Reincarnation: weird imagination!
Reincarnation is undoubtedly an outrageous philosophy.
REINCARNATION. It is the concept and doctrine of the rebirth of a soul to another body after the death of a person. It is also referred to as the transmigration of souls whereby individual souls are believed to pass through series of lives. It is believed by some to be an endless process of a soul from infant, to adolescence, through teenage and adult years, and death, and then the circle begins all over.There are people who claim that children are a reincarnation of their parents. Thus, they name such children after their dead parents. Many people do not believe in the existence of heaven and hell. Some Christians are of the opinion and strong belief that the only way a soul can attain salvation and be like Christ is to spend more time on Earth so as to be perfected through the process of reincarnation. They insist God’s creation is meaningless without reincarnation and that it gives validity to Christianity. This is another controversial subject but assuredly, the spirit of God will reveal the mind of God concerning this absurd and false doctrine.
Have you ever heard people make comments like “In my next life, I’ll prefer to be a man because women carry too much burden such as in menstruation, pregnancy and giving birth”? Well, I have. The concept of reincarnation is inter-twined with that of the doctrine of the “law of Karma”. It is believed by many, that everybody’s evil deeds of a previous life affect their present lives and the present life will as well affect the future life on Earth.
The “law of Karma” does not accommodate mercy and forgiveness whatsoever. Life after death is indeed a mystery that has been revealed by God Himself in His word. It is appalling that many people convert their personal opinions born out of unsubstantiated speculations and turn them into doctrines. Many naïve Christians have been brainwashed by this fantasy called reincarnation. Now I ask you: can you remember your past life on Earth? Were you male or female, black, white, colored, tall or midget? The answer is No!! You surely can’t because you never had a previous life here on Earth and don’t ever believe such a cheap unintelligent lie from the father of lies himself.
Let us now look at a few of the scriptural examples that some folks proffer as biblical evidence of reincarnation.
In the book of John 9:1-3, we are informed of how Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. Jesus saw a man who had been blind from his birth. His disciples asked him whose sin had made the man blind from birth? His or his parents? Jesus replied in verse three:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life”.
Based on the above Scripture, some people believe and claim that the disciples of Jesus believed in reincarnation and the “law of Karma” which prompted their question to Jesus: “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jesus is assumed to support the law of reincarnation and karma based on His reply to His disciples:
“Neither…”
The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Ps. 51:5 states:
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”.
Every newborn child is born with a sin nature as a result of sins defilement of the human race in the Garden of Eden. So if Jesus tells His disciples it wasn’t the man’s sins that caused his blindness at birth, it definitely did not refer to reincarnation or “the Law of Karma” as inferred. Jesus wanted His disciples to realize that it isn’t sin that causes all sickness or afflictions. Some are permitted for divine purposes. Also, in Matt. 16:13-14, Jesus asked:
“Who do people say the son of man is?”
His disciples answered in verse 14:
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets”.
‘Christians’ who believe in reincarnation use the above Scripture to support their doctrine of physical rebirth since Jesus Himself was suspected by some to be the reincarnation of John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. They strongly aver that if the concept was false, Jesus would have rebuked His disciples. My response to that is: Jesus didn’t need to respond to such absurdity. Instead, he responded to the revelation of Himself that Peter had received.
The account of Adam and Eve is very well known to many, including atheists. Adam in the Hebrew language actually means ‘Man’. It is asserted by some Christian folks that Adam is believed to have reincarnated back to the earth due to his grievous sin in Eden and that he first came as David and later as Jesus. Has this circle of Adam’s reincarnation ended? Really, it blew my imagination to discover that there are other ‘Christian’ groups today that assiduously believe that Adam reincarnated as Jesus while Eve reincarnated as Mary. Adam is said to have come back to the earth as Jesus, in order to pay the penalties of his sins based on “the Law of Karma”, which demands justice to be done only if/when a guilty person pays for his sins/crime. Thus, the only one said to be capable of paying for his own sin is Adam himself who purportedly reincarnated as Jesus. Here are some Scripture passages used to support this belief:
1 Cor. 15:45-48,
“So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam, a life-giving Spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven”.
Listen carefully: it is a very dangerous thing to read the Scriptures out of context or upside down literally speaking. How can Adam be Jesus? In the beginning was the word (Jesus) and the word was with God and the word was God. All things were made by Him (including Adam) and without Him was nothing made. In Him was/is eternal life and His life is the light of men that defeats the works of darkness – Jn. 1:1-14. How could God who created Adam, be Adam? How could God disobey His own command and be displeased thereof? It doesn’t end there. Some of these so -called Christians also believe and promote the concept that Eve reincarnated as the virgin Mary. What an incredible heretic farce. Adam became Jesus and Eve, Mary? Preposterous!! This is one false doctrine that dug its own grave. In Rom 5:14, the word of God states:
“Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come”.
