Reincarnation: John 3:1-15. Do you want to check this?

Question

Jesus tells Nicodemus that "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again". Nicodemus was confused and asked "how can a man be born when he is old? Certainly, he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born". Jesus replied: "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised. You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit."

Nicodemus was still in doubt and Jesus said "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man" (some manuscripts say "Man, who is in heaven")

A few things:
1. When Jesus mentions we should be born of water and spirit, He is referring to Reincarnation, but this passage was mistakenly understood as the Baptism (which in fact is the symbol of Reincarnation). Water is the symbol of the origin, see Genesis 1 that God made water first, therefore water is the symbol of material things, because it was the first material thing God created. So we are made of water (flesh) and spirit. Jesus confirm that when He says “flesh gives birth to flesh and spirit gives birth to spirit”. We are made of body and spirit.

2. The analogy Jesus makes about the wind that we don’t know where it comes from and where it goes to, gives us the idea that our spirit comes from somewhere we don’t know and is going to somewhere we don’t know, therefore it clear the idea of plurality. Jesus finishes saying “So it is with everyone born in spirit” (all of us)

3. Many people think Jesus was referring to himself when He says “no one has ever gone to heaven except the one who came from heaven”, but it makes no sense if we read the whole teaching to Nicodemus. He was speaking about us all. Some manuscripts added the “the Son of Man” at the end of the sentence to disturb the real understanding of His words.

Frenzy, thank you... I have only one thing to say using Jesus' words: "He who has ears, let him hear", Jesus knew that not everybody is ready for the Truth.

Answer 1

Janet, you are absolutely, totally correct.

Add to all you wrote the historical fact -- though not surprisingly denied loudly by Christians -- that Jesus was an Essene rabbi, like his cousin John the Baptist. Essenes believed in reincarnation and clearly so did Jesus. He taught *nothing but* karma and rebirth, almost all of which was misunderstood or perverted by the early Christian church and continues to be distorted today, as many of these answers illustrate. I mean, my stars! -- consider this: as a Reincarnationist Jesus told his followers that death was not the end, that he would return -- and **just look how they screwed that up**. They actually believe he meant he would come back at the end of the world, dancing on a cloud to the sound of angels blowing trumpets. That's just one example of how distorted, perverted and embellished his message became after those who never even met Jesus, and had no comprehension of what he had tried to teach, took over his ministry and threw in a whole buncha their own religious views.

According to the bible Jesus spoke of secret wisdom which he knew the hard heads would refuse to comprehend. But in the end, we know (as he knew) that reincarnation happens whether you are aware of it or not, whether you believe in it or not, whether you care or not. He was a teacher for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear; the rest will learn when they are ready to admit what they subconsciously already know to be true. Jesus's intention was to explain life's greatest mystery to those who were capable of understanding it, who were ready to receive it, and to give them a promise of eternal life (eternal meaning both directions, past and future). The millions who believe the corrupted version of Christianity lose nothing other than the knowledge Jesus tried to impart.

Answer 2

No, you're incorrect -- you're guilty of reading the Scriptures (which were written by Jews) as a gentile would read them. To understand what Jesus REALLY meant, you MUST read them as a Jew would.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee; to Pharisees, there were actually 6 ways of being "born again." (Jesus was simply using verbiage that Nicodemus would relate to.) These six ways were: a gentile converting to Judaism; a Jewish man being crowned King of Israel; when a boy reaches age 13 and becomes bar mitzvah (literally, a "son of the Law"); when a man marries; when a man is ordained as a Rabbi; when a Rabbi becomes the head of a Rabbinical school. Nicodemus was "born again" as per the last four, but he obviously wasn't qualified for the first two.

So when Jesus said there is ANOTHER way to be "born again," Nicodemus was confused. This has NOTHING to do with reincarnation.

