This is in reply to your 1/05/2024
post at
Reply to Donna
Danna (12/29/24) re Elijah & John the
Baptist
According
to
Reincarnation
- Wikipedia "reincarnation
also known
as rebirth or transmigration, is
the philosophical or religious concept
that the non-physical essence of a
living being begins
a new life in a
different physical form or body after
biological death.[1][2] In most
beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of
a human being is immortal and does not
disperse after the physical body has
perished. Upon death, the soul merely
becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or
an animal to continue its immortality. The term
transmigration means the passing of a soul
from one body to another after death."
As I stated before in my
post to you at TO
NANSING: WHY ELIJAH WAS NOT REINCARNATED
AS JOHN THE BAPTIST Elijah did not
biologically die so he could not have
been reincarnated as John The
Baptist. Elijah was taken up to
heaven in a whirlwind. 2
Kings 2:11 says, "And
it came to pass, as they still went
on, and
talked, that,
behold, there appeared a
chariot of
fire, and
horses of
fire, and
parted them
both asunder; and
Elijah went
up by
a whirlwind into
heaven." So in other words, Elijah's soul
never left his body because he didn't
biologically die. Since his soul never left
his body, he couldn't be reincarnated
according to the definition of reincarnation
above which is not a Christian belief.
During
Jesus' ministry John the Baptist is seen
baptizing people and is later beheaded.
And Elijah (Elias) is seen with Moses talking
to Jesus when Jesus was transfigured on the
mountain (Matt. 17:1-3). I don't know which
happened first, but John the Baptist was not a
reincarnation of Elijah because Elijah had not
died before John the Baptist was born so
Elijah's soul could not have been reincarnated
into the body of John before John was born or
at birth. And after John the Baptist
died, John's soul could not have been
reincarnated into Elijah's body because Elijah
was not an unborn baby in the womb. He was a
grown male adult who was alive and seen
talking to Jesus on the mountain where Jesus
was transfigured as shown in the Bible verses
below:
Matthew 17:1-3, "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the
light. And, behold, there
appeared unto
them Moses and Elias talking with him."
John the Baptist also denies that
he is Elias (Elijah.) because John
1:19-23 says, "And this is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the
Christ. And they
asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he
saith, I
am not. Art thou that
prophet? And he
answered, No. Then said
they unto
him, Who art
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
(Isaiah). And they
which were
sent were of the
Pharisees. And they
asked him, and said unto
him, Why baptizest
thou then, if thou be not that
Christ, nor Elias
(Elijah), neither that
prophet?"
According to Malachi 4:5-6,
the Lord said, "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 their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
The great and dreadful
day of the Lord of Malachi 4:5-6
takes during the great tribulation
period of 1,260 days. In
Revelation 11:7-12, we see two
witnesses which are believed by
many to be Elijah & Enoch, or
Elijah & Moses. They are both
killed and their bodies lie in the
streets for 3 1/2 days before
being resurrected and ascending up
to heaven. So at that time
Elijah will biologically die and
be resurrected from the dead so it
would be impossible for him to be
reincarnated prior to that time if
the belief in reincarnation is
true as described above.
However, it is not true.
"John did
for Jesus what Elijah was to have done
for the coming of the Lord, but he was
not Elijah reincarnated. Jesus
identified John the Baptist as Elijah,
while John the Baptist rejected that
identification. How do we reconcile
these two teachings? There is a key
phrase in Jesus’ identification of John
the Baptist that must not be overlooked.
He says, “If you are willing to accept
it, he is Elijah.” In other words, John
the Baptist’s identification as Elijah
was not predicated upon his being the
actual Elijah, but upon people’s response to
his role. To those who were willing to
believe in Jesus, John the Baptist
functioned as Elijah, for they believed
in Jesus as Lord. To the religious
leaders who rejected Jesus, John the
Baptist did not perform this function."
So in other words neither Jesus nor John
the Baptist lied in the Bible, and what
they both said was the truth.