Reincarnation - Themes from Christianity, Islam, and Vedic Hinduism

In this article I attempt to capture the similarities and differences between Christianity and Vedic Hinduism with regards to the topic of reincarnation.

Brylcreem India, makers of hair creams, once advertised in the 1980s “You live only once in life. Do it in style” Marketing plug aside, does reincarnation exist?

Christian Viewpoints:

Let's Look at early Christian Church between 300 A.D. and 600 A.D.? One article abstract states that:

According to the first important father of the early Orthodox Church, Origen (185 – 254 AD), the soul exists before birth. He suggested that pre-existence was found in the Hebrew scriptures and the teachings of Jesus. [1]

"It is believed that in 553 A.D. during the Second Council of Constantinople the idea of reincarnation was found to have no place in the Christian Church. Although reincarnation was not officially rejected at this council, those early Church Fathers who were accused of teaching the idea of reincarnation had their works banned. 553 A.D. did mark the end of the debate on reincarnation within the Christian community. Observing the fact that reincarnation is not a doctrine typically taught within Christianity today one might assume that this council was called to settle an argument about reincarnation and its supplemental ideas between Christians and non-Christians."

"This was not the case. Although the idea of reincarnation was rejected by the Christian Church as a doctrine because it was believed to contradict the doctrine of corporeal resurrection and undermine the need for Christ's redemptive sacrifices, it was a belief held by many early Christian theologians such as Valentinus and Basilides of Alexandria."

"However, many Christian theologians in the first several centuries of Christianity, such as Saint Justin Martyr, did not believe in, or teach about reincarnation. There were also those early Church Fathers, like Origen of Alexandria, who were conflicted by the idea, and this internal conflict has been observed throughout their writings. To better understand how some of the early Church Fathers could teach reincarnation and still consider themselves Christian, it is imperative to understand where their belief in reincarnation came from.??Many of the early Christian theologians who believed in the idea of reincarnation were taught their religious beliefs at, or near Alexandria, Egypt; these are theologians including Basilides, Valentinus and Origen. Christian and non-Christians alike that were living in or near Alexandria were still greatly influenced by the ideas of Plato. Plato is well-known for his writings in science and philosophy. Plato also saw himself as a spiritual man and had many ideas on religion and theology.[2] First and foremost,

"Plato believed in reincarnation. He taught that human souls had previously existed in a perfect world and there enjoyed the presence of God. Somehow these souls committed some sin and fell from God's presence and were placed into physical bodies on Earth as a punishment. The purpose of life is to correct the soul's initial mistake and to return to God. This could only be done through the attainment of knowledge, and since God is omnipotent Plato believed it ridiculous to assume that one's soul could gain enough knowledge to return to God in one lifetime.[3] Based upon Plato's belief that the human body was a prison of punishment and that souls were on earth to gain a level of knowledge that would take more than one lifetime to learn, we can see why he believed in reincarnation. Plato's writings are dated between 430-347 B.C., well before Christ's ministry, so Plato had no known opinions on the mission or reality of Jesus Christ."

"Theologians who lived after Plato and studied from his teachings would run into conflict as they tried to align their newly acquired Christian beliefs with the Platonic ideas that they had already come to accept. These men would eventually be referred to today as Christian Platonists.

"A Jewish parable (midrash) tells us that “all the souls that have come into existence since Adam, and which` will be till the end of the world,?were created in the six days of creation,?all were in the Garden of Eden and at the giving of the Torah.?(R. Yohanan in Midrash Tanhuma Pekudei 3, 250-300 AD)" [6 ]

""And the dust returns?to the ground it came from,?and the spirit returns to God?who gave it."??(Ecclesiastes 12:7)" [6]

"He knows the hearts of all men?(1 Kings 8:39; 2 Chronicles 6:30),?those who are His servants?(2 Samuel 7:20; Nahum 1:7; 1 Chronicles 17:18)?and?those who are false, vain, and deceitful?(Job 11:11)."

"He?keeps the lowly close to His thoughts, but only knows the haughty from afar?(Psalm 138:6)."

"He knows our words before they are spoken?(Psalm 139:4) and?the distresses of our lives?(Psalm 31:7)."

"And?He knows you.??“Even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”??(Matthew 10:30)"

The above shows that part of Christianity (and Judaism) did believe in existence of the soul and the concept of pre-existence.

