CHAPTER 3 –

Reincarnation or eternal life?

   

 

 

 

Does the Bible teach ABOUT reincarnation?

 

If you have read books about reincarnation, it is likely that you have been faced with the idea that the Bible also teaches about reincarnation, or that it was removed from the Bible at some point, perhaps in the year 553 during the Council of Constantinople.

   But is this true? Or not? We will consider this in the light of the next information:

 

Council in Constantinople in 553. Firstly, the idea that the doctrine of reincarnation was erased from the Christian faith and removed from the Bible by the Council of Constantinople in the year 553 is not true. Actually, they did not discuss reincarnation; they considered the earlier existence of the soul as represented by Origen. It was rejected during this meeting.

     Thus, reincarnation was not removed from the Bible, because it was never there. In addition, Origen himself rejected the doctrine of reincarnation, just as several church festivals before him had rejected reincarnation. In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, he pondered about the relationship between John the Baptist and the prophet Elijah (please see a couple of paragraphs below) but said that this had nothing to do with reincarnation, "which is a strange doctrine to the church of God that does not come from the Apostles and does not appear anywhere in the Bible."

 

Manuscript findings. The claim that reincarnation was removed from the Bible in the Council of Constantinople of 553 is also unfounded because the Bible manuscripts dated before that time do not reveal that the Bible was changed.

   Regarding those manuscripts, more than 24,000 Greek and other ancient versions were found around 100-400 A.D. This number is huge when we take into consideration that the second greatest number of ancient manuscripts is those of the Iliad by Homer: only 643 preserved documents. The difference is almost 40 times more. 

   On the contrary, these manuscripts prove that the Bible has been preserved in its current form, a fact that does not support reincarnation.

   It should also be noted that all but 11 verses of the New Testament can be reconstructed from excerpts that were preserved by church festivals spanning 300 years following the death of Jesus. According to research carried out by the British Museum, approximately 89,000 verses exist that were adopted into the writings of the early church from the New Testament. This figure is noteworthy as a reflection of the importance of the New Testament during the early years of the church. These citations also indicate that the New Testament has been preserved in its current form, which does not support reincarnation.

 

John the Baptist and the prophet Elijah. One thing that many mystics of the East and members of the New Age movement often quote are the words of Jesus, saying that John the Baptist was Elijah (Matthew 11:11-14 and Mark 9:11-13). They think that this is support for, or evidence of, reincarnation.

   However, Luke 1:17 indicates that John the Baptist would go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah. In other words, he had the same anointment of the Holy Spirit as his Old Testament predecessor, but he was a different person altogether.

   In addition, the clearest proof that John the Baptist was not Elijah is his own words of denial. Certainly, he himself knew better than anyone else who he was because he said:

 

 - (John 1:21) And they asked him, What then? Are you Elias? And he said, I am not. Are you that prophet? And he answered, No. 

 

Dying once. If we look at the general teachings of the Bible, we see that they do not support reincarnation, either. It is possible to find tens or actually hundreds of verses referring to the fact that we can be saved only by grace through Jesus, and that we can receive forgiveness of our sins immediately, now. (Eph 2:8,9: For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.) This clearly conflicts with the doctrine of reincarnation, in which people try to save themselves little by little over the course of many lives and through gradual development

   It is also significant that when addressing the possibility that life continues after death, the Bible does not teach us that we are reincarnated into a new body, but that we face God’s judgment, eternal damnation, and entry into Heaven. These completely exclude the doctrine of reincarnation. After we die we face judgment – once. 

 

 - (Hebr 9:27) And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:

 

- (2 Cor 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.

 

HOW ARE ORIENTAL AND BIBLICAL VIEWS SIMILAR TO EACH OTHER?

 

It is remarkable that in the Oriental and biblical views there are many similarities in the area of our responsibility. In Western countries, people criticize damnation, but the Oriental view actually includes this notion, and teaches that we are responsible for our actions. It appears in the next passages:

 

Sowing and reaping. If we start from how responsibility is seen in Oriental religions, the doctrine of reincarnation and the law of karma especially include our having to make right and pay for our bad deeds. Even though some people often deny the notion that we face judgment and damnation, the original doctrine of reincarnation includes the very same premise that we reap what we have sown and pay for the wrong we have done.

