REINCARNATION
- TRUTH OR LIE? |
R eincarnation
is the belief that when someone or something dies their soul comes
back in another body or form. It literally means "to come
again in the flesh".
It is a process of repeated rebirths continuing up the evolutionary
ladder until the soul reaches the ultimate stage of perfection
merging with its source (God or the Universal soul). Death is
not to be feared because you just get born into another body taking
wisdom that you have gathered in your previous life or lives.
WHAT
IS KARMA?
In the law of Karma good is
rewarded in the life to come, and evil is punished. It is believed
that everyone gets what he or she deserves in life. There is no
mercy towards the less fortunate because it is believed that they
had bad karma in their past life or lives.
What Does God's Word Say about Reincarnation?
The Bible says " And as it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrew
9:27). This verse is very clear that mankind dies only
once, not numerous times. The doctrine of reincarnation is a false
deception told back in the Garden of Eden by the father of lies,
Satan himself. Satan told five lies to Eve back in the beginning
of time. Let's take a look at them. (See Genesis 3:1-5)
1). `Yea, hath God said" - The serpent
(Satan) was casting doubt on the integrity of God's holy word.
2). "Ye shall not surely die" - Here is
the lie of reincarnation. It is a fact that everyone dies, so
what does Satan say? There simply is no death. We keep being born
into another body.
3). "Your eyes shall be opened" - The
lie of Esotericism - special hidden knowledge is revealed to those
who are enlightened.
4). "Ye shall be as gods" - The lie of
Pantheism - The New Age movement and every other false religion
basically teaches that we are god.
5). "Knowing good and evil" - The lie
of relativism - what is good for one person is not essentially
good for the next person. Every one has his or her own truth.
(1)
"YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN"
Jesus says in the gospel of John,"Ye must be
born again" (John 3:3). Many involved in the New
Age Movement believe this scripture teaches reincarnation. In
this scripture, Jesus did not mean that a person is to be born
physically over and over again, but that he is in need of a spiritual
birth from the Spirit of God. Jesus was mostly concerned with
telling Nicodemus the way of salvation, like He did in countless
other scriptures. (see John 3:3-21). "For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved" (John 3:17).
In Christianity, death is to be greatly feared if a person does
not know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, because
this person's soul will go to hell forever. There is only true
peace and no reason to fear death when a person has accepted
Jesus Christ into their life as their personal Lord and Savior
because they have the glorious promise of heaven and a future
with Him for all eternity.
IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE FOR REINCARNATION?
Many who believe in reincarnation openly admit that they
are in contact with what they call "spirit guides" or
"entities" that either speak to the dead for them or
are the dead. They believe what these entities speak because they
are experiencing their presence. Many believe these spirits are
telling the truth because they are "clothed in light".
Let's read who can cloth himself in light from God's word. "And
no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light"
(2 Corinthians 11:14). Satan has deceived millions of people
this way! This is why God tells us in His word to not speak with
familiar spirits (channeling) or practice necromancy (speaking
to the dead). These things are clearly forbidden in the scriptures
and are an atrocity to a holy God who hates these evil occult
practices; "When thou art come into the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the
abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among
you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through
the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or
an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar
spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these
things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these
abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before
thee" (Deuteronomy 18:9-12).
These entities are in reality demons (devils) that speak deception.
They twist the truth of God into a lie and oppose Him for all
He is. Souls do not transmigrate (to move or pass from one place
or body to another), but demons do. These clever spirits enter
into human beings who willingly open themselves up to them and
communicate this false information to them. Demons take the identity
of someone who they had once inhabited in the past, a person they
were familiar with. This lie compels the person who allows them
to come in to believe they were actually that person in their
past life. The only evidence for reincarnation is people's personal
experiences, and giving heed to practices God had forbidden.
WHAT DOES HINDUISM TEACH ABOUT REINCARNATION?
Traditional Hinduism also teaches the doctrine of a consecutive
embodiment of the soul in a series of bodies that could consist
of any form of life besides a human being. Erwin W. Lutzer and
John F. DeVries write from their book "Satan's "Evangelistic"
Strategy For This New Age:
"Long before Charles Darwin, the Hindus had their own understanding
of evolution, the notion of the gradual development of the soul
to higher forms. This evolution can be illustrated by a series
of continuous circles, gradually working up the scale. There is
neither a beginning nor an end, but an endless process of refinement
and perfection. The system slowly but surely purges out the weak,
the unfit, the undesirable. . . . Reincarnationism also teaches
a kind of devolution as well as evolution. This
means that if you accumulate some bad karma you could regress
in your journey toward the nothingness of nirvana. You could be
a spider or a worm in the life to come. But this aspect of Hinduism
is conveniently omitted when marketed for American audiences.
The mood in the West is upbeat and optimistic. Everyone is making
progress as they complete their cycles. With each round, a better
form of life is reached." (2)
One is terribly grieved when taking a look at a country like India.
India is a country filled with much poverty and one that has been
practicing Hinduism for centuries. Many children and adults are
helplessly suffering and dying because it is believed that if
someone helps another in need, they are actually interfering with
their karma. It is believed that if a merciful person does try
to help them, that person will get paid back with bad karma in
their next life. This is nothing but cruel, selfish religion where
no one looks out for anyone else but his or her own self. There
is absolutely no conscience as a merciless rich person steps over
a poor weeping child dying of sickness and starvation. In India,
reincarnation is taught more than any other place, and they also
suffer needlessly the most from this appalling theory. In the
law of karma there is no forgiveness. How can someone learn from
their mistakes in the past if they can't even remember them? This
is an utterly absurd and satanic doctrine.
THE GOOD NEWS!!!
The good news is that we can be forgiven because Jesus
has paid the debt of sin in full! There is no payment that is
required of us. All we have to do is repent and receive His forgiveness
and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. "For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life" (John 3:16).
THE RESURRECTION
After Jesus death, He was buried and on the third day
He rose from the dead! He overcame death! He lives again! "For
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). All those who have
died will also be raised from the dead. Those who have trusted
Christ will be raised to everlasting life in heaven, and those
who have rejected Christ to everlasting torment,
destruction and separation from almighty God.
TWO RELIGIONS
Lutzer and DeVries sum up the differences between Christianity
and other religions;
"What is the difference between the experience of the Eastern
religions and the experience of the true God? One is self-centered,
the other is people-centered; one seeks the experience itself,
the other seeks the true God, and the emotional experience connected
with it is secondary. Christian joy comes when we look away from
ourselves-first to God, then to others". (3)
NOTES:
1). Ervin W. Lutzer,
John F. DeVries, Satan's "Evangelistic" Strategy For
This New Age, SP Publications, Inc., 1989, p. 9,16-20.
2). Ibid., p. 74-75.
3). Ibid., p. 165-166