PRE-EXISTENCE - IITB 03.16

 

Chapter 3.16

Pre-Existence

Reincarnation - Transmigration

Birth is not a beginning

and death is not an end

 

 

First Word

     There are Three Thoughts on the pre-existence of souls:

1)      The soul has always existed and is a part of God; souls were not created, this would make all souls little gods.

2)     The soul was previously created in the spirit realm and remained there until it could inhabit a body on earth.

3)     The soul in the past inhabited another body and transmigrated to its current body and most probably will do so again. (Re-incarnation)

     Concepts of pre-existence can encompass either the belief that the soul came into existence at some time prior to conception or the belief that the soul is eternal; always was and always will be.  Pre-existence or PREMORTAL existence which is probably a better word, refers to the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth; enters into or is placed into the body.

     Traducianism is a doctrine that the origin of the soul or spirit is transmitted through natural generation along with the body; meaning, an individual's soul is derived from the souls of the individual's parents. Martin Luther was undecided although Lutherans as a rule have been traducianists.

     Creationism is a doctrine that God creates a soul for each body that is generated.  The Catholic Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God, it is not “produced” by the parents.   John Calvin favored creationism. (Presbyterians & other Protestants)

 

Reincarnation - Transmigration

     Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body.  Reincarnation is a word derived from Latin, meaning literally, "entering the flesh again".  The Greek equivalent corresponds to the English phrase "transmigration of the soul".  They refer to "being born again" which is a universal process that gives rise to the cycle of death and rebirth, governed by “Karma”.  

     Every living being's soul transmigrates (recycles) after death, carrying the seeds of Karmic impulses from the life just completed, into another life and a LIFETIME OF KARMAS. Birth is not a beginning and death is not an end.

     After death, the life as we know now moves on to another form of life based on the merits and demerits it accumulated in its current life.  The path to becoming a “Supreme Soul” is to practice non-violence and be truthful.

     As worn-out garments are shed by the person; Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body.   New bodies are “put on” by the dweller, like garments.  Wikipedia   Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, and Islam DO NOT BELIEVE that individuals reincarnate, however in Judaism, followers of the Kabbalah do believe in reincarnation.

Note: If man is reincarnated throughout his eternal existence and at the judgment his spirit is joined with his body to be changed into a new glorified spiritual body, which body will he be joined to if he has had many?  You cannot embrace reincarnation and the Bible.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:53 Our bodies will be changed

51 Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not “all sleep”,

BUT WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for

the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,

and WE SHALL BE CHANGED.

53 For this corruptible must put on INCORRUPTION, and

this mortal must put on IMMORTALITY. KJV

Kabbalah

     Since I Previously Mentioned The Kabbalah concerning its Esoteric Mystic Teachings, I thought I should include it here for those interested in the universal secret inner tradition of higher knowledge; the “Mystery Religion” as connected with the Hebrews.

     The Kabbalah is teachings held by some followers of Judaism to define the inner meaning of both the Hebrew Bible and traditional rabbinic literature and their formerly “concealed” transmitted dimension, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.  The Kabbalah in some Jewish sects is followed more closely than the Torah.

     The origin of Kabbalah began with secrets revealed to Adam by God about mysteries which includes; the true nature of; Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Tree of Life, the Serpent and the Forbidden Fruit.  The texts of kabbalah were once part of an ongoing oral tradition passed down through the centuries, however much of the oral knowledge is now in written form.  Every letter, word, number and even accent on words of the Hebrew Bible contain esoteric meanings, describing the spiritual dimensions within exoteric ideas, and it teaches the text interpretation methods for ascertaining these meanings.

      As early as the 1st century BC, Jews believed that the Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) and wider canonical texts contained “encoded” messages and hidden meanings.  Gematria is one method for discovering these hidden meanings. Each letter in Hebrew also represents a number; Hebrew, unlike many other languages, never developed a separate numerical alphabet.  By converting letters to numbers, Kabbalists were able to find a hidden meaning in each word.

     The threat of foreign conquest caused the Sanhedrin; who were the Jewish leadership, to hide this knowledge and make it “secret”.  They feared it would fall into the wrong hands and if unsupervised and unguided, it could be misused and might lead them into forbidden ways and practices.

     It is believed that the Torah was edited with the “secret knowledge” encrypted within the various writings and scrolls.   There are mysteries imbedded in the book of Genesis believed to contain the secrets of the creation of the universe and the forces of nature.