"Although the teaching of pre-existence (the existence of the soul before conception) was condemned by the Second Council of Constantinople (AD 553) in response to the teaching of Origen, the teaching of successive reincarnations is a separate matter and was not dealt with by the council." [7]

The Nag Hammadi texts of the Gnostics indicate presence of the soul [8]

Not all Christians accept the presence of the soul though. There is a body of knowledge called Anathemas against Origen which does not want to accept the existence of soul. See Appendix 1.

What does Sufi Islam teach about Reincarnation?

According to some Sufi Islamic beliefs the following are our cosmic journey: [9]

(1) We (our higher self – Ruh/Spirit) were originally with the Light (Allah, the Divine Source) in the Throne of Allah;

(2) We descended from the Throne into the Cosmos (with the first station being Bakka);

(3) We incarnated into the world of matter (with our spirits- Ruh – being joined by the soul – nafs);

(4) Our dual selves (Spirit and Soul) now take on a body;

(5) Our bodies die. The soul and spirit now divide. The sould re-enters the astral planes, living with other spirits (wherein we learn, progress, heal, etc); The spirit returns to Bakka;

(6) The soul now descends again into the worlds of matter, reincarnating (numerous times);

(7) Eventually our soul(s) ascend to ever higher (or lower) states of vibration (heavens, paradise, hells);

(8) At the End of Time we will finally be drawn back to the Source (the Throne) and reunited with the Light.

One of the things we should note here is that the final act at the End of Time of reuniting with the Source is an act of grace. No one can earn reunification. It is a gift of Allah. However, our stations both in the worlds of matter and on the astral planes depend on our own efforts. The cosmos operates like music. We go to that which we resonate with.

Now let us look at the Vedic Hinduism perspective:

"Material nature consists of three modes, or gunas: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, and tamo-guna, or the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Another meaning of guna is "rope." Rope is made by twisting fiber in a threefold process. First the fiber is twisted in three small strands, then three of them are twisted together, then again three of those are twisted together. In this way the rope becomes very strong. Similarly, the three modes of nature--goodness, passion, and ignorance--are mixed, after which they produce some by-product. Then they are mixed again, and then again. Thus they are "twisted together" innumerable times. In this way the material energy binds you more and more."?[4]

This modern civilization is a soul-killing civilization; people are killing themselves because they do not know what real life is. They are simply living like animals. The animal does not know what life is, so he simply works under the laws of nature, undergoing gradual evolution. But when you get this human form of life, you have a responsibility to live in a different way. In conditioned life we are committing sins at every step, even without knowing it. The reason we are sinning unknowingly is that we have been in ignorance from our very birth. This ignorance is prominent despite so many educational institutions. Why? Because despite so many big, big universities, none of them is teaching atma-tattva, the science of the soul. Therefore people remain in ignorance, and they continue to sin and suffer the reactions." [3]

"The Vedic literature explains that human activity, when devoid of service to the Lord, is governed by a subtle law known as the law of karma. This is the familiar law of action and reaction as it pertains to what we do in this world and the enjoyment or suffering we experience as a result. If I cause pain to another living being, then as surely as the wheel of life turns, I will be forced to suffer similar pain. And if I bring happiness to another, a like pleasure awaits me. At every second, with every breath, our activities in this material world cause enjoyment and suffering. To facilitate these endless actions and reactions, there has to be more than just one life. There has to be reincarnation. The Vedic literature makes reincarnation of the soul a central feature in its explanation of human destiny. And the logic is obvious when we consider a simple question like the following: Why is one child born to wealthy parents in the United States, while another is born to starving peasants in Ethiopia? Only the doctrine of karma and reincarnation--reward and punishment carried over many lifetimes--answers this question easily." [3]

"Remembrances of past lives can be fascinating, but the real goal of understanding reincarnation is to become free from the painful cycle of birth in death. In a lecture delivered in London in August of 1973, Srila Prabhupada warns, “This is not a very good business — to die and take birth again. We know that when we die we’ll have to enter again into the womb of a mother — and nowadays mothers are killing the children within the womb.' " [5]

dehino ‘smin yatha dehe

kaumaram yauvanam jara

tatha dehantara-praptir

dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth, and then to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]

Generally, people cannot understand this simple verse. Therefore, Krsna says, dhiras tatra na muhyati: “Only a sober man can understand.” But what is the difficulty? How plainly Krsna has explained things! There are three stages of life. The first, kaumaram, lasts until one is fifteen years old. Then, from the sixteenth year, one begins youthful life, yauvanam. Then, after the fortieth or fiftieth year, one becomes an old man, jara. So those who are dhira — sober-headed, cool-headed — they can understand: “I have changed my body. I remember how I was playing and jumping when I was a boy. Then I became a young man, and I was enjoying my life with friends and family. Now I am an old man, and when this body dies I shall again enter a new body.”

