Reincarnation & The Resurrection

[BruceAdama]

Okay, this is a hypothetical question I would like to pose here. I would assume there is no right or wrong answer, as I see this merely as an exercise in metaphysical speculation. This question assumes two things, for the sake of this argument. One, that the Summerland is a place where souls go to rest until the resurrection of the Earth, and two, that reincarnation is possible. Now, having said that... here is the question I ponder...

If we are reincarnated from time to time, then when the Earth is resurrected, and every being that has ever lived on the Earth is restored, does this mean that all the souls that have lived will be "split", so that the bodies representing each of their incarnations will be able to live again, or will a given soul be given a choice to pick the body of one incarnation in particular, to use on the forever-Earth?

I'm curious what the Christian-leaning folks here think of this, and how reincarnation and the resurrection might be compatible in some way.

[Truth seeker]

your body is not the real you..its only a temporary shell to navigate in this physical life...

in the summerland you can choose to look like any previous body that you had on former lifes....so that reaffirms that you are not your body...the true you its your eternal soul or spirit

[Birki]

I don't get it. I can't really answer your question because the assumptions you are making are not supported by evidence. Truth seeker is right, our bodies are just physical shells, just as when you sell your car and get a new one, sometimes you die and reincarnate and get a new body.

[BruceAdama]

Okay, I guess people missed the question... my question was based on the idea of the Rapture... how after God restores the Earth anew, we will all be reunited with our now-perfect physical bodies, which will never age or become ill, or die, and will live on Earth with God forever. My question was since according to this, everyone who has ever lived and died will be reunited with a perfect body, IF we also assume that souls can reincarnate, does this mean that when the Rapture/Resurrection comes, that a soul will be split into various parts, so that the bodies of each of its incarnations can live again on the Earth, or will a soul be able to choose which of its incarnation bodies it wants to have? I got to thinking about this after reading this quote, from another site online:

Heaven—the new earth—is a physical place where we will dwell with glorified physical bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-58). The concept that heaven is “in the clouds” is unbiblical. The concept that we will be “spirits floating around in heaven” is also unbiblical. The heaven that believers will experience will be a new and perfect planet on which we will dwell. The new earth will be free from sin, evil, sickness, suffering, and death. It will likely be similar to our current earth, or perhaps even a re-creation of our current earth, but without the curse of sin.

Like I said, this is just a hypothetical "what if"... I'm just wondering how we would go about assuming glorified bodies if we have also had various incarnations in more than one physical body.

[mokandi]

I get the question and I understand why you thought of it.
Truth seeker's response makes me wonder how I will know my son. Will he show a different body to every person that may have been his loved one in one of his former lives? If so, I'm upset.

[Birki]

I get the question and I understand why you thought of it.
Truth seeker's response makes me wonder how I will know my son. Will he show a different body to every person that may have been his loved one in one of his former lives? If so, I'm upset.

Mokandi, please don't be upset. You will know your son is your son because you will know his energy. It is likely he would appear to you as he did in this most recent lifetime, especially soon after you make your transition. Keep in mind that since you seem to have such a strong bond with him it is likely that you have shared many lifetimes together already. Please do not doubt that you will know each other when you are reunited.

[Billyjean]

I think the body is just a coat, and that the soul, is the very essence of us that will be recognisable in this new earth. If a soul has had many incarnations, the essence of that person won't change. That is my own belief. I'm sure that the idea will be difficult to understand, and that there is a lot more to it than i could even attempt to glimpse, as we are limited to what we as humans can understand until we are awakened.

[Celera]

I like that explanation, Billyjean. If I change clothes, everyone still recognizes me. Maybe if we change bodies, our spirits still know one another.

Although, I'm not sure there is a clear answer to the original question. I expect there are relatively few people who believe in the particular (and relatively modern) interpretation of New Testament prophecy (Rapture/Tribulation/Millenium) who also believe in reincarnation. Reconciling these two quite different ideas of humanity's future may be rather difficult.

[Carol and Mikey]

I have wondered about this myself. Being raised Catholic, I have heard about being resurrected with my body like Bruce talks about. The 2 different ideas don't mix. Apparently the concept of reincarnation was taken out of the bible some time ago, (4th century)?. Why? Did the church not want us to know that we had more than one shot at this? They didn't want to lose power and control over their people? I also understand the bible was written by man and rewritten by man. I try to keep an open mind about all this. Some aspects are hard to interpret.
Mikey tells me there will be no Rapture in regards to total choas and take over. God is Love. The resurrection should be looked at from a "spiritual sense" according to Mikey. It will take all souls together in a Loving Unity. The analogy of us just putting on a different coat when we come here is just that! Our body is just our earthly shell while we are here. The earth is our school. Our soul continues to grow and progress from our experiences here and in Heaven (or whatever term you choose to call it). Mikey says to think of the "new earth" as really a "reuniting" of all souls in God's Absolute Pure Love in Heaven. Just one opinion.
Carol and Mikey "in Spirit"

[mokandi]

I loved my son in his beautiful body. I try to imagine him without it. Are spirits just specks of light? How then is one able to enjoy the afterlife? My son used to love surfing. In the afterlife will he just think about surfing and it will be? Sounds a lot like "bewitched". Easy but boring. I want to hug my son when I see him. Will there be anything to hug? Carol, don't you want to see Mikey as he was?