Reincarnation and Early Christianity?

Question

Did the a form of reincarnation exist in the teachings of early Christianity?

http://reluctant-messenger.com/origen3.html

quote:
================================
Although the Bible also contains other reincarnational passages, these Elijah-John passages constitute clear proof of reincarnation:

1. The Old Testament prophesied that Elijah himself (not someone "like" him or someone "similar" to him, but Elijah himself) would return before the advent of the Messiah.

2. Jesus declared that John the Baptist was Elijah who had returned, stating bluntly "Elijah has come".

Now, based on these passages alone, either (A) or (B) must be true:

(A) John the Baptist was Elijah himself, meaning that Elijah had reincarnated. If this is true, then reincarnation must belong in Christian theology, and the West's entire doctrinal interpretation of "Life After Death" in general, and the "Last Day Resurrection" in particular, must be radically revised, or...

(B) John the Baptist was not Elijah himself, meaning that Elijah himself had not returned. If this is so, then either:

(1) The Old Testament prophecy about Elijah returning before the Messiah failed to come to pass (meaning that Biblical prophecy is fallible), OR

(2) Jesus was not the Messiah.

Basically, it comes down to this simple question: What do you want to believe? One of the following A, B, or C, must logically be true:

A. Reincarnation is true, or

B. Jesus was not the Messiah, or

C. The prophecies of the Bible are unreliable.


================================

Answer 1

Sorry I don't feel like preaching tonight, so just ask yourself this, if not for reincarnation, how do you explain deja vu.

Answer 2

Excellent work,you have done your homework.You have done the math and arrived at the correct conclusion,you have not missed the mark.The answer is (A),and A.Only a specific type of individual would make the proper connections.I don't care about the points,I'm searching for that type of person.I have a puzzle I an trying to solve, but this is not the place.To be continued.....( I love a mysterious open ending)SM

Answer 3

I don't know, I'll have to think on it some. But thank you for the link, I was looking for some Bible verses to read and meditate on.

Answer 4

I chose D