In the previous verse Krsna said to Arjuna, “All of us — you, Me, and all the soldiers and kings who are present here — we existed in the past, we are existing now, and we shall continue to exist in the future.” This is Krsna’s statement. But rascals will say, “How was I existing in the past? I was born only in such-and-such a year. Before that I was not existing. At the present time I am existing. That’s all right. But as soon as I die, I’ll not exist.” But Krsna says, “You, I, all of us — we were existing, we are still existing, and we shall continue to exist.” Is that wrong? No, it is a fact. Before our birth we were existing, in a different body; and after our death we shall continue to exist, in a different body. This is to be understood.

For example, seventy years ago I was a boy, then I became a young man, and now I have become an old man. My body has changed, but I, the proprietor of the body, am existing unchanged. So where is the difficulty in understanding? Dehino ‘smin yatha dehe [Bg. 2.13]. Dehinah means “the proprietor of the body,” and dehe means “in the body.” The body is changing, but the soul, the proprietor of the body, remains unchanged.

Anyone can understand that his body has changed. So in the next life the body will also change. But we may not remember; that is another thing. In my last life, what was my body? I do not remember. So forgetfulness is our nature, but our forgetting something does not mean that it did not take place. No. In my childhood I did so many things I do not remember, but my father and mother remember. So, forgetting does not mean that things did not take place.

Similarly, death simply means I have forgotten what I was in my past life. That is death. Otherwise I, as spirit soul, have no death. Suppose I change my clothes. In my boyhood I wore certain clothes, in my youth I wore different clothes. Now, in my old age, as a sannyasi [a renunciant], I am wearing different clothes. The clothes may change, but that does not mean that the owner of the clothes is dead and gone. No.

This is a simple explanation of transmigration of the soul.

Also, all of us are individuals. There is no question of merging together. Every one of us is an individual. God is an individual, and we are also individuals. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13): “Of all the eternal, conscious, individual persons, one is supreme.” The difference is that God never changes His body, but we change our bodies in the material world. When we go to the spiritual world, there is no more change of body. Just as Krsna has His sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], an eternal form of bliss and knowledge, so when you go back home, back to Godhead, you will also get a similar body. The difference is that even when Krsna comes to the material world, He does not change His body. Therefore one of His names is Acyuta, “He who never falls.”

Krsna never changes. He never falls down, because He is the controller of maya, the material energy. We are controlled by the material energy, and Krsna is the controller of the material energy. That is the difference between Krsna and us. And not only does He control the material energy, but He controls the spiritual energy also-all energies. Everything that we see, everything manifested — that is Krsna’s energy. Just as heat and light are the energies of the sun, everything manifested is made up of the energies of Krsna.

There are many energies, but they have been divided into three principal ones: the external energy, the internal energy, and the marginal energy. We living entities are the marginal energy. Marginal means that we may remain under the influence of the external energy or we may remain under the influence of the internal energy, as we like. The independence is there. After speaking Bhagavad-gita Krsna says to Arjuna, yathecchasi tatha kuru: [Bg. 18.63] “Whatever you like, you can do.” Krsna gives this independence to Arjuna. He does not force one to surrender. That is not good. Something forced will not stand. For example, we advise our students, “Rise early in the morning.” This is our advice. We do not force anyone. Of course, we may force someone once or twice, but if he does not practice it, force will be useless.

Similarly, Krsna does not force anyone to leave this material world. All conditioned souls are under the influence of the external, or material, energy. Krsna comes here to deliver us from the clutches of the material energy. Because we are part and parcel of Krsna, we are all directly Krsna’s sons. And if a son is in difficulty, the father suffers also, indirectly. Suppose the son has become a madman — or, nowadays, a hippy. The father is very sorry: “Oh, my son is living like a wretch.” So, the father is not happy. Similarly, the conditioned souls in this material world are suffering so much, living like wretches and rascals. So Krsna is not happy. Therefore He comes personally to teach us how to return to Him. (Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati. .. tad-atmanam srjamy aham [Bg. 4.7].)

