Was John The Baptist A Reincarnation Of Prophet Elijah?

Reincarnation is a very serious topic. Although it is unbiblical, and, even Satanic, those who champion it point to the Biblical story of John the Baptist and prophet Elijah as a basis for their reasoning.

Does the story of John, the Baptist, and Elijah actually support reincarnation. Read on to know the truth.

Granted, it is written that God will send Elijah to his people before the day of the Lord. (Malachi 4:5) Jesus, too, says that this Elijah has come and that the Elijah is John the Baptist.(Matthew 11:13-14,17:10-13)

Does this mean that the Bible is supporting reincarnation? The answer is “No.” The angel that foretold the birth and ministry of John the Baptist explains everything clearly.

The angel said that John will “go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah.” (Luke 1:17) So, when the Bible says that God will send Elijah, Elijah has come and that John is that Elijah, it simply means that God will and, in fact, has sent John the Baptist to go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah and John has already done that.

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If I may ask, what does “to go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah” mean? It simply means to operate in the anointing and zeal of Elijah. Do you still recall that in the book of 2 Kings, Elisha requested a double portion of Elijah’s spirit before Elijah was taken away from him. See (2 Kings 2:9-11)

The spirit Elisha requested is not the immaterial part of human beings that enable them to live since Elisha himself possess it and does not need another one. Furthermore, the human spirit does not have a double portion for anyone to request.

Owing to this, what Elisha requested was his anointing. Now, Elijah, as we know does not just possess the anointing but also the zeal for the restoration of the worship of the true God to such an extent that he even organized a contest between him and the prophets of Baal on mount Carmel.

It was during this contest that the failure of Baal to bring down fire to consume his prophets’ sacrifice in answer to their prayer was seen. However, this contest also revealed God’s ability to bring down fire from heaven, instantaneously, to consume Elijah’s own sacrifice in answer to his prayer.(1Kings 18:16-39)

Now, I think it is clear that the Bible does not mean that Elijah will reincarnate into John and that John is that reincarnation but means that John will operate in the anointing and zeal of Elijah.

Undoubtedly, John neither duplicated Elijah’s miracles nor performed any of his own as his ministry did not necessitate that. Nonetheless, he, like Elijah, possessed the anointing and the zeal for the restoration of the worship of the true God.

This anointing and zeal were what enabled him to act as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness”, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. As such, he refused to claim to be the Messiah. Instead, he directed people’s attention to Jesus who did not just come to atone for our sins but also to show us who the true God is and how to worship him.

John revealed his reason for this by admitting that Jesus Christ is greater than he and that Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Thus, John successfully operated in the spirit and power of Elijah without being a reincarnation of Elijah.

On one occasion, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and levites to question John about his identity, they asked him if he was the Christ, Elijah or the Prophet. John, who knew himself better than everyone else, maintained that he was none of the above(including Elijah). (John 1:19-21) No one else could have ever answered their question better than John, who is at centre of the issue, had done

Furthermore, if Elijah had reincarnated into John, why did he still appear as Elijah but not John, alongside Moses, to Jesus and three of his disciples at the mountain, during the transfiguration of Jesus? (Luke 9:28-36) So, beware of falsehood and misinterpretations of the Bible.

Conclusion

Elijah has not reincarnated but will be resurrected. Yes, Elijah will be resurrected because he died. Elijah was not taken to the third heaven but to the second heaven, the sky, because Jesus says no one has ever gone into heaven, that is the third heaven. See (John 3:13). John the Baptist may have even worn the same attire as Elijah did but all that does not mean that he is a reincarnation of Elijah.