Adam was a pattern of the one to come. Does this mean he was the one to come? Certainly not! A pattern is a model of which a copy can be made; an example. It is inconceivable that Jesus, the ancient of days and sun of righteousness, who knew no sin until He took upon Himself the sins of humanity, is referred to as the created fallen man who introduced sin to mankind through obedience to Satan. In Christ, all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form – Col. 2:9. Redemption from sin is a gift from God but this gift is different from the trespass of sin for all died by the trespass of Adam but through God’s grace and precious gift, salvation is made available to all who will receive God’s abundant gift of righteousness. There are divergent views about this doctrine of reincarnation that is ardently believed not only by some heretic Christians but also by several religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and so on.
Another perspective of reincarnation with regards to the first man, Adam, is that he is believed to have gone through several processes and stages of reincarnation before he came into the earth as Jesus. He was said to have reincarnated severally in the following personalities: Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and finally as Jesus. Is it possible to reincarnate in dual personalities, for example, as Moses and Joshua, Abraham and Melchizedek? The Bible is said to be full of countless contradictions. This is untrue. It is those who are spiritually blind and or dead who assume the Bible is full of contradictions. The Scripture is the inspired word of the living God – God breathed. Seemingly contradictions dissipate through the eyes of faith. Human reasoning is incompatible with faith.
The word of God is Spirit and only the Holy Ghost can give the appropriate interpretations and revelations of the Scriptures. Many are drawn to unbiblical doctrines such as reincarnation, which provides them only a false hope. They claim that if they don’t live right in this life, they have another opportunity in their next life on Earth. Beware of false and dangerous doctrines!!!
To think that some ‘Christians’ would believe such lies is beyond me. Have you ever heard this question asked: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Perhaps you have. One answer usually offered to this question by those who propagate the doctrine of reincarnation is that adversity such as rape; murder; accidents; poverty; business failures; persisting debts; death of loved ones and the like, occur in many lives as a result of the bad life such victims lived in their previous lives. It is believed that they pay for the misdeeds of their earlier lives. It is also believed that the soul of every human being chooses the location, family, religion and situation where it will be born into. If that is the case, then I think those who choose to be born or ‘reincarnate’ into very poor families, poor countries or cities or villages, those who choose to be born in famine or war ravaged countries or communities, all need their heads examined thoroughly.
I recall sometime back when I had some major business trial, a lady who worked in a bank told me it may be the result of my ‘Karma’. I told her I had no ‘Karma’ and never will but just in case I did, the blood of Jesus which changed my roots and translated me from darkness to light, has engrafted me into His vine, for my life is now hid in Christ in God and the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin, ‘Karma’ and death. Period!!!
The Bible states in 1 Cor. 2:14,
“The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned”.
Carnal minds cannot comprehend the mysteries of God. Life is an expression of the intelligence of a supreme and sovereign God.
In Mark 4:11-12, concerning parables, Jesus tells His disciples:
“The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
The concept of the rebirth of a soul in a new body repeated times for its purification, is totally unbiblical. Christ never taught such falsehood when he spoke to Martha concerning Lazarus who had died, as claimed by some heretics. Jesus said:
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- Jn. 11:25
This verse of Scripture in no remote way speaks about reincarnation. Jesus is saying categorically that whoever believes in him will not be doomed by physical death but that it will only be a means to eternal life in the presence of the Lord.
I have read several articles written by atheists, psychiatrists, and the likes of them, casting aspersions on the credibility of the Bible and in support of the concept of reincarnation. When a psychiatrist doctor writes a book that promotes the doctrine of reincarnation based on purported first hand experiences and reports from a psychiatric patient who claims to remember his or her previous life under the influence of hypnotism, then there obviously is a big problem. A psychiatric patient is presumably more often than not a mentally sick person. How trustworthy is the report or testimony of such a patient which is obviously spurned out of hallucination?
Jesus said to the Pharisee called Nicodemus:
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”
- Jn.3: 3
This verse of Scripture has erroneously been misinterpreted to mean reincarnation or physical rebirth. No, it clearly isn’t. To be born again is to receive spiritual rebirth thus receiving eternal life and salvation through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This has nothing to do with physical birth. Jesus is saying here that in order to enter the kingdom of God and to have everlasting life, one must be reconciled to God through Christ, one must accept His salvation so as to be recreated and transformed by God’s precious Spirit.
On another interesting note, some Christian groups allege that the doctrine of reincarnation was clearly enunciated in the Bible and remained so for several centuries until it was expunged from the Scriptures by Emperor Constantine of Rome while he secretly reconstructed and edited the historical facts of the Bible. Constantine is also accused of deleting all references on reincarnation in the Bible in order to meet his wife’s request. This is blatant falsehood!!
