A Seek Reality Online member asked, “When Jesus said we must be reborn to see the Kingdom of God, was he referring to reincarnation?” Jesus or Yeshua was not referring to reincarnation. He was referring to something much more important for us as we live our lives on Earth. In this video, I explain what I mean. A transcript follows the video controls.
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When Jesus, whose name was actually Yeshua, said that we must be “born again,” he clarified that when he repeated it to Nicodemus by adding “of water and the spirit.” He wasn’t referring to reincarnation. He was referring to what he said as reported in Matthew: “Have a change of heart and mind, for the Kingdom of Heaven is here now.” And in Luke he clarified, “the Kingdom of God is within you.” The word he used for how a person would enter the Kingdom of Heaven was metanoia in the Greek. It means “Have a fundamental change of heart and mind or spiritual conversion.” It was mistranslated as “repent” in the familiar passage, “Repent (metanoia), for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (here right now).”
So Yeshua wasn’t referring to being born again as in the mistaken notion of reincarnation as coming back to Earth. He was referring to what his listeners must do now to have love, peace, and joy in their lives in the present moment. They must be born of the spirit and baptized with water to show their change of heart and mind. In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, he is reported to have said, “The Kingdom of God is spread out upon the face of the Earth, and men do not see it.” He was saying heaven is here now if we just realize it, accept it, and live life knowing it.
It’s important to realize that Yeshua’s teachings focused on life on Earth. He didn’t say to live a good or loving life, and you’ll get to Heaven. That’s so imbued in Christianity today that people believe Yeshua taught that. Instead, he said to live this life with love and compassion. Do not live with judgment, self-centeredness, and disregard for others. The church has lost his teaching in its determination to control people’s spirituality. The church threatened people with judgment and hell. Yeshua did not. Yeshua’s focus was on living with love, peace, and joy in this life rather than the afterlife.
