Refuting Re-incarnation / Transmigration
According to Wikipedia:
Resurrection, however, hypothesized by some religions, is in which a soul comes back to life in the same body.
The Pagan Babylonian Roots of Reincarnation
In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul is seen as immortal and the only thing that becomes perishable is the body. Upon death, the soul becomes transmigrated into a new infant (or animal) to live again. The term transmigration means passing of soul from one body to another after death. In modern times transmigration is sometimes even depicted in movies like Switch and others (even cartoons) where adults whilst alive get their soul switched around with other people, animals, plants, inanimate objects and such.
Reincarnation is a central tenet of the Indian religions (namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism) and some varieties of Paganism. In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism in different aspects, in some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and some Indigenous Australians. A belief in rebirth/metempsychosis was held by Greek historical figures, such as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato, as well as in various modern religions.
Although the majority of denominations within Christianity and Islam do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Cathars, Alawites, the Druze, and the Rosicrucians. The historical relations between these sects and the beliefs about reincarnation that were characteristic of Neoplatonism, Orphism, Hermeticism, Manichaenism, and Gnosticism of the Roman era as well as the Indian religions.
Rebirth is a key concept found in major Indian religions, and discussed using various terms. Reincarnation, or Punarjanman (Sanskrit: पुनर्जन्मन्, 'rebirth, transmigration'), is discussed in the ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, with many alternate terms such as punarāvṛtti (पुनरावृत्ति), punarājāti (पुनराजाति), punarjīvātu (पुनर्जीवातु), punarbhava (पुनर्भव), āgati-gati (आगति-गति, common in Buddhist Pali text), nibbattin (निब्बत्तिन्), upapatti (उपपत्ति), and uppajjana (उप्पज्जन).
These religions believe that this reincarnation is cyclic and an endless Saṃsāra, unless one gains spiritual insights that ends this cycle leading to liberation. The reincarnation concept is considered in Indian religions as a step that starts each "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence," but one that is an opportunity to seek spiritual liberation through ethical living and a variety of meditative, yogic (marga), or other spiritual practices. They consider the release from the cycle of reincarnations as the ultimate spiritual goal, and call the liberation by terms such as moksha, nirvana, mukti and kaivalya. However, the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain traditions have differed, since ancient times, in their assumptions and in their details on what reincarnates, how reincarnation occurs and what leads to liberation.
Gilgul, Gilgul neshamot, or Gilgulei Ha Neshamot (Hebrew: גלגול הנשמות) is the concept of reincarnation in Kabbalistic Judaism, found in much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews. Gilgul means 'cycle' and neshamot is 'souls'. Kabbalistic reincarnation says that humans reincarnate only to humans unless YHWH/God choose.
Judaism
The belief in reincarnation developed among Jewish mystics in the Medieval World, among whom differing explanations were given of the afterlife, although with a universal belief in an immortal soul. Today, reincarnation is an esoteric belief within many streams of modern Judaism. Kabbalah teaches a belief in gilgul, transmigration of souls, and hence the belief in reincarnation is universal in Hasidic Judaism, which regards the Kabbalah as sacred and authoritative, and is also held as an esoteric belief within Modern Orthodox Judaism. In Judaism, the Zohar, first published in the 13th century, discusses reincarnation at length, especially in the Torah portion "Balak." The most comprehensive kabbalistic work on reincarnation, Shaar HaGilgulim, was written by Chaim Vital, based on the teachings of his mentor, the 16th century kabbalist Isaac Luria, who was said to know the past lives of each person through his semi-prophetic abilities. The 18th century Lithuanian master scholar and kabbalist, Elijah of Vilna, known as the Vilna Gaon, authored a commentary on the biblical Book of Jonah as an allegory of reincarnation.
The practice of conversion to Judaism is sometimes understood within Orthodox Judaism in terms of reincarnation. According to this school of thought in Judaism, when non-Jews are drawn to Judaism, it is because they had been Jews in a former life. Such souls may "wander among nations" through multiple lives, until they find their way back to Judaism, including through finding themselves born in a gentile family with a "lost" Jewish ancestor.
There is an extensive literature of Jewish folk and traditional stories that refer to reincarnation.
Christianity
In Greco-Roman thought, the concept of metempsychosis disappeared with the rise of Early Christianity, reincarnation being incompatible with the Christian core doctrine of salvation of the faithful after death. It has been suggested that some of the early Church Fathers, especially Origen, still entertained a belief in the possibility of reincarnation, but evidence is tenuous, and the writings of Origen as they have come down to us speak explicitly against it.