Emperor Constantine, who was also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Christian Roman Emperor ever. Before his conversion, he was a pagan worshipper just like all previous Roman Emperors. He is known to have fought many battles and wars which he won. He got converted to Christianity after his victory at the Milvian Bridge Battle in the year 312 AD. This victory he attributed to a vision he received from God that his battle would be won by God’s divine enablement through the power of Calvary’s Cross. Based on this victory and in spite of his very limited knowledge of Christianity, he became committed to the stability and advancement of Christianity and this led to his issuance of an edict called “The Edict of Milan” in 313AD which was promulgated to foster and ensure religious tolerance and freedom. This led to the end of the persecution of Christians. Through him, Christianity was legalized. He did all he could to unite the church, which was being torn apart by diverse doctrines such as the doctrine of the Trinity, that is to say, God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When these doctrinal issues became irresolvable, he then established a council made up of over two hundred church leaders, which included bishops, pastors, and even many commoners. Emperor Constantine only presided over the council that was set up to objectively and essentially analyze the doctrinal issue of the Trinity and to adopt a position of consensus. The doctrine of the Trinity was adopted with emphasis on Jesus being of equal substance with God the Father. Emperor Constantine’s contributions and impact towards enhancing the growth and progress of the church were immense and remarkable. In spite of his limited knowledge of Christianity, he was determined to resolve controversial and divisive disputes within the Christian community through the deliberations of divergent Christian leaders and groups.
Has anyone ever wondered how a traditionally pagan Roman Emperor who was also considered a god himself would suddenly convert to Christianity and submit to the lordship of Jesus? That’s the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A pagan Emperor encountered the risen Christ and his destiny changed. On the 20th day of May 325AD, Constantine the great established the first Ecumenical council called the council of Nicaea in present day Turkey, with the goal of settling crucial doctrinal problems within the church. This council met for about two months with hundreds of church leaders in attendance for all intents and purposes of sorting out theological controversies with regards to the divinity of Christ. Long before this time, Christians prayed in the name of Jesus and worshipped Him as Lord and Savior. Also, the Bible had long been canonized (cataloged) before the promulgation of the council of Nicea. There is no evidence whatsoever on Earth that Constantine the great spear- headed or maneuver the removal of a non-existent doctrine of reincarnation in the Bible. This is merely a fictitious assumption. The four gospels, the epistle of Apostle Paul and the other letters already had canonical clout by the second century long before Constantine’s was born. Of course the Bible passed through numerous developmental stages since then but none of that affected the contextual import of the Scriptures. Historical records confirm that there were four major centers of Christianity which were in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor and Rome. The church at Asia Minor was more dominant than the others. Constantine the great could not have manipulated the Scriptures at the council of Nicea and also succeeded in manipulating the acceptance of such a fallacious doctrine by all the Christian communities in various parts of the world.
At the council of Nicea, legislation was thereafter passed into law to outlaw cheating, stealing, immorality, religious intolerance and the abuse of basic fundamental human rights. Constantine the Great was accused of expunging parts of the Scripture that supposedly support reincarnation. If he so did, what was his motive? How could the false doctrine of reincarnation align with Hebrews 9:27 which reads:
“And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment”
- (KJV)
Every human being has an appointment with death, physically, someday. It is destined for everyone to die once, after that the judgment of God. The one life doctrine is not man made per se but God ordained. So, that doctrine which states that every soul must undergo several physical rebirths and deaths, in order to be sanctified before exiting the so-called reincarnation circle, is baseless fabrication.
Jesus said to one of the two criminals hung on the cross beside him:
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”.
Paradise symbolizes heaven or the presence of God. Jesus is letting us know that once a person is saved, he immediately goes into paradise or heaven.
The Scripture, also known as the Bible, was written centuries ago by many authors from different cultures and background. The Bible applies to all generations of mankind because it is inspired by God Himself. The Scripture (Old Testament) we have today is the same that Jesus used and read from. The Old Testament is the support for the New Testament. Testament simply means covenant. For many centuries, the Bible has gone through many stages of development but great effort was always applied to ensure the preservation of the text in spite of the numerous translations. There were no printing presses in those days. The Bible at one stage was neither in chapters nor in verses. In spite of all these developments, God preserve the message of His word and not even the Great Emperor Constantine could amputate the word of the living God. Jesus who is the word of God, never for once, talked about or made any reference to the concept of reincarnation, which negates His word. Reincarnation is a satanic doctrine. Be vigilant my friends because the enemy of humanity is on the prowl, sowing false doctrines into the hearts of men, in order to destroy souls eternally.
Take heed!!
Ejiro Okene