Hi,

There is lots and lots of wiggle room in the Bible concerning reincarnation. The go to verse for literalists to deny reincarnation(provided by the URL you cited) is Hebrews 9:27….”And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement…”

Read ‘appointed’ however you wish…I can read it as ‘intended’…..ie that is the ideal scenario. Judgement: a judge(God) has many options if one is found guilty. These options are the sentence he hands down. It can be death, life in prison, or a certain number of years(some with time off for good behavior or parole). Anything other than death could be reincarnation, purgatory, etc, Continual and repetitive reincarnation would seem to be a succession of life sentence…..the earth being your ‘prison’. Good behavior can be seen as repentance and being born again. That would be the escape clause…..whereby one gains entry to eternal life. By the way, in regards to ‘appointment’….one that misses the appointment must reschedule…..you think about what that inconvenience might mean….:)

In reference to the scriptures that you cited, I am in agreement with you. The silence of Jesus to correct this belief seems to confirm the existence of reincarnation. In this specific case, however, He stated this was not connected to reincarnation. It must be remembered that the Spirit had been taken away from the time of the Fall. It was only restored after the coming of Jesus. Access to eternal life was only by the will of God. Essentially salvation was out of the realm of possibility. It was with the arrival of Jesus that abundant(eternal) life became possible. Think of the joy of Peter, James and John at the transfiguration upon seeing Moses. Moses had been denied entry to the Promised Land, yet here he was…..it indicated the existence of a Plan B…..:)

Now for the second scripture that mentioned Levi. This is a special and unique circumstance. They had protected status. Deuteronomy 18:2 speaking of the Levites….”They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.” A normal inheritance is used to ensure the continuance and survival of a family. Technically Levi was always a Son of God prior to setting foot on the earth. This too, IMO, cannot be viewed as indicative of reincarnation.

In summary, I accept reincarnation as reality….but only as a substitute for our intended purpose….ie…to get it right the first time. I see no sense in the contact of disincarnate spirits to hasten one’s spiritual journey. Why not go directly to the source itself…..meaning the 3 in 1 ?