    There are also secrets in Isaiah’s temple vision, Jacob’s vision of the ladder to heaven, the Burning Bush, the 72 letter names of God and the best known “secret knowledge” is in the Book of Ezekiel which describes his vision of “Gods Devine Chariot”, others call it God’s divine throne. 

 

Ezekiel 1:4-15 - A UFO or the Chariot of God or What?

⁴ I looked: I saw … an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze. ⁵ Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life.  Each had the form of a human being, ⁶ but each also had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf… On all four sides under their wings⁸ they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings, ¹⁰  Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ As I watched the four creatures, I saw something that looked like a wheel … It looked like they were wheels within wheels. (MSG)

 

Voices For Pre-existence

     LDS Mormons founder Joseph Smith doctrine of 1833, taught that human souls are co-eternal with God the Father just as Jesus is co-eternal with God the Father, Joseph Smith said "Man was also in the beginning with God;  intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can it be”.

     Brigham Young later on introduced the idea that the spirit which is different from the mind or intelligence, was indeed created and NOT co-eternal with God.  Young postulated that we each had a pre-spirit intelligence that later became part of a spirit body, which then eventually entered a physical body and was born on earth.  Young stated in 1857, that every person was "a son or a daughter of the Father.  In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and THEY LIVED THERE WITH THEIR PARENTS for ages before they came here."  Paul in his letter to Corinth admitted that there were many so called gods, confirming man is co-eternal with God; we are eternal little gods.  Source; Wikipedia   

     Islam:  All souls are believed to have been created in adult form before their earthly life and at the same time God created the father of Mankind, Adam.  The Quran recounts the story of when the descendants of Adam were brought forth before God to testify that God alone is the Lord of creation and therefore only He is worthy of worship so that on the Day of Judgement, people could not make the excuse that they only worshipped others because they were following the ways of their ancestors.

God then removed the memory of this event from the minds of Mankind leaving only an innate awareness that He exists and is One, known as the Fitra and He decreed at which point each and every human would be born into the physical world.  Wikipedia

     Hinduism in the Bhagavad Gita, considered by Hindus to be a most holy scripture; Krishna tells Arjuna; "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." Wikipedia

 

15 Bible verses used to support Pre-existence

 

1) There is nothing new under the Sun.[1] 2) We existed in another world just like Jesus.[2] 3) The Spirit existed in another world just like Jesus.[3] 4) God gave us promises before the ages began.[4]  5) Man was known before he was.[5]  6) Before God formed you in the Womb, He knew you.[6] 7) We have already sinned before our Birth.[7]  8) He chose us before the foundations of the world.[8]  9) We were chosen before birth; predestined.[9]  10) We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, nation and people.[10]  11) Isaiah was called by God before he was born.[11]  12) Peter was known by God before his birth.[12]  13) Paul was set apart before he was born.[13] 14) Esau was loved less before he was born.[14]  15) Paul confirmed there are many so-called gods where the spirit parents live.[15]

Voices Rejecting Pre-existence

     Jesus is the only person ever born of a woman who existed before His birth.  John the Baptist was born 6 months before Jesus, yet said Jesus was before him.  Jesus said that before Abraham was born; He Himself existed.[16]

     The Book says No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man; Jesus.[17]  He is not of this world; He came from the Father and returned to the Father, He existed before the earth was ever formed.[18]

     Christianity: There is only ONE God and He is the creator of everything on earth.[19]  Every human being is a unique creation of God.  Every mortal person was created in His likeness; in His image; “ETERNAL”.[20]   He formed our spirit and knitted us together in our mother’s womb and it was when God breathed the breath of life into us that we became a living soul; God now lives within us as Believers.[21] Did you see it?  Our spirit is “created” ETERNAL in the image of God and we will live forever SOMEWHERE.[22]

 

At Death Body, Soul, Spirit

     Death: This brings us up to the discussion of Death; what is the difference between the Body, Soul and Spirit?  Let’s unpack some definitions.[23]

     Body: Man has a physical body that was formed from the dust and will return to the dust at his death.  It is mortal; meaning liable to die.[24]

     Soul:  In the simplest of terms; the soul is the mind of a man and his spirit controls his mind and his mind controls his body.  Souls are created by God and are given before conception.[25]  The Soul has sensations, thoughts, desires; longs to eat, longs for God, magnifies God; it rejoices, loves, knows and remembers; it has beliefs, emotions, personality and performs intentional actions.

