Reincarnation and the Bible

By Doug Peterson

A great number of Americans suffer from anxiety related problems. Anxiety stems from the fear of death. Surprisingly, many Christians suffer from this disorder. I believe a major reason for this problem is that most Christians have been brought up believing the Bible teaches some doctrine that is simply not credible upon close scrutiny. In this outline I will briefly touch upon how the Bible supports a belief in reincarnation and how this issue relates to the belief in heaven. Biblical reincarnation does not proscribe to the theory of "karma" in which people are rewarded or punished in subsequent lives for sins committed in previous lives.

Early Christian fathers like Origen and Augustine believed in some form of reincarnation. The Greeks and Romans predominantly believed in reincarnation. So when Jesus spoke of eternal life they naturally would have equated it with reincarnation.

I believe New Testament writers had an alternate theory about life after death and heaven. Under this theory reincarnation is the mechanism of eternal life. Jesus' statement to Nicodemus that he must be "born again"  to see the kingdom of God was a reference to biblical reincarnation:

Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3).

The primary problem is that people in general have no memory of past lives (Eccl. 1:11). If they did they would realize death is simply a transformation into a new life. When the world ends all of the memories of past lives will be fully realized. A new earth and heaven will be formed and those souls will populate the new earth. New habitable worlds will be created in an endless cycle (Eph.2:7). In fact, a new world might be forming somewhere in the universe this very moment. The human race will become extinct only once at "the end of the world" before a judgment and the new earth is formed. (Hebrews 9:26-27) Only in the present world will people fail to remember past reincarnations.

Christianity envisioned the connection between a Supreme Creator, who freely created all things and brought everything into existence in the beginning, and reincarnation. Reincarnation is not a punishment as many Eastern religions teach. Because many do not believe in a Supreme Creator, we live in a fallen world where memories of past lives cannot be fully realized. Only when the world ends will this realization finally occur. When John said there would be no more death in the new earth he meant the soul would no longer die but rather would remember past lives after reincarnations. (Revelation 21:4) The soul will live forever.

In the Bible the term "heaven" is commonly used to describe a condition or state of eternal joy--the same way a Buddhist might describe nirvana. Sometimes heaven is used to describe the cosmos above Earth. The traditional Christian view of heaven is problematic for a number of reasons. First, the idea that men will eventually take on a single immortal body of some form is so far beyond the realm of human experience it is not believable. Everything we see eventually passes away and perishes. The only possible exception to this law may be the universe as a whole. Physicists are not entirely sure whether it might continue forever or end and reformulate through endless cycles of death and rebirth.

Second, the idea that each person dies only once and awaits some resurrection into a single immortal body makes no sense. If this is true why do we not receive some communication from deceased loved ones? Why didn't God simply arrange for deceased loved ones to rendezvous with the living to provide encouragement and support to the living in a world permeated with death? None of this makes any sense. The only logical conclusion is that deceased loved ones do not communicate with the living because they likely have been reincarnated, already exist again in the world, and simply have no memory of their past lives. 

Some form of reincarnation is always ongoing. However, since the world population is increasing to greater levels it is possible that not everyone who is born has been reincarnated. Some have raised objections that reincarnation is not logistically possible because the world's population is the greatest it has ever been in history. This argument is without merit. Estimates suggest about 100 billion people have died in the last 6,000 years of the earth's history. The world population is presently about 6 billion. Reincarnation makes more sense than to believe all 100 billion people are "lingering" out there somewhere awaiting a final judgment.

Is Heaven an Unknown Location or a State of Being?

Two key passages suggest heaven is not a place but rather a state of being.  In John 3:13 Jesus makes this statement to Nicodemus:

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

If heaven is a location not of this earth then why did Jesus tell Nicodemus that he was "in heaven" when he spoke these words? Jesus "came down" from heaven because he analogized himself to the bread that was sent down from heaven in Moses' day (John 6). At the same time he was in heaven (a state of joy) because he perfectly obeyed the will of God.

In further support of this theory Hebrews 9:24-25 reads:

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

The passage states that Christ is presently in heaven.  However it states he is not in heaven to again be offered as a sacrifice.  This statement makes no sense under the traditional view of heaven.  If a person never dies in heaven then how could Jesus ever offer himself as a sacrifice in heaven? But if the passage envisions Christ as a reincarnated person who is in a state of joy here on earth then it makes better sense.  Obviously Jesus will still physically die-yet the fact that he dies does not mean he will again have to be offered as a sacrifice on earth. He is in heaven (a state of being) yet at the same time he will still physically die again and again.

