No One Can See the Kingdom of God Unless His Is Born Again

Except a Man Be Born Again He Cannot See the Kingdom of God

Gospel According to Spiritism – Chapter 4

Claudia Nunes

Agenda• Bible Passages• Resurrection x Reincarnation• Reincarnation• Family Ties• Anti-reincarnation Doctrines• Acceptance of Reincarnation• The Four Alternatives• Limits of Incarnation• The Need for Incarnation• God’s Justice• Analogy

The Bible Passages• Who is Jesus?

o What do people say about the Son of Man?

o “Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.

• But, Who do YOU say I am?o “You are the Messiah, the Son of God”o Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You

didn’t discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven.

• Herod Antipater o Born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD),

known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter"). He is best known today for accounts in the New Testament of his role in events that led to the executions of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth.

• John have I beheaded; but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see Him

The Bible Passages• And His disciples asked Jesus

o Why the scribes say that Elias must come first?

o Elias should truly have come first to restore all things

o Elias has come already, and no one knew him, and did to him whatsoever they wanted.

o Just like the Son of Man it will suffer of them

o Then the disciples understood that He spoke about of John the Baptist

Resurrection x Reincarnation

Resurrection x Reincarnation

• Reincarnation was part of the Jewish dogmas

• Taught under the name “Resurrection”

• They believed that man could live again

• Resurrection presupposes a return to the same physical body

• Reincarnation is the return of a soul, or Spirit, to physical life in another body

Resurrection x Reincarnation

• If John the Baptist was Elias, could the Physical Body be the same?o Elijah, (9th century BC) was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel

during the reign of Ahab, according to the Books of Kings. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah defended the worship of Yahweh over that of the Phoenician god Baal, he raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and was taken up in a whirlwind (either accompanied by a chariot and horses of flame or riding in it). In the Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord," making him a forerunner of the Messiah and “the final event of history” in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible.

o John the Baptist (c. 6 BC – c. AD 30-36) was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels and the Qur'an. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River.

• John was seen as a child and his parents were known

• Was John reincarnated or resurrected?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbBmpaDBizA

Stop at 2:35

Reincarnation

Reincarnation • If John was not the reincarnation of Elijah why

would Jesus have agreed with Nicodemus?

• No one may reach the Kingdom of God if he is not born again

• Do not be surprised when I say it is necessary to be born again.

Reincarnation cont.• What does Water Mean?

• Very imperfect knowledge of physics

• Earth had risen out of the water

• Water represented the nature of matter

• Flesh gives birth to Flesh, and Spirit gives birth to Spirit.

Reincarnation cont.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound but know not from whence it comes nor

whence it goes”• Spirit of God• we do not know who the Spirit had been

previously or who it will be in the futurePre-existence of the soul

AndPlurality of Existences

Reincarnation cont.• Reincarnation is the one doctrine through which

we can find out where we came from, where we are going, and why we are here on Earth.

• This principle offers the key that will help restore them to their true and original meaning.

• Reincarnation becomes an absolute necessity - Law of Nature

Reincarnation strenghens Family Ties

A single life would Destroy them

Family Ties

Familty Ties and Reincarnation

Family Ties• Family ties are not destroyed by reincarnation.• Affection, feelings and empathy bind spirit into

groups or Spiritual Families.• Spiritual Families seek each other out because

being together brings them joy.• Spiritual Families help each other progress.• Those who are Free (Spirit World) watch over

those who are in the flesh.• Each lifetime is a STEP forward toward perfection.• Feelings become more sublimated.

Family Ties (cont)• Affection, feelings and empathy

bind spirit groups or families.• Spirit Groups seek each other out

because being toguther brings them joy.

• Spirit Groups help each other progress.

Family Ties (cont)• Spirit-to-Spirit affection• Love that survive after the destruction of the body.• Physical attraction Motive to look for people in the

Spirit World.• The sense of unity = feelings of empathy• Non Spirit Group Members incarnate within

families for tests or progress.• Spirits less Enlightened have a chance to improve.• Character grows milder• Disposition become more refined• Hostility tends to disappears

Family Ties (Cont)• Spiritual Families Love Grows as they travel

together

• Ever-expanding circles of relationships

• We will meet in the Spirit World the loved ones we knew on Earth.

Anti-reincarnationist Doctrines

Anti-reincarnationist Doctrines

• Only ONE existence of the soul• Implies the ending of all progress• Good Life = Home of the blessed• Bad Life = Eternal Hell• Spirits would be complete strangers to

each other.• Rupture of Family Ties

Acceptance of reincarnation

Acceptance of Reincarnation

• Only ONE existence of the soul• Implies the ending of all progress• Good Life = Home of the blessed• Bad Life = Eternal Hell• Spirits would be complete strangers to each

other.• Rupture of Family Ties

Acceptance of reincarnation

• Continued Progress

• All loved ones will meet on Earth and in the Spirit World.

• All Spirits move together in the direction of God

• Some may weaken but never loss of hope.

• Helped, encouraged, and sustained by loved ones.

The Four Alternatives

The Four Alternatives• Nothingness – Materialistic Doctrine

• Absorption into the Universe – Pantheistic Idea

• Individual Existence (fixed destiny) – Traditional Churches

• Individual Existence (progress) – Spiritist Doctrine

Limits of Incarnation

Limits of Incarnation• What are the limits of incarnation?

o No defined limits

o Limits = Spirit’s experience in the physical realm

Limits of Incarnation (Cont)

• Envelope = Material Covering = Bodyo Proportional to the purity of the Spirito In more advanced worlds may be more subtle and refinedo Less body mass = more energy = more elevatedo Spirit is clothed according with its present environment.o Perispirit transformso Perispirit Etherealizes as Spirit Purifieso Pure Spirits are NOT bound to physical environment

• Earth like incarnations are a characteristic of less evolved planets

• Each Spirit, in the spirit world, reflects its own level of progress.

The Need for Incarnation

The Need for Incarnation

• Is incarnation a punishment?

• In that Case only guilty Spirits are subject to reincarnation?

o Physical body allows spirit to function as in the physical world

o Incarnate Spirits can fulfill their part in the designs of Providence.

o Required to develop intelligence.

God’s Justice

God’s Justice• Everyone has the same conditions• Every Spirit starts from the same point• Same aptitudes• Same obligations to fulfill• Same Freedom of Action• No Privileges = No Favoritism• Incarnation is a Transitional State for all Spirits• Exercise Free Will

o accelerate or delay the reincarnation progress of each soul.

• Reincarnation is NOT a punishment.

Analogy

Analogy• Can anyone Scuba Dive?• Divers can only go under water

if:o Take lots of theoretical lessonso Take many practice lessonso Pass Testso Receive Certification

Chapter 4 - Review

What to take home…• Resurrection• Reincarnation• Family Ties = Spiritual Families• Anti-reincarnation Doctrines• Acceptance of Reincarnation• The Four Alternatives

o Nothingnesso Absorption into the Universeo Individual Existenceo Individual Existence = Spiritism

• No Limits of Incarnation• The Need for Incarnation• God’s Justice

Claudia NunesAssistant SecretaryBezerra de Menezes Spiritist Center in Miami, FLwww.spiritist.com