John the Baptist: Elijah Reincarnated.

In spite of numerous attempts by the great established Christian religions and the various sects that deny the evidence concerning the reincarnation of Elijah the prophet as John the Baptist, the evidence is of such magnitude that it cannot be hidden or easily ignored.

The Book of Malachi

This book, the last in the canon of the Old Testament, is extremely important because it contains the prophecy of Elijah’s return that will be fulfilled, as we shall see shortly, with the reincarnation of the greatest prophet of Israel as John the Baptist. Notice that the words of the last paragraph are also mentioned in Matthew 3 and in Luke 1:17 as well, when the angel announces to Zacharias that his son John (the Baptist) would embody the spirit of Elijah the prophet.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet,
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children
and the heart of the children to the fathers...
xMalachi 4:5,6

Next by transcribing the descriptions in the 2nd Book of Kings and that of Mathew’s Gospel and comparing the personalities of Elijah the Tishbite and John the Baptist respectively we have:

And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair
and a leathern girdle about his loins
and his meat was locust
and wild honey.
Matthew 3:4
And they answered him, He was an hairy man
and girt with a girdle of leather
around his loins-
And he said, it is Elijah the Tishbite
II Kings 1:8

Simple coincidence? Let’s see. When the messenger of God appears before Zacharias to announce that his wife shall bear a son who will be the embodiment of a prophet, he announces with total clarity that the spirit that will be manifest in that prophet to be born is no one less than Elijah, and he even quotes Malachi.

And he shall go before him
in the spirit and power of Elias
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children
and the desobedient to the wisdom of the just;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:17

The reader should be aware that in the former verse, the word in the original Greek text that translates as “with” was changed in the King James Translation to “into”, obscuring the meaning of the whole paragraph, apparently to make it fit in accordance to Jerome’s opinion regarding reincarnation.

Let’s mention now the verse (the only one) wrongfully quoted by western religions that cannot accept the law of reincarnation because, naturally, they would see a diminishing of their moral and material power over the consciences of men. The curious thing is that, while denying that John the Baptist was in fact the reincarnation of Elijah’s spirit, they end up also denying the assertions of the Divine Teacher Himself, as will be clearly seen later on.

And they asked him, What then? Are thou Elias?
And he saith, I am not.
Are thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Then said they unto him, Who are thou?
that we may give an answer to them that sent us.
What sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one
crying in the wilderness.
Make straight the way of the Lord,
as said the prophet Esaias.
 John 1:21,23

And certainly, when the priests and Levites ask John the Baptist if he is Elijah, he answers that indeed, he is not: he is John, son of Zacharias and Elizabeth.

But what would happen if the question was formulated properly?
“Do you have within you Elijah’s spirit?” The answer, of course, would had been different, confirming what was announced by the angel to Zacharias.

And still, there is the other explanation: that the knowledge of past lives was concealed even to John as stated in Ecclesiastes 1:7,9, but Jesus, the Son of Man and the Christ, certainly knew all things occult pertaining to men.

Had Elijah’s spirit not reincarnated in the life and body of John the Baptist, the prophecies of Malachi 4 and Luke 1 would never have been fulfilled and the Messiah, with Elijah yet to come, could not possibly have arrived! Therefore Christian theologians are inadvertently agreeing with the orthodox Jewish theologians who are still to this day denying that Jesus was the Messiah and continue to await the return of Elijah.

This is so wrong! That the prophecies were truly fulfilled is evident when John himself clarifies the prophecy by confirming to be that voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. If John the Baptist had not within himself the spirit of Elijah the prophet, why then did Jesus of Nazareth, the long awaited Messiah of Israel, whom we recognize as the Christ, make this affirmation in such a concise and definite manner?

And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
Matthew 11:14
But I say unto you, That Elias is come already
and they knew him not,
but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.
 Matthew 17:12
But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come,
and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed,
as it is written of him.
 Mark 9:13

It is here that theologians are silent. They are caught in the dilemma due to their incorrect interpretation by imputing that either John the Baptist or the very Christ Himself was lying!

The fact that among the Jews contemporary to Jesus there already existed the notion and accepted knowledge of the law of reincarnation of the spirit, is demonstrated in the following verse, completely unnecessary if the contrary had been true:

Others said, That it is Elias
and others said, That it is a prophet,
or as one of the prophets.
Mark 6:15

By assuming the possibility that Jesus could be one of the prophets of Israel from ancient times, they implicitly acknowledged the possibility of reincarnation.