     Spirit:  There is a spirit in a man as well as a soul.  There are many scriptures supporting BOTH the Soul and Spirit being “SEPARATE” although many believe they are both the same.  At any rate, unlike the body, they are never separated.  Man’s spirit is immortal and returns to God at death.[26]

     SELAH (ponder this.)  The SOUL/MIND is what controls your actions; it receives its direction either from the desires of your BODY or from the desires of your SPIRIT. [27] (Many let their bodies control their mind; it’s a battle.)      MAN “IS” WHAT HIS SOUL “THINKS”. [28]

     Annihilation is the belief that at death the judged soul that does not go to heaven, goes to hell and is annihilated; it ceases to exist; therefore souls are NOT necessarily eternal.  The Book says at death the spirit returns to God who gave it and joins all the others that have went before them, some will be GATHERED in paradise; others GATHERED in Torment, all awaiting the final judgement with degrees of eternal rewards and degrees of eternal torment.[29]  God does not send anyone to hell, they are all volunteers; they made their choice.

     In the Book there is a TRUE story; not a parable, of a two men who died and IMMEDIATELY went to the grave also known as Hell.  One went to Torment and the other to Paradise the two compartments of hell; both men were already judged on the decisions that they had made in their life before they died.  (Only a true story contains a NAME of a person; it is never in a made up parable).

 

Luke 16:19-31 – TRUE STORY: Judged at death; Paradise or Torment

¹⁹ There was a RICH MAN who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
²⁰ And at his gate was laid a POOR MAN named LAZARUS, covered with sores,
²¹ who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
²² The POOR MAN died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. (PARADISE)  The RICH MAN also died and was buried, and
²³ in HADES (The Grave; Hell), being in TORMENT, he lifted up his eyes and saw ABRAHAM far off and LAZARUS at his side. (PARADISE)
²⁴ And he called out, ‘FATHER ABRAHAM, have mercy on me, and send LAZARUS to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
²⁵ But ABRAHAM said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and LAZARUS in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you A GREAT CHASM has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said,
²⁷ ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house
²⁸ for I have five brothers; so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of TORMENT.’
²⁹ But ABRAHAM said, ‘They have MOSES and the PROPHETS; let them hear them.’
³⁰ And he said, ‘No, FATHER ABRAHAM, but if someone

goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear MOSES and the PROPHETS, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (ESV)

 

Fork in the Road

     According to the Book; at death, there is a “Fork in the Road” for the Spirit of a man which will take him temporarily to an intermediate state of existence before he returns to the one who made him and his final “Eternal State”.   The decisions he made in his previous life about the “Son of God” determines which of the two destinies he will take.

     For the Believer or the godly, they will take the fork in the road to a place called Paradise where they have awareness of their surroundings, comfort and have communion with God.[30]

     For the Un-Believer or the un-godly, they will take the fork in the road to a place called in the Old Testament Sheol (the grave; Torment) and in the New Testament it’s called Hades.  They will be in torment with awareness of their surroundings and their separation from the Believers in Christ.[31]

 

There is NO EXIT.[32]

     SIDE NOTE:  Paradise was also known as “Abraham’s Bosom”, which was at one time located in Hades and held those in the “Friendship” of God; the godly saints of all times.  When Jesus died; He went there and preached for three days and then took all of Paradise and those in it to Heaven; where it is now.[33]  Paradise (Abrahams Bosom) is a place better to be than on earth, but it’s not as good a place as is coming next.[34]

 

Last Thoughts

     We didn’t exist until conception when God breathed the gift of ETERNAL life into our spirit.  As believers we become SANCTIFIED through the lifelong continual work of the Holy Spirit which conforms us to the IMAGE OF CHRIST.

     When someone speaks to you in a different language, it needs to be translated into English or whatever your language is, in order for you to understand it.   When Jesus came to earth, His spiritual attributes were TRANSLATED into physical attributes, which is what we see in Him as a physical mortal man.   Man was made with physical attributes just like Christ and at the rapture when we are TRANSLATED with spiritual attributes WE WILL BE LIKE HIM and we shall see him as He is.

