Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. ___2nd Peter 1:20
As I mentioned at the end of the preface regarding Ephesians 2:8 “by grace are you saved”: Mainstream Christian theology is too often founded on cherry picked verses, which are then interpreted privately: that is apart from what the rest of scripture and Creation[1] teaches us, which has created very flawed and distorted versions of the Gospel, that even borderline on deception.
In fact, I still recall how one of my primary Bible teachers about forty years ago mentioned how it sounded very similar to the original line used by the tempter in Eden, who essentially was offering them false comfort saying “thou shalt not surely die” (if you disobey and sin against God).
Now this provides the perfect bridge for us to move into the subject matter of this chapter: Notice exactly what God said in Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Did they die that day? Well, it is certainly not how we would define death. Sound familiar?[2] Now with that knowledge as a foundation, regarding how both God and Jesus define death, let us take another look at the one verse privately interpreted by theologians to dismiss reincarnation:
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: ____Hebrews 9:27
Let’s unpack this verse: What death are we appointed to die? And what judgment after this? Does the God who appointed have the power to cancel this appointment? Notice how Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison who died in the flood.[3] Clearly these men did not experience eternal judgment. Is this an example of the author of Hebrews seeing through a glass darkly?[4] Or was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit clearly there despite the authors lack of understanding; where the death we are appointed to die, is one of being dead to sin and entering into rest? (Romans 6 & Hebrews 4)
And while mainstream Christian theology seems quite established on the one chance, one lifetime concept: Our God given logic and intuition, along with numerous other verses tell us otherwise:
In Psalm 136 we find the term for his mercy endures forever used 26 times in as many verses.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
____ Psalm 16:10
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
____Revelation 1:18
It also appears to be the only way the parable of the tares and wheat[5] can be explained, where each one of us have lived numerous lifetimes over thousands of years and sleep in between, also known as the transmigration of souls, making continued spiritual progress in each lifetime.
Most of the world population, including Christians are yet unaware of how it is a historical fact that the Jews (which would include Jesus[6] and his Apostles[7] of course) have always believed in reincarnation. In fact, orthodox Jews to this day say reincarnation is the cornerstone of Judaism.
Beyond this, I made some interesting discoveries that create unique and powerful connections between the Old Testament biblical characters, Egypt and billions across China and the Far East who believe in reincarnation, and a very interesting verse in the book of Revelation as well.
We begin with Abraham and Sarah who both came from the same father but had different mothers. From there we find this interesting dynamic of how God was intentionally keeping the marriages of three generations in the family. Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac, married Rebecca who was his cousin. A generation later Isaac and Rebecca’s son Jacob also went back to family and married his cousin Rachel. So clearly, all three of these marriages were kept in the family.
It is the next generation when things take a very unusual turn and everything changes. Jacob has twelve sons and one daughter, but it is the second youngest son Joseph whose life and story becomes one of the most fascinating of the entire Bible, which all but dominates the last fourteen chapters of Genesis. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers due to their jealousy and ends up in Egypt where in the process of time he is brought before the Pharaoh as an interpreter of dreams.
Pharaoh is so impressed with Joseph and his wisdom from God, that enables him to interpret Pharaoh’s dream about a coming famine, the Pharaoh sets him up to be the ruler of Egypt and puts him in charge of preparing for the coming famine which is seven years away according to the dream God gave to Pharaoh. This powerful story takes some unbelievable twists and turns, and is unlike any other, but one of the main points I wanted to make is how Joseph was given the daughter of the Egyptian priest to marry by the Pharaoh himself: much like kings throughout world history have arranged the marriages of their own children to the offspring of other kings to create an alliance between their countries or nations. It is also noteworthy, how in the days of these Egyptian dynasties, the Pharaohs were regarded as being the high priest over all their Egyptian religions.
Now this marriage was not only in striking contrast to what Christians are warned[8] not to do. It is quite the contrast to what took place in the previous three generations, with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: especially taking into account the spiritual element in such a marriage. However, they did have some things in common, and among them was the belief in reincarnation.
In the bigger picture, what we are seeing take place in this incredible drama, is how God sovereignly orchestrated events that were designed to create an alliance between Israel and Egypt that preserved them both through the famine. Quite the contrast to the later story of God sending Israel into the Promised Land (that flowed with milk and honey) to conquer all the Canaanites.
This brings me to my next point, after which I will quote the fascinating verse in the book of Revelation to tie all this together. Over the last century, considerable evidence has emerged which links a significant part of the world population in China and the Far East with the ancient Egyptians.
Evidence pointing to the Chinese and other Asian races and cultures having their origins in Egypt. From pyramids found throughout China buried in the jungles, which like Egypt were used as burial chambers for their ancient kings and rulers, to one of the most ancient documents ever found in world history, right there in China that provided a detailed description of the Nile River in Egypt.
Then there are the characters of the Chinese written alphabet that bear resemblance to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. There was also ancient brass found in China which experts tell us bear the chemical signature of brass unique to the Middle East. All of this evidence pointing to the likelihood that the famous Phoenician shipbuilders known as the Hyksos, who were driven out of Egypt by an Egyptian Prince in the year 1550 BC traveled across the ocean and landed in China.