When Krsna comes, He comes in His original form. But unfortunately we understand Krsna to be one of us. In one sense He is one of us, since He is the father and we are His sons. But He’s the chief: nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13). He’s more powerful than us. He’s the most powerful, the supreme powerful. We have a little power, but Krsna has infinite power. That is the difference between Krsna and us. We cannot be equal to God. Nobody can be equal to Krsna or greater than Him. Everyone is under Krsna. Ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya: [Cc. Adi 5.142] Everyone is the servant of Krsna; Krsna is the only master. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram: [Bg. 5.29] “I am the only enjoyer; I am the proprietor,” Krsna says. And that is a fact.

So, we are changing our body, but Krsna does not change His. We should understand this. The proof is that Krsna remembers past, present, and future. In the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita you’ll find that Krsna says He spoke the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god some 120,000,000 years ago. How does Krsna remember? Because He does not change His body. We forget things because we are changing our body at every moment. That is a medical fact. The corpuscles of our blood are changing at every second. But the body is changing imperceptibly. That is why the father and mother of a growing child do not notice how his body is changing. A third person, if he comes after some time and sees that the child has grown, says, “Oh, the child has grown so big.” But the father and mother have not noticed that he has grown so big, because they are always seeing him and the changes are taking place imperceptibly, at every moment. So our body is always changing, but I, the soul, the proprietor of the body, am not changing. This is to be understood.

We are all individual souls, and we are eternal, but because our body is changing we are suffering birth, death, old age, and disease. The Krsna consciousness movement is meant to get us out of this changing condition. “Since I am eternal, how can I come to the permanent position?” That should be our question. Everyone wants to live eternally; nobody wants to die. If I come before you with a revolver and say, “I am going to kill you,” you will immediately cry out, because you do not want to die. This is not a very good business — to die and take birth again. It is very troublesome. This we all know subconsciously. We know that when we die we’ll have to enter again into the womb of a mother — and nowadays mothers are killing the children within the womb. Then again another mother… The process of accepting another body again and again is very long and very troublesome. In our subconscious we remember all this trouble, and therefore we do not want to die.

So our question should be this: “I am eternal, so why have I been put into this temporary life?” This is an intelligent question. And this is our real problem. But rascals set aside this real problem. They are thinking of how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex, how to defend. Even if you eat nicely and sleep nicely, ultimately you have to die. The problem of death is there. But they don’t care about this real problem. They are very much alert to solve the temporary problems, which are not actually problems at all. The birds and beasts also eat, sleep, have sexual intercourse, and defend themselves. They know how to do all these things, even without the human beings’ education and so-called civilization. So these things are not our real problems. The real problem is that we do not want to die but death takes place. This is our real problem.

But the rascals do not know it. They are always busy with temporary problems. For example, suppose there is severe cold. This is a problem. We have to search out a nice coat or a fireplace, and if these are not available we are in distress. So severe cold is a problem. But it is a temporary problem. Severe cold, winter, has come, and it will go. It is not a permanent problem. My permanent problem is that because of ignorance I am taking birth, I am accepting disease, I am accepting old age, and I am accepting death. These are my real problems. Therefore Krsna says, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam: [Bg. 13.9] Those who are actually in knowledge see these four problems — birth, death, old age, and disease.

Now, Krsna says, dhiras tatra na muhyati: [Bg. 2.13] “A sober man is not perplexed at the time of death.” If you prepare yourself for death, why should you be perplexed? For example, if in your childhood and boyhood you prepare yourself nicely, if you become educated, then you will get a nice job, a nice situation, and be happy. Similarly, if you prepare yourself in this life for going back home, back to Godhead, then where is your perplexity at the time of death? There is no perplexity. You’ll know, “I am going to Krsna. I am going back home, back to Godhead. Now I’ll not have to change material bodies; I’ll have my spiritual body. Now I shall play with Krsna and dance with Krsna and eat with Krsna.” This is Krsna consciousness — to prepare yourself for the next life.

Sometimes a dying man cries out, because according to karma those who are very, very sinful see horrible scenes at the time of death. The sinful man knows he is going to accept some abominable type of body. But those who are pious, the devotees, die without any anxiety. Foolish people say, “You devotees are dying, and the nondevotees are also dying, so what is the difference?” There is a difference. A cat catches her kitten in its mouth, and it also catches the mouse in its mouth. Superficially we may see that the cat has caught both the mouse and the kitten in the same way. But there are differences of catching. The kitten is feeling pleasure: “Oh, my mother is carrying me.” And the mouse is feeling death: “Oh, now I’m going to die.” This is the difference. So, although both devotees and nondevotees die, there is a difference of feeling at the time of death — just like the kitten and the mouse. Don’t think that both of them are dying in the same way. The bodily process may be the same, but the mental situation is different.

