Hello Everyone!
I'm going to take a one-day break from our discussion of 2012, to relate some conversations I've had today.
A very good friend of mine read an earlier post I made wherein I talked about my belief that we are destined to "repeat our courses of study" on this earth if we fail to "get it" in this life. He asked me to explain, in further detail, what I meant. This was my response:
Sure, brother. I believe, after years of study, from a scriptural, scientific, and historic perspective, that we, as spiritual beings, make multiple trips to this physical plane in order to learn and experience those lessons which our loving and merciful God intends for us. These "lessons", the greatest among these are unconditional love and forgiveness, are vital for our spiritual growth. Even in recent times, studies have been done involving a number of very young children who begin speaking to their parents about a previous life they lived here on earth. Many of these cases, even in recent times, have shown conclusively that these children knew facts, names, places and events of this previous life, even knowing relatives who are still alive. These relatives, having met these children during the investigation, have verified that these children knew things concerning their deceased relative that they could not possibly have known. Some of these cases have even been documented for universities and have been thoroughly investigated, subsequently found to have no indication of any fraud whatsoever and remain completely unexplained. Also, I've not found ANY scripture that directly contradicts this theory. As with all of my beliefs, I make no claim to have a monopoly on the truth...I am a seeker.
I was shortly thereafter asked, by another friend, about several related topics. Here are my answers. Was John the Baptist actually Elijah? Lets take a look. In Matthew, chapter 11, verses 13-14, Jesus himself said: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” However, when John the Baptist himself was asked if he were Elijah, he denied it. In John chapter 1, verses 19-21, we see: “And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Why would Jesus himself say that John was Elijah, when John clearly stated that he was not? Would Jesus lie? Of COURSE not! Would John? Probably not. So, why the discrepancy? If you believe, as do I, and many others from various faiths worldwide, that we are indeed sent here many times…as many as it takes for us to “graduate”, then the answer is clear. Do most of US remember our past lives? No. John was simply not aware of the fact that he had indeed been Elijah.
We were originally spiritual beings, sent down to complete the cycle of separation from and return to God through many lifetimes of learning experiences. The only way we get back permanently is to master universal love and forgiveness. Then we escape, as the Hindus say, from the Karmic wheel of having to be born into this world again and again, to be welcomed into eternal life and into the presence of God.
As you can see, I've had some very interesting discussions today!
Next time, we'll return to the series on 2012.
Until then, as always, may you be blessed by God with peace...and joy!
I've read a few books on the subject, and like you, I don't think the Bible totally teaches against it. I've often wondered about the verse where Jesus was ask, can a man be born again a second time into his mother's womb, and Jesus replied, "The spirit is like the wind, no one knows where it came from or where it is going. Interesting discussion.
ReplyDeleteLinda...thanks for adding that! Jesus, as always, was correct.
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