Answer 3

Guys, remember, the scriptures and messages of and from God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit are in symbolic form and therefore their meanings are deeper than our own individual thoughts and suppositions of what we think. What Janet is saying is not wrong, it is a big part of the symbolic meaning of the message. Apart from the ignorances of Hossier etc. there is more there for us to become aware of, like our spiritual gifts that have BEEN GIVEN to us, but we neglect. Spiritual is not your thoughts, it;s your awareness of inner interconnectness to The Universal Life Force Healing Ray of Gods eternal Light and Love, that is ther for all of us, if only we stop thinking that only 'this or that' is right.

The Spitit is One and we are part of The One through our part of The Spirit.

So break away from impregnated manmade 'theories' and lift your heart to Him. Then, you feel lighter in the depths of your heart, and your light will shine brightly again, like the way it di when you were once a little child.

We humans are still not understanding most of the scriptures that we have BEEN GIVEN thousands of years ago.

How sad and un-enlightened the humas ego makes us.

'If only they would turn (in their hearts) and I would heal them...'

Jesus said this, talking about our ignorance.

If we stop listening to ourselves and our self-righteous self-inflated 'opinions', and listened to Him, then we will be closer, spiritually, to Above.

Respect to Love

Peace

Answer 4

I'm reading the other Christian responses, and I'm not surprised that not one of them gives this idea any real consideration.

In Christian love, I ask you fellow Christians...will you let some preacher dictate to you forever what the scriptures mean? I would be willing to bet that 90% of you didn't even give this any real thought or even pray about it.

Oh, and Hoosier, I don't understand how believing in reincarnation is "hedonistic". Could you explain? Janet is not that at all.

Answer 5

I am not sure if that actually means that, I just know that reincarnation is real, perhaps it's more to do with choice, when we get to heaven. I mean that we choose to try again, to master in a given area of our life, perhaps that we are in need of for a particular reason in heaven that our spirit is in need of....... Like on earth if you want to better oneself, you go to schooling, perhaps that's the reason in heaven why we have the choice to do it again to gain that needed knowledge for our spirit.
Perhaps something to think about.

~Peace ~!~

Answer 6

...
Jesus replied: "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.

Jesus says He is speaking the Truth, so, He said no one can go to Heaven unless they are, first, born,...and second,...born again...simply put it is the Truth of accepting Christ as the Son of God and believing in Him...so, we are born in the flesh and then our spirits are born when we become believers...

Christ "is' referring to Himself when He says, "no one has ever gone to Heaven except the one who came from Heaven",...Christ "came" from Heaven...so He was Spirit "before" becoming flesh...so He knew He was going "back" to Heaven, from whence He came...He is the only one who was born of spirit "Before" He was born of flesh, therefore...it makes perfect sense when Jesus says no one has ever gone to Heaven except the one who came from Heaven...

Answer 7

I disagree... I'd say it refers more to changing one's ways of thought, and behavior, than reincarnation. It's necessary to let go of hardened ways of thinking and behaving to learn to be altruistic (a lesson Jesus taught frequently), so it's like being reborn when you actually embrace it.

_()_

Answer 8

Sorry no. Try again. We are told it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. Not to die and be reborn.


Hebrews 9:27 And as it is reserved to men once to die, and after this, Judgment;

Answer 9

Wrong. You intentionally misrepresent the meaning to suit your own hedonistic agenda.

Answer 10

NICODEMUS was a member of the Jewish high court, a scholar in religious law, and he had seen enough evidence of Jesus’ miracles to convince himself that Jesus was the Messiah. Yet, he could not understand what Jesus meant by the statement: “Unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”—John 3:1-3, 10.

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “He cannot enter into the womb of his mother a second time and be born, can he?”—John 3:4.

Millions of people today profess to be “born again” and claim to understand clearly what this means. Others, like Nicodemus, are puzzled with the whole concept of being born again. Since Jesus Christ made the point that this was a prerequisite for entering the Kingdom of God, it is vital that we do understand what he meant by being “born again.”

In response to Nicodemus’ question, Jesus further said: “Most truly I say to you, Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel because I told you, You people must be born again.”—John 3:5-7.