   This principle of reaping and sowing is clearly addressed in the book Kuolemaa ei ole by Rauni-Leena Luukanen, where the author’s supposed "grandmother" mediates a message from across the border through automatic writing. This quote (p. 186) refers to the principle that we are responsible for our actions and will reap what we have sown:

 

An important teaching is this: A man reaps what he has sown. For all, which we have done we are responsible. (…) People do not usually understand the significance of the law of karma.

 

The teaching of the New Testament is quite similar: we will reap what we have sown; judgment will be made based on our actions, as the next verses reflect:

 

 - (Gal 6:7) ... a man sows, that shall he also reap.

 

- (Col 3:25) But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done: and there is no respect of persons.

 

- (Rev 20:12-15) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15  And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

The view on damnation. As to our responsibility and evildoers’ having to pay for their actions, we should note that references to judgment are not restricted to the passage above and materials about reincarnation. This view is common in the world; many religions are partly founded upon the recognition of hell and the bad consequences that will come from wrong actions. For example, Islam and Judaism generally believe in hell but also Buddhism has some kind of an idea of it. The next quote talks about this:

 

My students generally have the opinion that only the good people can get to paradise and the bad ones have to go to hell. Japanese Buddhism teaches of the existence of both of these "places," and they are not at all afraid of using the word "hell" in the local religious language. I try to get the children to see that they themselves have done bad things. (6)

 

Eternity. The third noteworthy issue is that when it is a question of our responsibility and the eternity of judgment, the Oriental doctrine of reincarnation – in which, for example, many members of the New Age movement believe in – can also lead to the very same result.

   For if an evildoer (a person like Hitler, for example) continues his wrongdoings and will not change the direction of his life, he too must pay for that continually in his next lives because of the law of karma. Also, punishment of the evildoer is in a way eternal if he never changes his way of life – this is at least possible in the reincarnation doctrine, and therefore this view does not, in principle, differ in any way from the eternal damnation mentioned in the Bible.

   In addition, the view of the eternity of judgment appears also in Chinese popular religion. They believe that the punishment for certain people, especially murderers, is eternal. They do not even have the possibility to reincarnate, as the next quote tells us:

 

Chinese popular religion includes an idea of reincarnation. (…) The murderer will never be born again on Earth. He will suffer his punishment eternally. Instead, if a man has been an extremely good person in his previous life, he will be freed from the circle of reincarnation and will move to the western heaven in which he will become Buddha. (7)

 

The judgement HAS BEEN REMOVED!

 

Regarding the Bible’s lessons about how we face judgment for our deeds, the good news is that we can all be completely free from judgment and damnation through Christ. This is so because Jesus Christ did not come to the world to condemn people but to save them. He came to save people so that everyone could join in fellowship with God and would not have to go to Hell. The next Bible verses refer to this important matter:

 

 (John 3:17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 

 - (John 12:47) And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

 

 - (John 5:24) Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life.

 

- (Rom 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 

So the best thing you can do now is to turn to Jesus Christ, by whom the judgment is removed. Only in Him and by turning to Him can you have eternal life and be freed from condemnation. Consider these verses that teach about this important issue:

 

 - (John 5:40) And you will not come to me, that you might have life.

 

 - (John 6:35) And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst.

 

 - (Matt 11:28-30) Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29  Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.

30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

 

- (John 14:6) Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.

 

 - (John 6:68,69) Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life.

69  And we believe and are sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the living God.

 

 

 

REFERENCES:

 

1. Quote from Jälleensyntyminen vai ruumiin ylösnousemus (Reincarnation), Mark Albrecht, p. 123

2. Toivo Koskikallio, Kullattu Buddha, p. 105-108

3. Quote from Jälleensyntyminen vai ruumiin ylösnousemus (Reincarnation), Mark Albrecht, p. 79

4. Same p. 89

5. Same  p. 14

6. Mailis Janatuinen, Tapahtui Tamashimassa, p. 53

7. Olavi Vuori, Hyvät henget ja pahat, p. 82,83