But What Does Scripture (Gen-Rev) Say?
In scripture the argument against reincarnation is simply summed up here:
Okay, now that we know the basics let’s deal with arguments that have been put forward on this topic:
Argument 1
We return to God when we die:
Eccl 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit (H7307) shall return unto Yahuah who gave it.
Answer:
Let’s look at the translation from Strong’s Greek for “spirit” which comes from the Hebrew.
רוּחַ
rûach
roo'-akh
From H7306; wind; by resemblance breath, that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions): - air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]), tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).
Compare with:
Gen 2:7 And Yahuah Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed (H5301) into his nostrils the breath of life (H2416); and man became a living soul. (H5315)
נָפַח
nâphach
naw-fakh'
A primitive root; to puff, in various applications (literally, to inflate, blow hard, scatter, kindle, expire; figuratively, to disesteem): - blow, breath, give up, cause to lose [life].
H5397
נְשָׁמָה
neshâmâh
nesh-aw-maw'
From H5395; a puff, that is, wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect or (concretely) an animal: - blast, (that) breath (-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit.
H2416
חַי
chay
khah'ee
נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh
neh'-fesh
Well, there you have it, our Creator's breath breathed into us to give us life returns to Him when we die, it’s part of Him after all. It does not mean that we as sentient beings return to shamayim (heaven) in a conscious form at that stage.
Argument 2.
Answer:
Context is everything -
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Master: (For we walk by emunah (faith), not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Master.
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Mashiak; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
G4151
pneuma
pnyoo'-mah
From G4154; a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman), the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.
Shaul (Paul) is saying above, keep in mind your goal – spiritual elevation to achieve everlasting life after death, which cannot be achieved if you are always thinking on materialistic, earthly things, as follows:
6:25-33 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Father in shamayim (heaven) feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his splendour was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if Yahuah so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little emunah (faith)? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles [heathens] seek:) for your Father in shamayim knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of Yahuah, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Our Creator’s breath is in us. When it is in us we are alive on this planet in a physical form, once we die physically the breath of Yahuah returns to Him. We will only be conscious when we are resurrected once after death by our Creator to face judgement:
The Defeat of Satan
Now, there are only two resurrections mentioned here and one Book of Life – some will resurrect to life eternal if they lived righteously according to our Creator’s way, or else they are resurrected to be destroyed, body and soul, if they are evil. That’s it – the dead from all time are raised up only once.
Argument 3:
We can act as messengers / angels. John the Baptist met an angel who was of his brethren:
Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and OF THY BRETHREN that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Answer:
John the Baptist? John the disciple whom Yahushua loved wrote Revelations, not John the Baptist who was beheaded by Herod. Next, let’s get some context again:
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of Yahuah, they are the sons of Yahuah.
This simply means we are all accepted of Yahuah as His sons as we believe in Him and in His son Yahushua – angels also believe and serve as servants just as we should.
Same for
Revelation 22:9 Then saith he unto me, see thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and OF THY BRETHREN THE PROPHETS, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship Yahuah.
Of the angels it mentions:
6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of Elohim shouted for gladness
For us it is the same:
Philip 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of Elohim, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
1Jonn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of Elohim: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of Elohim, even to them that believe on his name:
Argument 4: When the righteous die, they wait IN PARADISE (third heaven) or higher:
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me IN PARADISE.
NOTICE: It states TODAY not at resurrection or any future day!
Answer:
There is no higher shamayim than the third (1st is the sky, second is the universe, 3rd is where Yahuah dwells. Seven heavens is a pagan myth).
This is always quoted out of context. Remember, original Hebrew or Greek text did not have commas or markings as English does into which it was translated. In fact, what it states is: Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.
Yahushua is saying: today I am telling you this.
παράδεισος
paradeisos
par-ad'-i-sos
Of Oriental origin (compare [H6508]); a park, that is, (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness, “paradise”): - paradise.
Note: Future happiness.
Yahushua was assuring the thief that he has been added into the Book of Life and would be resurrected to eternal life when resurrection occurs at the end of this world. Did Yahushua go into paradise that same day? No, of course not – he went into the tomb dead and remained so until the third day.