Furthermore, reading the following verse throws even more light on the knowledge that Jesus’ disciples already had of reincarnation.

And as Jesus passed by,
he saw a man which was blind from his birth
And his disciples asked him,
Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents,
that he was born blind?
John 9:1,2

What’s the point of Jesus’ disciples formulating this question if they didn’t already know that it is possible to sin before being born, that is to say, in a previous existence? Can someone be “punished” by God at the moment of their birth – before having the chance to sin? This was one of the fundamental arguments of Origen about pre-existence of the spirit prior to its arrival in this world.

The resurrection of the flesh is the reincarnation of the spirit.

One way of denying the law of reincarnation of the spirit, is by concealing the interpretation of numerous passages of the Bible that deal with this notion by making them appear as if they refer to the materialistic concept of the resurrection of the bodies of the dead.

Jesus refutes this materialistic interpretation, and explains that the resurrection of matter is really that of the spirit (the angels in the sky) referring implicitly to the same metaphor as in Jacob’s ladder (Gen. 28:12).

Jesus and the reincarnation.

The same day came to him the Sadducees,
which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die,
having no children, his brother shall marry his wife,
and raise up seed unto his brother.
Now there were with us seven brethen:
and the first, when he had married a wife,
deceased, and, having no issue,
left his wife unto his brother;
Likewise the second also, and the third,
unto the seventh.
And last of all the woman died also.
Therefore, in the resurrection
whose wife shall se be of the seven?
for they all had her.
Jesus answered and said unto them,
ye do err, not knowing the scriptures
nor the power of God.
For in the resurrection they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Matthew 22:23-30

Here, Jesus is taking on the literal interpretation of Ezekiel’s vision, which was the one presented by the Sadducees trying to get Jesus into trouble.

But in the following verse -if there was still doubt – Jesus underrates the rude interpretation of the resurrection of cadavers completely when he affirms: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And here, as given by Jesus the Christ, is the clue to this whole concept: true resurrection is of the spirit (the living) not of the corpse (the dead) as many have believed for so long.

But as touching the resurrection of the dead,
have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living.
Matthew 22:31,32

In the following passage in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains the reason why the spirit does not “re-use” a body. Using the metaphor of vestures and vessels of clay represented by cloth and bottles.

No man putheth a piece of new cloth
unto an old garment,
for that which is put in to fill it up
tajeth from the garment,
and the rent is made worse.
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles:
else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out,
and the bottles perish:
but they put new wine into new bottles,
and both are preserved
Matthew 9: 16,17

John 3

In John’s Gospel, the Divine Teacher speaks of the resurrection not as the body of a man returning to life -in the flesh – but through birth, the reincarnation of the spirit (represented by the metaphor of the wind) in a new body.

Jesus answered and said unto him,
verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him,
How can a man born when he is old?
can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb, and be born?
John 3:3,4

Of course, there are those who interpret this last verse as referring to repentance, the inner transformation of man, which of course could also be inferred, but when repeating these same words in Matthew 3:7 He proceeds to explain it further in the subsequent verse, extending the concept even more.

The verse transcribed below has been interpreted by Christian theologians improperly, as referring to the material baptism. We should clarify that Christianity, by not accepting the spiritual intent of Jesus’ teachings, continues to baptize its children ritually with John’s baptism, and not with the subtle and spiritual baptism of the Messiah; after all, it is easier to be literal with the baptism of water; than with the literal application of baptism with fire resulting in severe damage to the unfortunate candidate.

When Jesus answers Nicodemus questions, he tells him not to confuse material things with spiritual things which is exactly what modern theologians do, following Nicodemus’ steps. The clue for the correct interpretation is found in a verse in Luke’s gospel where John the Baptist (Elijah) analyzes for us the different meanings of water and fire: repentance and spirit, respectively.

Therefore we know that God grants new life to those spirits that, due to their repentance, recognize and see in each new life a new opportunity to change, because for certainty those who will not change cannot enter the Kingdom. And spirits that regret not their errors, remain in the spiritual valley of darkness without reincarnating ( see I Peter 3:18 to 20).
(
see I Peter 3:18 to 20).

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.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:5,6
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance;
but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear:
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
Matthew 3:11

Note: Modern scholars agree that the use of the word “ghost” referring to the Holy Spirit, is an obvious mistake. The Hebrew word “rowah” (“rouhka” in Aramaic) translates as spirit. No one knows for certain how the word “ghost” found its way into the Gospels.