     NOTE:  If you desire to be like Him, you must make that decision NOW before the silver cord is broken; before you die.  At this writing, 59 people were just shot and killed in a concert in Las Vegas; whatever decision they had already made about God was cemented.

 

The decisions you make on this side of life have ETERNAL consequences.

 

You are Eternal; Life is Choice Driven

 

It’s in the Book

 

 

---

[1]   1) Ecclesiastes 1:9 – Nothing new under sun; what has been will be

[2]   2) John 17:14-16 – We existed in another world just like Jesus

[3]   3) Ecclesiastes 12:7 – The spirit existed with God before birth

[4]   4) Titus 1:1-2 – God gave us promises before the ages began

[5]   5) Ecclesiastes 6:10 – Man was already known before he was

[6]   6) Jeremiah 1:5 - Before God formed you in the womb He knew you

[7]   7) Psalm 51:5 – We have already sinned before our birth

[8]   8) Ephesians 1:4 - He chose us before the foundation of the world

[9]   9) Ephesians 1:11 – We were chosen before birth; Predestined

[10] 10) 1 Peter 2:9 – We are a chosen race, priesthood, nation, people

[11] 11) Isaiah 49:1 – Isaiah was called by God before he was born

[12] 12) 1 Peter 1:1-2 – Peter was known by God before his birth

[13] 13) Galatians 1:15-16 – Paul set apart before he was born

[14] 14) Romans 9:10-14 – Esau was loved less before he was born

[15] 15) 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 – There are many so-called gods

[16] John 1:30 – John said, Jesus came after me, but was before me -- John 8:57-58 - Before Abraham was Jesus; the I AM

[17] Colossians 1:17 – Jesus was before all things --  John 8:23 – Jesus is not of this world -- John 1:1 – Jesus existed in the beginning; He was called the Word and the Word was God

[18] John 3:13 – Jesus is the ONLY ONE that existed before the earth -- John 17:5 – Jesus was with God before the world existed -- John 16:28 – Jesus came from; and returns, to the Father

[19] 1 Timothy 2:4-5 – There is only ONE God

[20] Isaiah 40:28 – God is the creator of everything -- Malachi 2:10 – We were all crated by the one God

[21] Genesis 9:6 – God made man in His own image -- Isaiah 44:24 – God formed us from the womb --1 John 4:12 – God lives within the Believer -- Zechariah 12:1 – God formed the Spirit within man -- 1 John 4:12 – God lives within the Believer

[22] Genesis 5:1 – God Created Man in His own likeness -- Psalm 102:27 – We are made “ETERNAL” in God’s likeness --  Psalm 139:13-16 – God knitted us together in the womb -- Genesis 2:7 – At our birth, we became a living soul

[23] 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – Man has a SPIRIT, a SOUL and a BODY -- Hebrews 4:12 – The SOUL and SPIRIT and BODY are all separate

[24] Genesis 2:7 – Man’s BODY is formed from the dust -- Genesis 3:19 – The mortal BODY returns to dust

[25] Jerimiah 1:5 – Our SOUL was formed before we were born. -- Genesis 2:7 – The breath of God gave man his SOUL; His life

[26] Ecclesiastes 12:6-7- The Eternal Immortal SPIRIT of man returns to God -- Deuteronomy 32:49-50 – Moses spirit left his body and joined others -- Numbers 20:24 –Aaron spirit left his body and joined the other souls

[27] Romans 8:6 – The SPIRIT should control the SOUL/MIND

[28] Proverbs 23:7 - What a man’s Soul thinks; so is he

[29] Matthew 25:46 – The Spirit will live for eternity somewhere

[30] Luke 23:42-43 - Believers will be in Paradise -- 2 Corinthians 5:8 - Absent from the Body Present with the Lord

[31] Luke 16:23 – Un-Believers in Hades have Awareness and Torment

[32] Luke 16:26 - Hell; There is NO EXIT

[33] Ephesians 4:9 – Jesus descended into Hell -- Matthew 12:40 – Sign of Jonah; Jesus was in Hell for Three days  -- 1 Peter 3:18-20 – Jesus preached in Hell; in Abrahams Bosom -- Ephesians 4:8 – Jesus took all those in Paradise; Abrahams Bosom to heaven

[34] Philippians 1:23 - Being with the Lord is far better