Argument 5:
Where did Paul go? Paradise:
2 Corinthians 12:2
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: Elohim knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven
2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he was caught up into PARADISE, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Answer:
These verses relating to Paul’s encounter with Yahushua on the road to Damascus have been incorrectly understood - they should read as follows:
12:3 And I know (G1492) such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: Yahuah knoweth;)
12:4 How that he (Yahushua) was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
G1492 (used twice in this scripture reference each with a different meaning)
εἴδω
eidō
i'-do
A primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent, G3700 and G3708; properly to see (literally or figuratively); by implication (in the perfect only) to know: - be aware, behold, X can (+ not tell), consider, (have) known (-ledge), look (on), perceive, see, be sure, tell, understand, wist, wot. Compare G3700
G1722
ἐν
en
en
Paul uses this same word “altogether” (G1722) elsewhere in Acts.
Paul is not talking about knowing himself but Yahushua whom he saw 14 years prior and whom he subsequently now knows.
These verses have been butchered due to heretical bias so as to remove the “man” from Yahushua and trying to make it refer to Paul talking about himself. This is merely to support the “Jesus is God” heresy. (See Why Yah'ushua is not Elohim https://truerevival.yolasite.com/why-jesus-is-not-god.php) This translation then also invents an ascension event for Paul to shamayim which is further heresy. Yahushua himself is the only man to have ascended:
Note how John confirms that it is THE MAN Yahushua.
Argument 6:
Revelation 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of Yahuah, and for the witness (testimony) which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, Yahuah, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Who are these souls from men that the scriptures say are in heaven while they wait to be avenged against men on earth?
Answer:
This is figurative – it is actually proof that there is but one resurrection because these are the souls that have been waiting since the beginning of time, beginning with the first death of righteous Abel onward where the spilt blood has to be avenged by Yahuah on Satan and his followers. This happens only at the end of time with the lake of fire. It states:
Figurative – blood was not actually crying. Yahuah doesn’t say, don’t worry, the next baby Eve has will be Abel re-incarnated. Abel is gone and it’s a big deal. Yahuah is all-knowing and so has a reckoning of all dead righteous souls whose blood will need to be avenged at the end of the world. As follows:
Argument 7:
Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
They RETURN WITH CHRIST to rule and reign ON EARTH with Christ during the millennium as His Government.
I don’t see SHEOL or Abraham’s bosom mentioned here.. Abraham’s bosom was part of A PARABLE, a metaphor not meant to be taken literally. These Spirits are not off sleeping somewhere - they are serving God and their brethren!
Answer:
No time-frame given – they rule and reign after their single resurrection. And judgement was given unto them, implies that it happens first after resurrection that the elders take up their thrones and then judgement is made of the other people, etc. It’s not happening continuously but is just a single event, just as the marriage supper of the Lamb (Yahushua) happens only once with His bride, the true followers.
To be honest, I doubt the resurrected righteous will rule a millennium on this earth as there should be nothing left to reign until the new earth. As follows:
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
If we are ruling and reigning on the earth there should not be evil any more but yet the evil are still there a thousand years later. This is implying Satan is left on his own with the physically dead torah transgressors (sinners) and old sinful earth for a thousand years, thereafter Yahuah raises up the evil dead in the second resurrection mentioned, which are thereafter in battle against Yahuah, Yahushua and the righteous once more before they are completely destroyed.
Soul sleep is still my understanding, as I re-quote:
Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till shamayim be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel is speaking of the only two resurrections: one for the righteous and one for the wicked.
John 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Act 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of Yahuah, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the shamayim (heavens): but he saith himself, Yahuah said unto my Master, Sit thou on my right hand,
Even David is awaiting resurrection just prior to judgement. Not ascended, not in another form, his body has seen corruption and that’s it.
Here would have been the perfect opportunity to say, but don’t worry, they have been re-incarnated and are living on in a better life as reward for good behaviour.
There you have it – no man has been resurrected up to shamayim as yet until the end of the world to come.
Now, if you want to say anything further you could try this one:
What is this “changed”? Reincarnation? No. Here is what it means:
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
This is a one-time event at the end of the world where the living righteous are converted from mortal to immortal and taken up to shamayim (heaven) in that form. Yahushua was the firstfruits of this type to be taken up to shamayim to prepare a place for the future righteous. How people long to be part of this crowd that get to experience the ultimate in it all!
If Mashiak is the firstfruits of immortality then we would expect this immortality to be reincarnation as taught by yourself, but it is not – Yahushua remains as Yahushua on the throne in shamayim. This is the only immortality there is – eternal life in shamayim, not a cycle of reincarnation.