Conclusion:

Original Christianity and traditional Vedic Dharma both accept reincarnation and ask the followers to live with that premise. Something happend in the modern times that people started thinking that you "you Live only Once"; that does not change the reality of reincarnation. What do you want to be in your next life - the menu is 8.4 Million species.

References:

0. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/hidden-beliefs-covered-church-resurrection-and-reincarnation-early-christianity-006320

1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/balancing-the-brand-proposition/article9002935.ece

2. Head, Joseph and Cranston, S.L., Reincarnation in World Thought: A Living Study of Reincarnation in All Ages; Including Selections from the World's Religions, Philosophies and Science, and Great Thinkers of the Past and Present. (New York: Julian Press, 1967) 195-198.

3. Cranston and Head, World Thought, 198 https://epubs.utah.edu/index.php/historia/article/view/578

4. https://files.krishna.com/en/pdf/e-books/Laws_of_Nature.pdf

5. https://prabhupadaonreincarnation.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/reincarnation-explained/

6. https://www.fgbt.org/Lessons/the-lord-knew-you-before-you-were-born-by-messianic-bible.html

7. https://www.christians.eu/reincarnation-bible/

8. https://www.psychicsdirectory.com/articles/was-reincarnation-removed-from-bible/

9. https://www.god-muslims.com/islam-and-reincarnation/

10. https://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/meyer-intro.html

11. https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/post-nicene/vol-14-seven-ecumenical-councils/06-second-council-of-constantinople/anathemas-against-origen.html

12. https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/justinian/

13. https://www.gnosis.org/audio/Sorrow_of_Sophia.mp3

Appendix I

"Reincarnation was officially removed from Christian doctrine during the Fifth Ecumenical Council in the year 553 (also known as the Second Council of Constantinople). The council was evoked by the Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora to decide the what were to be ‘acceptable’ Christian beliefs and practices. The council released a list of decrees which sounded the death knell for the idea of reincarnation."[8]

"The council ended up in a locked in debate about reincarnation and Christ. This was a debate that had been going on a long time within Christianity and it was about the nature of Jesus. On the one side were the?dyophysites?who believed that Christ was of two natures and had pre-existed, incarnated in human form, previous to his final appearance as Christ. On the other side were the?monphysites?who believed that Christ had a single, unified nature and therefore could not have existed prior to his birth. It is likely that Empress Theodora used her influence (for political reasons) to make sure the?monphysites?prevailed. It is also known that Emperor Justinian also want reincarnation to be removed from Church canon for his own reasons."[8]

"At the Fifth Ecumenical Council the ‘defeated’?dyophysites?were told to fall in line, or else. These final decrees by the ‘Church’ were the beginnings of the divide between the ‘orthodox Christian church’ and the so called Gnostics, heretics, and others who would not accept Church doctrine as the final word about what was, or was not, Christian." [8]

The Anathemas Against Origen.[9]

I.

IF anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema.

II.

IF anyone shall say that the creation (thu paragwghn) of all reasonable things includes only intelligences (noaj) without bodies and altogether immaterial, having neither number nor name, so that there is unity between them all by identity of substance, force and energy, and by their union with and knowledge of God the Word; but that no longer desiring the sight of God, they gave themselves over to worse things, each one following his own inclinations, and that they have taken bodies more or less subtile, and have received names, for among the heavenly Powers there is a difference of names as there is also a difference of bodies; and thence some became and are called Cherubims, others Seraphims, and Principalities, and Powers, and Dominations, and Thrones, and Angels, and as many other heavenly orders as there may be: let him be anathema.

III.

IF anyone shall say that the sun, the moon and the stars are also reasonable beings, and that they have only become what they are because they turned towards evil: let him be anathema.

IV.

IF anyone shall say that the reasonable creatures in whom the divine love had grown cold have been hidden in gross bodies such as ours, and have been called men, while those who have attained the lowest degree of wickedness have shared cold and obscure bodies and are become and called demons and evil spirits: let him be anathema,.

V.

IF anyone shall say that a psychic (yukikhn) condition has come from an angelic or archangelic state, and moreover that a demoniac and a human condition has come from a psychic condition, and that from a human state they may become again angels and demons, and that each order of heavenly virtues is either all from those below or from those above, or from those above and below: let him be anathema.

VI.