Next, the Divine Teacher uses the metaphor of the wind -the Greek word that means spirit as well as wind as written in the original texts- to teach, once again, that the spirit ends up settling in the womb of mothers, and that these are ignorant from where the spirit came.

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 iit 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?
Jesus answered and said unto him,
Art thou a master of Israel,
and knowest not these things?
John 3:7-10

Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luke 9:55

Note: In the original text the words “manner of” are not part of the verse, nor so in the Vulgate version. It seems that while translating the text into English, a pious scribe thought that the inclusion of these words would make the sense of the verse clearer, at least to his personal point of view, but we repeat, they are not part of Jesus’ words. In modern translations this has been corrected.

Paul and the reincarnation of the spirit

In his Letters or Epistles, Paul of Tarsus, the apostle to the gentiles, refers to the concept of the renewal of man through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and to the resurrection of the body. This belief is an idea belonging to the doxology of the Pharisees and was introduced to Christianity by Paul, and not by the teachings of Jesus (Paul refers to man’s corrupt nature as the “old man” in Romans 6:6). There is an extremely mysterious passage that Paul describes and explains as a mystery-and which he refers to as something different: reincarnation.

In the first Epistle to the Corinthians, after speaking of the resurrection of the flesh in the literal sense, that is to say, the resuscitation of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-29), Paul suddenly ventures into unsuspected territory starting from verse 35. He starts by discarding in verse 37 the idea of incarnating in the same previous body ( “that which thou sowest -the cadaver – not the body that shall be (the new body)”) but in a different body, according to the will of God.

But some man will say,
How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
And that which thou sowest,
thou sowest not that body that shall be,
but bare grain, it may chance of wheat,
or of some other grain:
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him,
and to every seed his own body.
1 Corinthians 15: 35-38

And if that wasn’t enough, Paul continues and clarifies that, contrary to what some oriental religions believe, the spirit that inhabited previously in a man cannot be embodied in another creature different than human and he exposes the reasons for this, reaffirming what Jesus said regarding this. See the reference to the old garments and bottles.

All flesh is not the same flesh:
but there is one kind of flesh of men,
another flesh of beasts, another of fishes,
and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies,
and bodies terrestrial:
but the glory of the celestial is one,
and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1 Corinthians 15: 39,40

Now this I say, brethen,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God;
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1 Corinthians 15:50

The next transcription is the previous passage of Paul’s explanations regarding the resurrection of the flesh understood as the reincarnation of the spirit. Note the difference that Paul puts between those that sleep, those that die and those that are changed (transformed). There are theologians that seek to interpret sleeping as mentioned by Paul as death, but if this is so, why then does Paul state that some won’t sleep, including him? (Paul was beheaded circa the year 70 AD)

Behold, I shew you a mystery:
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
1 Corinthians 15: 51, 52

And Paul finishes his explanation by paraphrasing Hosea, who also denied the inexorability of death.

O death,  where is the thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Corinthians 15: 55

Peter the Apostle and the imprisoned spirits.

Peter (Cephas), the apostle that witnessed the transfiguration on Mount Tabor, writes about the imprisoned spirits that were retained after the Flood. This alone raises many questions. Were only the spirits of big sinners those imprisoned? Where or what was that “jail “? And what of the spirits of men that were not that sinful -Jacob, David, Solomon, the prophets, etc. – where were they? We know, for example, of a metaphoric ” place ” which Jesus calls Abraham’s bosom and in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:20-25) you can infer that at least two ” places ” or situations exist which spirits inhabit, once out of the flesh.

Because Christ also suffered
a single time for our sins,
the fair one for the unjust ones,
to take us to God,
He was put to death in the flesh
but vivified in spirit;
in which also He went and preached
to the imprisoned spirits,
those that had disobeyed in another time,
When God waited patiently in the days of Noah
during the building of the Ark
in which a few, that is, eight persons were saved
through water.
1 Peter 3: 18-20

So here in view of the previous analysis, the great question stands: Won’t reincarnation-the return to this world in human form, be the other option proposed by the infinite love of God, to correct previous errors? It is the same option that Paul describes as a mystery and which also the Spirit of Truth came to proclaim to humanity in this Third Era. See
The Divine Gift of Reincarnation.