Argument 8:
RAISED AGAIN EVERYONE was waiting & watching for Elijah to return and were trying to figure out WHO was Elijah.. because they knew it was time for him to return. Biblical transmigration/reincarnation is openly discussed in the Bible and is never dismissed, corrected, or refuted - quite the opposite!
Matthew 16:13-14 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias (Elijah); and others, Jeremias (Jeremiah), or one of the prophets. (RISEN AGAIN)
Answer:
Well, they said it but it does not mean they were right. Here is the actual meaning:
2Ki 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Yahuah, Elohim of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.
As to your claim “never dismissed, corrected, or refuted” that is not true.
In Luke 7:27 Yahushua refers to Mal 3:1 and makes it clear that the Messenger is John the Baptist, not Elijah himself. And thus Yahushua makes it clear that he himself is neither John the Baptist nor Elijah or any of the previous prophets, but the Master and messenger of the renewed covenant.
Luk 7:27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of Elohim is greater than he.
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Master, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his hakal (temple), even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith Yahuah of hosts.
Again, the spirit is ruach, the breath of Yahuah. Yahuah enabled in certain men through His breath supernatural abilities. It is not Elijah as the person in another physical form. In fact Yahushua has the full spirit of Yahuah his Father not Elijah (see answer to Argument 10).
Argument 9:
Matthew 11:12-15
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And IF ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
John the Baptist was Elijah RAISED AGAIN - TRANSMIGRATION
Matthew 17:9-13
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be RISEN AGAIN from the dead.
10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias (Elijah) must first come?
11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
12 But I say unto you, That Elias (Elijah) is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist was Elijah confirmation #2
Answer:
Luke 1:13-17 But the malak (angel) said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have giel (joy) and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of Yahuah, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), even from his mother's womb.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to Yahuah their Elohim (God).And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah (Elias), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for Yahuah.
John was filled with ruach from Yahuah even in his mother’s womb and he was to have the spirit and power of Elijah as decreed by Yahuah. He was not Elijah re-incarnated but rather had the supernatural power from Yahuah just as Elijah and then as Elisha did. Elisha could not have been a reincarnated Elijah either since Elijah was still alive after Elisha received his spirit or mantle. Proven in this article we wrote extensively on: Who is Elijah And Is He In Heaven? https://truerevival.yolasite.com/who-is-elijah-and-is-he-in-heaven.php
Argument 10:
Matthew 14:1-2
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Herod thought that John was RAISED AGAIN as Jesus.
Answer:
Herod was a pagan and believed in a lot of things, including reincarnation, and was rebuked by John for a torahless relationship with his brother Philip’s wife. John was beheaded because of this. Paranoia from committing murder is not truth. John and Yahushua were related and born six months apart as Elizabeth and Mary were cousins, as follows:
How could John the Baptist be in his mother’s womb and in Mary’s womb at the same time?
Yahushua had his own Ruach HaKodesh fully imparted. He is after all The Anointed One (Ha Mashiak) in the spirit with the total of seven spirits imparted to Him directly from Yahuah as prophesied, he had no need to be John re-incarnated.
Argument 11:
Hebrews 9:26
For then must he (JESUS) OFTEN have SUFFERED since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
If there is no suffering in heaven, then Jesus must have suffered often ON EARTH since the foundation of the world. Then when nearing perfection, Jesus returned once as the Messiah to offer himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
^^ Jesus lived more than once Witness #1
Answer:
Okay, this is just twisting the meaning of the sentence. Put it in context:
Only Yahushua having offered himself once to die (not many times as you implied), has been raised as the firstfruits by Yahuah, and thus He shall return to collect the righteous at the end of time as our saviour.
If you are suggesting a perpetual cycle of putting him to death followed by resurrection then see our article: Transubstantiation - How Low Can You Go? https://truerevival.yolasite.com/transubstantiation-how-low-can-you-go.php
Argument 12:
Matthew 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Jesus is asking “How can the messiah be the ANCESTOR & the OFFSPRING of David?”
46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
They didn’t answer because the Pharisees did not believe in being RISEN AGAIN, and Transmigration is the ONLY answer to this riddle.
The answer to the riddle is found here:
Revelation 22:16
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the ROOT and the OFFSPRING of David, and the bright and morning star.
^^ Jesus lived more than once Witness #2
Answer:
Correction: It is the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection, not the Pharisees.
If they believed in transmigration then why did the Master of Israel, Nicodemus, not come out with it when Yahushua referred to being “born again”?
Why did he come up with this ridiculous question and not say, ah, yes, transmigration? Because as a Pharisee he believed in the resurrection as described in scripture, that’s why.