IF anyone shall say that there is a twofold race of demons, of which the one includes the souls of men and the other the superior spirits who fell to this, and that of all the number of reasonable beings there is but one which has remained unshaken in the love and contemplation of God, and that that spirit is become Christ and the king of all reasonable beings, and that he has created(1) all the bodies which exist in heaven, on earth, and between heaven and earth; and that the world which has in itself elements more ancient than itself, and which exists by themselves, viz.: dryness, damp, heat and cold, and the image (idean) to which it was formed, was so formed, and that the most holy and consubstantial Trinity did not create the world, but that it was created by the working intelligence (Nouj dhmiourgoj) which is more ancient than the world, and which communicates to it its being: let him be anathema.

VII.

IF anyone shah say that Christ, of whom it is said that he appeared in the form of God, and that he was united before all time with God the Word, and humbled himself in these last days even to humanity, had (according to their expression) pity upon the divers falls which had appeared in the spirits united in the same unity (of which he himself is part), and that to restore them he passed through divers classes, had different bodies and different names, became all to all, an Angel amongAngels, a Power among Powers, has clothed I himself in the different classes of reasonable beings with a form corresponding to that class, and finally has taken flesh and blood like ours and is become man for men; [if anyone says all this] and does not profess that God the Word humbled himself and became man: let him be anathema.

VIII.

IF anyone shall not acknowledge that God the Word, of the same substance with the Father and the Holy Ghost, and who was made flesh and became man, one of the Trinity, is Christ in every sense of the word, but [shall affirm] that he is so only in an inaccurate manner, and because of the abasement (kenwsanta), as they call it, of the intelligence (nouj); if anyone shall affirm that this intelligence united (sunhmmenon) to God the Word, is the Christ in the true sense of the word, while the Logos is only called Christ because of this union with the intelligence, and e converse thatthe intelligence is only called God because of the Logos: let him be anathema.

IX.

IF anyone shall say that it was not the Divine Loges made man by taking an animated body with a?yukh logikh?and?noera, that he descended into hell and ascended into heaven, but shall pretend that it is the Nouj?which has done this, that Nouj?of which they say (in an impious fashion) he is Christ properly so called, and that he is become so by the knowledge of the Monad: let him be anathema.

X.

IF anyone shall say that after the resurrection the body of the Lord was ethereal, having the form of a sphere, and that such shall be the bodies of all after the resurrection; and that after the Lord himself shall have rejected his true body and after the others who rise shall have rejected theirs, the nature of their bodies shall be annihilated: let him be anathema.

XI.

IF anyone shall say that the future judgment signifies the destruction of the body and that the end of the story will be an immaterial?yusij, and that thereafter there will no longer be any matter, but only spirit?nouj): let him be anathema.

XII.

IF anyone shall say that the heavenly Powers and all men and the Devil and evil spirits are united with the Word of God in all respects, as the Nouj?which is by them called Christ and which is in the form of God, and which humbled itself as they say; and [if anyone shall say] that the Kingdom of Christ shall have an end: let him be anathema.

XIII.

IF anyone shall say that Christ [i.e., the Nouj?is in no wise different from other reasonable beings, neither substantially nor by wisdom nor by his power and might over all things but that all will be placed at the right hand of God, as well as he that is called by them Christ [the Nouj, as also they were in the reigned pre-existence of all things: let him be anathema.

XIV.

IF anyone shall say that all reasonable beings will one day be united in one, when the hypostases as well as the numbers and the bodies shall have disappeared, and that the knowledge of the world to come will carry with it the ruin of the worlds, and the rejection of bodies as also the abolition of [all] names, and that there shall be finally an identity of the?gnpsij?and of the hypostasis; moreover, that in this pretended apocatastasis, spirits only will continue to exist, as it was in the reigned pre-existence: let him be anathema.

XV.

IF anyone shall say that the life of the spirits (nopn) shall be like to the life which was in the beginning while as yet thespirits had not come down or fallen, so that the end and the beginning shall be alike, and that the end shall be the true measure of the beginning: let him be anathema.

Post Script:

"Jesus makes a cryptic statement in response to his disciples questioning that Elijah is suppose to proceed the appearance of ‘The Messiah’ or ‘Christ’ or earth. And Jesus responds, "Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would … Then understood the disciples that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.". Though Christian’s will debate the meaning of every statement within the Bible, this curious statement would seem to indicate that Elijah (a prophet of the Old Testament) was reborn as John the Baptist (a prophet of the New Testament)." [10]