Here is a list of other passages that support a belief in reincarnation:

Isaiah 65:17-20 implies people will still physically die in the new earth.

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

If men take on immortal bodies in the new earth, why does Isaiah describe a child dying at age 100?

Jesus believed people will not marry in the new earth (Matt 22:30). In other words, people will not be attached as husband and wife. However they must have bodies just like ours-- capable of reproduction.

Revelation 20:4 discusses the "souls" of Christian saints that will be reincarnated at the beginning of and during the millennium before the world ends.

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.

Obviously a man cannot live for a thousand years unless his soul is reincarnated during that time. In fact John explicitly states that the "souls" of those Christians live for 1,000 years.

Likewise, reincarnation can explain the great ages of the patriarchs listed in Genesis 5 and 11. The ages actually describe many reincarnations of the "soul" of some individual. For example, a man who was the reincarnation of Noah might have been only a teenager when he became the father of three sons. But the soul of Noah had been reincarnated many times on earth for 500 years when the three sons were born as Genesis 5:32 states. This reincarnated Noah might have died shortly after the flood at the age of about 120 years old-a realistic age. However, when Noah's soul had lived for 950 years on earth another reincarnated Noah died at that time (Genesis 9:29). The ages at death listed in Genesis adhere to a preconceived mathematical scheme.

In 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 Paul states that physical death is the mechanism that enables a body to be resurrected. A seed dies and produces a plant which subsequently produces a seed-- thereby creating an ongoing cycle of death and reproduction that continues forever.

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.

Many believe John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated. John denied being Elijah but one would expect this given he had no memory of any reincarnation. Some claim John the Baptist could not have been Elijah reincarnated because Elijah and Moses are described as appearing with Jesus at his transfiguration in Luke 9:28-36. However, John was already dead at this time. Luke's account suggests Moses and Elijah appeared as people, probably as reincarnated individuals at the time (with Elijah being a child or infant). At the transfiguration Jesus indicated his belief that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias 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. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist (Matt.17:11-13).

Jesus made these statements just after Elijah and Moses had appeared. When Jesus said Elijah had already come he wasn't telling the disciples something that wasn't self-evident to them because they had just seen Elijah with Jesus. The connection the disciples made was that Jesus was also talking about a reincarnated John the Baptist-- implying John the Baptist was indeed present (as Elijah) at the transfiguration. Naturally the disciples would not have recognized him since he had reincarnated as another person.

An interesting parable concerns the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31. According to the parable both the rich man and Lazarus die. Probably this parable describes a scenario just before the world ends when the final judgment will occur. The key to understanding this parable is to recognize that the rich man and Lazarus remember their past lives following death. Luke 16:25 indicates that the rich man has a complete memory of the life he previously lived. Yet neither man will be reincarnated into this world again. The rich man sees Lazarus with Abraham. The rich man pleads with Abraham that Lazarus return to earth to warn the rich man's family about hell. The most likely scenario is that the rich man desired Lazarus (with a memory of his past life) to be reincarnated and go to the rich man's household. Abraham refuses. Abraham claims they would not believe Lazarus if they don't believe Moses and the prophets. The point of the parable is that even if a man is reincarnated with a complete memory of his past life, people still wouldn't necessarily believe him. Such knowledge would not prove that the person was in fact reincarnated. When read properly, the passage supports the reincarnation theory.

A Christian presumably remains a believer in all subsequent lives until the world ends (John 10:27-29).  Jesus' disciples thought a man was born blind because he sinned in a previous life (John 9:2). Jesus disagreed. This passage proves that Christianity does not view reincarnation as a vehicle for karma.  Bad things do not happen to people because they sinned in a previous life.

Jesus might have believed he was reincarnated based on his reading of scripture. He probably thought he had lived in the times of Abraham based on his dialog with the Pharisees in John 8:56-58. However, since he took on sin he likely lived and died as every common man does without any memory of past lives.

Finally, when New Testament writers spoke of a "resurrection" they meant an event in which the soul, prior to reincarnation, fully realizes its past life.