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By the Emperor’s Command 2: Reincarnation in the Bible
Is There Any Reference to Reincarnation in the Bible?
Of course there is… though not under the term ‘reincarnation’. But since ancient times, in all cultures of the world, men have had the intuition of the existence of that concept. And the biblical writers were not the exception.
Could Jesus Lie?
Obviously, in order to have an informed opinion upon reincarnation from a biblical stand point, is indispensable to take the Bible… and start to re-reading it, without prejudice or pre-established notions, in search of the truth.
The main problem arised from the denial of Christians to accept the concept of reincarnation is that, inadvertently, without realizing the full extent of its consequences, GOOD FAITH CHRISTIANS DENY THE POSSIBILITY OF JESUS BEING THE PROMISED MESIAH OF ISRAEL
Why?
Because the most relevant and important event that signaled the arrival of the Messiah, was delivered in the prophecy that announced that before He came, Elijah was to be sent..
And the proof that Jesus’ disciples definitely knew this, is in Mark’s Gospel:
And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
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.
And as if this wasn’t enough, Matthew narrates this same passage, but he goes even further: He describes what was it that the apostles understood from the words of the Divine Master.
Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Thus, the question for those who deny the possibiity of reincarnation is:
Did Jesus lie to His disciples?
Because if we believe that Jesus was the Messiah, then it must be a true fact that Elijah did came again to the world, and he did it in John the Baptist.
In short: He reincarnated.
Are Christians, just as Jews still do, continue to refuse to accept that Elijah did came back, thus fulfilling the prophecy that he was to came first before the Christ?
And you, as a Christian, will you still keep on setting him at nought?
In the third part of “By The Emperor’s Command” we will show you the documented and irrefutable scientic evidences that reincarnation is a verifiable and proven fact, beyond false supositions and fanatism fueled by a Roman emperor’s political decisions.
Elijah, The Prophet of The Chariot of Fire
Who is Elijah?
Beyond doubt, Elijah of Tishbe is one of the most fascinating characters in the Bible. He appears unexpectedly in Book I of Kings without his parents being mentioned and it seems there is no story of his childhood.
But the importance of his role is fundamental: he is the forerunner signaled with all clarity in the Book of Malachi as the prophet who was to precede the Messiah on His first coming as well in the time of His Advent in the final time in this Third Era.
That he left an unerasable track in all the cultures of ancient times is suggested by the fact that the symbol of the chariot of fire, the sun that seems to be in flames, appears in the mythology of diverse cultures, such as in the Greek myth of Helios.
In the Gospel of Mathew, Jesus tells His disciples that Elijah, who was to come according to the prophecy of Malachi, at that moment had already come, and the disciples understood that He was talking of John the Baptist. In Luke 1:17, the angel that appears before Zacharias to announce that, regardless of the advanced age of his wife and him, a son would be granted to them by God, says irrefutabily: “…and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah…”
Let’s review what Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist reveals in Luke 1:76 concerning this when he says: “… and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” in clear referrence to the passage of Malachi 4:5,6.
But that’s not all: Further on, in Luke 1:78, Zacharias says : “…whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us…” The symbolic association of Elijah with the sun, the chariot of fire, appears also in Revelation 7:2 in the passage relating to the opening of the Sixth Seal when the prophet John sees “another angel ascending from the east…”
Coincidence? Maybe not.
Some scholars disagree about this analysis of the texts by quoting the passage where John the Baptist, when questioned by priests and Levites (in those times, the priests were kin to the Sadduceans) if he was Elijah, the prophet, he answers : “I am not.” But, of course! What else could he have answered? He was John the Baptist at that moment, but he had in him the spirit and power of Elijah, just as Jesus reveals it to the apostles later on. To understand this well, one must remember the passage of Isaiah 62:2 that reads: “…and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name…”
If those men had asked him, “Do you carry within you the spirit of Elijah? ” they would certainly have obtained an affirmative answer which another evangelist, Mark, puts in the lips of the Divine Master: “…But I say unto you, That Elijah is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they wished, just as it is written of him”(Mark 9:13) and Mathew 11:14 confirms it: “… and if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come.”