Difficult to grasp? Jesus knew that understanding spiritual truths is not easy. So in order to make things clearer, he used an illustration about the wind. “The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone that has been born from the spirit.” (John 3:8) Nicodemus could hear, feel, and see the effects of the wind, but he could not understand its source or its final destination. Yet, the reality of the wind was beyond question. Similarly, those who lack spiritual insight would find it difficult to grasp how Jehovah, by means of his spirit, could cause a person to be born again and what the ultimate destiny of such a one would be. However, with the help of inspired Bible writers, we can comprehend such matters.—John 16:13.

Clearing Up the Puzzle

What did Jesus have in mind when he spoke about being “born from water and spirit”? Birth means beginning. A new birth means a new beginning. In the case of Jesus’ disciples, their first step toward being born again began once they repented of their sins, turned away from a wrong course, and were baptized in water. Starting at Pentecost 33 C.E., in response to such action, Jehovah gave them what Peter referred to as “a new birth to a living hope . . . reserved in the heavens.” (1 Peter 1:3, 4; 3:21) Jehovah’s holy spirit implanted in them a conviction that they would eventually live with Jesus Christ in heaven. This gave them a whole new outlook on life—a new beginning.

Was this simply an emotional religious experience? No. God’s holy spirit made them into something entirely new, “a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) When they were first born as humans, they were sinful children of Adam, inheriting all the imperfection that he passed on to his descendants. Now, upon being “born again,” these disciples obtained a clean standing before God. How? The merits of Jesus’ sacrifice were applied in their behalf. Thereby, God viewed them as righteous even while they were still imperfect humans. (Romans 3:25, 26; 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 6:11) More than that, Jehovah now recognized them as his sons. The apostle Paul shows how: “For all who are led by God’s spirit, these are God’s sons . . . God’s children.” (Romans 8:14, 16) They were now accepted as part of God’s heavenly family.

And there was more. Paul explains again: “If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17) These spiritual sons of God now had the prospect of inheriting what Christ Jesus was going to inherit—kingly power in heaven. Jesus revealed to the apostle John the number of persons who would be corulers with him over the earth—144,000. (Revelation 7:4; 14:1-3) Then he went on to show John that these favored disciples “will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.”—Revelation 20:6.

Benefits to Others

Does this mean then that in order to gain God’s favor, everyone must be “born again”? Not at all. Jesus’ sacrifice covers more than the 144,000 persons who have been specially chosen to be with him in the heavens. When the apostle John wrote to “born again” Christians toward the end of the first century, he said regarding the sacrifice of Jesus: “He is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s.” (1 John 2:2) How is this so?

In this way. Those who are “born again” will rule with Jesus Christ in Jehovah’s heavenly Kingdom to bring benefits to others of mankind who will live on earth. This was foretold in a remarkable promise made to Jesus’ forefather Abraham almost 4,000 years ago. “By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves,” Jehovah told Abraham. (Genesis 22:18) Yes, great blessings were to be made available to all nations through Abraham’s “seed”!

Who was that “seed”? Jesus Christ, joined by his genuine “born again” followers. The apostle Paul explains: “Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed.” (Galatians 3:16, 29) And what are the blessings that come to people of all nations through Jesus Christ and these “born again” disciples? The privilege of being restored to God’s favor and enjoying all his provisions for a paradise earth.—Genesis 1:27, 28; Psalm 37:29; Proverbs 2:21, 22; Isaiah 45:18.

So the 144,000 “born again” disciples will “enter into the [heavenly] kingdom of God” to administer the marvelous blessings that God’s Kingdom will bring to untold millions right here on the earth. (Matthew 6:10; Romans 8:19-21; Revelation 21:1-5) Whether Nicodemus ever understood Jesus’ words and was “born again” to become part of this ruling body, we do not know. What we do know is that the opportunity to receive the benefits of their heavenly rulership is there for anyone who wishes to avail himself of it. Will you?