Note: if you are a Sadducee you will not be able to claim reincarnation as, according to their error, there is no spirit – shame for them – that is why they were sad-u-see.
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. And Yahushua answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the malakim (angels); and are the children of Yahuah, being the children of the resurrection.
A perfect opportunity for Yahushua to accept reincarnation was with His best friend Lazarus – Yahushua was sad, not happy when he heard of Lazarus’s death. Martha makes it clear they did not belive in re-incarnation in Yahushua' time as she says to Him:
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of YHUH,YHUH will give it thee.
Yahushua saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Yahushua resurrected Lazarus, He did not say to the two sisters, don’t worry, Lazarus is no doubt reincarnated somewhere having the time of his life elsewhere! Rather:
John 11:39-40 Yahushua said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Master, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. (1 day over official death by Jewish law) Yahushua saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the splendour of Yahuah?
John 12:9-11 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Yahushua's sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Yahushua.
So, let’s think about this. Why would Yahushua bring Lazarus back as Lazarus with his putrid flesh and stinking grave clothes? Why did he not let him go on to his next level? And why endanger him to be sought after as evidence of resurrection with the threat of being murdered? Why did Lazarus not complain!?
Answer - Lazarus was proof of the resurrection of the dead, the one and only option. Yahushua proves this many times – there is no transmigration or reincarnation. Also:
Yahushua - David’s Offspring and Root
Jer 33:17 For thus saith Yahuah; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
John 15:4 Abide in me (Yahushua), and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), Yahuah said to my Master, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
So, David being the melek (king) was to read all of scripture available in his time and he was fully aware of the prophecies concerning the future Mashiak (Messiah). He in the Ruach was shown in vision by Yahuah that the coming Mashiak would be of his offspring. Yahushua was ordained to come to redeem the world from the very beginning:
Yahuah being all-knowing, all-powerful could foresee the need for a redeemer of mankind who would embody all necessary righteousness to Yahuah’s standards to be the full propitiation for all of mankind’s sins in future, thus the idea of Yahushua was with Yahuah from the beginning of creation. David was shown the future Mashiak and he made that the root of his belief for future resurrection.
Yahushua only became carnate when He was born of Mary, and having overcome this world and death in the flesh He became the firstfruits as the ultimate example for all subsequent generations for the route to be followed to everlasting life. Only He as the firstfruits has the power after having been resurrected and made incorruptible to return one more time to this dying planet at the end of this planet’s time to collect His righteous followers before destruction of the evil living. He is not re-incarnated into any flesh but rather returns straight from shamayim (heaven) as follows:
He will be recognised.
Argument 13:
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: AGAIN, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
How could Jesus leave the world, and go to the Father AGAIN if he hadn’t done it before?
Answer:
Do not twist the sentence – colon means he is starting afresh another concept in the sentence and he is stating for the second time, again, that he is to die - his disciples were not understanding when he told them the first time and they would not accept that he would leave them.
After that they still did not understand! Yes, he had to tell them yet AGAIN after he was resurrected that he must leave them.
Argument 14:
The only way a baby born blind could have sinned is in a previous life. But transmigration doesn’t work like that. We are NOT punished for sins in a previous life. We are perfected through suffering.
Answer:
Read further – it was not a punishment and it was not related to sin and there was no previous life:
John 9:3-4 Yahushua answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of Yahuah should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Besides which, we are all born with sin because of the original sin of Adam and Eve and the great fall, past life does not come into it:
Here too, we are made righteous by one, not many re-incarnated men before getting to a “Jesus”.
Argument 15:
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
ALL of the verses in this chapter apply to JESUS, NOT ALL MEN. Does the verse say we LIVE only once? No.
I see no contradiction: We live, we die, we have a life review (Judgement) in the 3rd heaven, reliving and reviewing all of the good and all of the bad that we knowingly performed - so that we can learn from it.
Then, we come back and are born again, live, and die again for more lessons in perfection - Just as John the Baptist & Jesus did.
Answer:
No, as it is appointed unto men (MULTIPLE), not Yahushua. If men die once then they can only live once, otherwise we would die many times, right? Not all the verses in the chapter talks only of Yahushua, it talks of Moses and the tabernacle, High Priest, etc. Don’t twist things.
But you are believing Satan’s lie which is: the reward of death is eternal life through reincarnation.
Paul was so accustomed to both the Hebrew faith and Greek academia, he knew how to build bridges between the two to reveal the supernatural truth of God and Messiah Yeshua.