Here is where I am going with all this: Unlike biblical history, where time and again we see famous biblical characters being sovereignly connected via divine providence with both kings and religious rulers; Christians, since the original Jewish apostles passed off the scene, have historically separated themselves and refused to acknowledge their unity with the rest of the world.
From the story of Joseph to the fascinating story of Daniel and his three friends in Babylon who also had a profound effect upon the King of a world empire[9] to the story of Paul at Athens where he quotes a famous non Jewish poet to the Greek philosophers on Mars hill, emphasizing their unity, despite the fact this famous poem was written to Zeus: To Jesus himself who was famously recognized by the Magi, who were priests of ancient Zoroastrianism having traveled from Persia, being led by the Spirit of God who used a star in the heavens to direct them.
Now it is true, there were times[10] when God separated his people, and no doubt God did this for specific reasons. From Abraham being taken out of Ur of the Chaldees, to the Israelites being taken out of Egypt by Moses hundreds of years after Joseph died, and it would be wise for us to consider all the reasons why: As we keep in mind with our peripheral vision the bigger picture regarding the incredible prophecies in the book of Isaiah, which I have already quoted in the preface of this book regarding World Peace: Described as all of Mankind[11] coming to know the Lord, which certainly fulfills the original promise God gave to Abraham like no other: that through him and his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.
In closing this chapter, I think it would be wise for all of Mankind, especially for all of the world’s leaders to consider the story of Joseph to be a prophetic one-time world event that foretold the merging of western and eastern spiritual thought via the recognition of universal truth now being revealed by modern science, having always been destined to create World Peace. Most specifically for the Christians in the West to be restored to their ancient roots and true foundation laid down in the original Hebrew and Aramaic source texts now being validated by modern science. This provides a unique way to create a spiritual alliance between the populations of America and China that could have a profound effect on the world at large and be a major step toward World Peace. In fact I am proposing a US ~ China Peace Initiative which would be a covenant between our two Nations, that we both return to our ancient spiritual roots: In effect merging western and eastern spiritual thought.
Last of all as I promised, I wanted to point out a fascinating revelation I clearly recall was pointed out to me by one of the many bible teachers whose teaching I sat under in my twenties. Her name was Sue Johnson. As a side note, there were not too many women ministers in the group I was raised in, but she was one whose knowledge and wisdom I found to be exceptional.
She must have been teaching on the importance of forgiving and forgetting, when she brought up a very interesting piece of information I had never heard before: In the Book of Revelation where the twelve tribes of Israel are mentioned, something peculiar took place: The tribe of Dan was replaced by the tribe of Manasseh. Now Manasseh (along with Ephraim) was one of the sons of Joseph produced by his unique and loving marriage with Asenath, daughter of the Egyptian priest, which created a bridge as it were between two future nations. More than an earthly alliance between Israel and Egypt, we might say it was a heavenly union on earth, and they named their son Manasseh… which means forgetting.
Perhaps at the time it was a beautiful message that Joseph was sending to his brothers and their posterity, after everything that transpired with his brother’s jealousy and hatred towards him, which ended in selling him into slavery into Egypt. If true, it is a revelation of the beautiful person Joseph must have been, and the special mother he had in Rachel along with his father Jacob who came together in their own union to play the part of creating the Ruler he was destined to become.
So, in the end Manasseh was included as one of the twelve tribes, even though technically he was the next generation. Much like Judas Iscariot (the renowned thief and traitor of our Savior) was replaced with a new apostle: The tribe of Manasseh replaced the tribe of Dan, whose name means judgment. So, judgment was taken away… and replaced with the gift of forgetting, which brings me to my final statement on this subject of reincarnation: First and foremost, I think we should consider it to be an incredible gift whereby every one of us can forget the past…forever.
Regardless of who we may have been or what we may have done. Regardless of our sin and selfishness and less than intelligent decisions. Regardless of who we may have hurt and the wrong we may have done: God has provided a way. A way for us to not only be forgiven through the blood of Christ… but to forever forget the past. In the beautiful thoughts of “His mercy enduring forever” we should all be assured… that hell is just temporal suffering whether in this world or the next. Yet, it is certainly true that we will reap what we have sown, and we will suffer to the same extent we have caused others to suffer [12]. What the Far East calls Karma, the Bible calls Divine Justice.
The recent Abraham Accords negotiated by the Trump administration, which his son-in-law Jared Kushner had a prominent role in making happen, are certainly a great example of what can be accomplished when we are all willing to work together for the best interest of everyone involved. And no doubt it was essential to have mild-mannered, receptive[13] individuals such as Mr. Kushner to be successful at what numerous world leaders had been unable to do over the last 45 years.
[1] See Chapter 10 The Universal Nature of the Gospel
[2] Matthew 9:24 Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
[3] 1st Peter 3:19-20 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 1Peter 4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
[4] 1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass darkly…
[5] Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
[6] Matthew 16:13-14 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. (Jews normally only spoke to other Jews)
[7] Matthew 17:10-13 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist.
[8] 2nd Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
[9] Daniel 1:19-20 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. In all matters of wisdom and understanding, the king enquired of them, he found them ten times wiser than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
[10] Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
[11] Hebrews 8:10-13 I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.
[12] Acts 9:10-16 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prays, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
[13] As I pointed out in my Introduction: Receptivity to others point of view is essential to create World Peace.
