  The Hindu will pass by the starving beggar saying, "He is only getting what he deserves...it's his "karma"...he's paying for past sins" while he carefully brushes insects from his path lest he step on one.  But the true Christian will stop and feed the man because he has unique, inestimable value as an individual created in the image of God.

The Bible does not support reincarnation in any way shape or form:  Hebrews 9:27 says, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..."  Human beings' bodies die once.  

The human spirit may experience what is called "the second death" which is eternal separation from God.  Reincarnation teaches persons die many, many times and there is no second death for the spirit, instead the Buddhist hope is to reach a state of nothingness--no thought, desire, dreams or hopes--nothingness, the total loss of self, called "nirvana."  The Christian hope is to enjoy a supernatural existence in Heaven where nothing bad or evil can interfere with the pursuit of dreams and accomplishments.

Resurrection of the body has been taught in both the New and Old Testaments.  This is a return to the renewed, death-free body one had in life, as Jesus returned to a renewed, death-free body when He was raised from the dead.  

Job says, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God" Job 19:25 & 26.  

David declares in Psalm 49:15, "...God will redeem my soul from the grave; He will surely take me to Himself."  

Isaiah 26:19, "But your dead will live; their bodies will rise.  You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy.  Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead."

Jesus said, "...the people of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.  They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.  But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord '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, for to Him all are alive" Luke 20:34-38.

I Corinthians 15 is one of the classic teachings on resurrection of the body, specifically what is known as the "rapture."

At the final judgment all the remaining dead will be raised to be judged.  Those who rejected Jesus as Lord will enter the lake of fire in their resurrected bodies to remain there forever with the devil and all the other fallen angels.  See:  Daniel 12; John 5:19-30; Revelation 20:11-15.

Jesus came to the earth to show the Father to humanity and to pay for sin.  In Genesis we learn sin and death entered human existence when Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit.  Jesus is the "second Adam" because He reverses what the first Adam did.  Jesus paid for sin and through Him we have entrance to freedom from sin and death.  He is the first of a new type of Human Being--the second Adam.  Jesus' resurrection from the dead is a demonstration of His righteousness, perfection and Holiness that death could not hold Him.  He conquered death.  He is the "first fruit" from the earth, the first of the resurrected dead who will be raised to eternal life in material bodies that can function both in the spirit realm and in the material realm equally.  See I Corinthians 15:20-28; II Corinthians 4 & 5.

May God bless you richly as you study His Word,

Marilyn