Greek philosophy was not averse to multiple deaths:
As one example, Socrates once considered how death might be like the most pleasant night of undisturbed sleep. He said, “Now if death is like this, I say that to die is gain [kerdos in Greek].”
And when Socrates considered how death might mean he would see the great philosophers like Homer, he said, “Let me die again and again” (as recorded by Plato in The Apology of Socrates).
The Jewish Apostle Paul no doubt knew this about Socrates and used his thoughts on what might happen after death to explain a far greater revelation that the Greeks could never fathom on their own:
He said that “Messiah will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, to live is Messiah and to die is gain [kerdos]” (Philippians 1:21).
He did not mean multiple deaths but just one, as long as he was accepted of Messiah in life or death.
Argument 16:
FEAR of death is a type of bondage!
Hebrews 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Answer:
Again, the fear of death is there because it is the reward for sin. It is the most basic positive motivation towards repentance. If it is gone then you have a seared conscience as a reprobate, which is what reincarnation dogma is designed to create.
Yes, and through Yahushua’s atonement we can once again be assured of eternal life after a single death if we are righteous. Who wants to die many times? I sure don’t.
Now, the question really is, why do people want to rather believe in reincarnation? The perfecting cycle allows a second or more chances over an interminable amount of time. It would then imply that no-one would lose eternal life because they’ve got to get it right eventually, surely?
Our scripture says different. For example, there is a great gulf between the living and the dead and once you die (once only) it is too late to try make any changes, as follows:
So true, which is what Yahushua re-iterated when He was preaching. Also as follows. When the end comes:
Firstfruits of Resurrection
But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Mashiak not risen:
And if Mashiak be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your emunah (faith) is also vain.
And if Mashiach be not raised, your emunah (faith) is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Mashiak are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Mashiak, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Mashiak risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Mashiak shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order: Mashiak the firstfruits; afterward they that are Mashiak’s at his coming.
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to Yahuah, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Why does death need to be destroyed, why is it an enemy and not a friend as you claim?
You suggest: the reward of death is eternal life through reincarnation. But:
Born again of the flesh? = reincarnation? No.
Born again of the spirit = salvation
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Yahushua answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of shamayim (heavenly) things?
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from shamayim (heaven), even the Son of Man which is in shamayim (heaven).
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:
This incorruptible is attained through the Ruach HaKodesh of Yahuah, it is spiritual as opposed to the flesh of man
The sum total is man does not achieve any increased level of dignity whatsoever in death through another so-called life as there is simply no reincarnation, no second, third chance to achieve dignity.
Jonah
Now the big topic. You’ll notice that some Jews see Jonah as a type of reincarnation, as Wikipedia stated at the beginning of this article.
The reality is that Yahushua said himself:
By this He meant that He would be put to death but would be resurrected by Yahuah on the third day just as Jonah was. Resurrected, not re-incarnated, as is clear:
2:10 And Yahuah spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Jonah was resurrected in his own body to be vomited up. Gross but true.
Judas, on the other hand, was lost forever for his betrayal of Yahushua:
The gift of salvation is eternal life which Judas will not have. Not even reincarnation as you would suggest. Gone forever!
H6
אָבַד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
Is this fair if everyone else gets many, many trips on the merry-go(d)-round?
Speaking of many trips – why would there be a stern warning like this if we get so many chances?
Also:
Only once.
One soul. As follows:
יָחִיד
yâchı̂yd
yaw-kheed'
From H3161; properly united, that is, sole; by implication beloved; also lonely; (feminine) the life (as not to be replace): - darling, desolate, only (child, son), solitary.
The lie of reincarnation encourages torah transgression with the reward of repeated torahless lives on this earth. This satisfies the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life. It is a form of antinomianism which believes that through chesed - free gift of salvation [poorly translated as “grace” (pagan goddess) in the English Bible ] one does not need to keep the moral law. Reincarnation is a torahless “grace” (goddess) that exceeds the chesed /amnesty given to every man, which is the chance to seek redemption in this one life and then obey Torah. Chesed given to the wicked (torahless) usually makes them more wicked, let alone a false reincarnation “grace” that allows them to return and continue in the same way. In the same way reincarnation parallels the lie that death over and over again leads to an organism or species which gains a higher level of development – this is the lie of evolution which opposes the fact that sin causes devolution and death.
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the emunah / moral conviction (faith), giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron
Don’t get fooled - you get one shot at it in this world so make it count!
Article Updated D2 M4 Y22