THE GOSPEL WAY Articles | Videos | Invitations | Courses / Commentaries

Home > Topics


Reincarnation, Man's Future, and the Bible


The concept of reincarnation is becoming increasingly popular. Oriental religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, have taught it for centuries. More recently it has been popularized by the New Age movement and the entertainment industry. What does the Bible say?

The doctrine says that, when a person dies, his spirit will be reborn in another body - perhaps as a person of a different social level, an animal, or even a god.

Does this idea agree with the Bible? Hebrews 9:27 says: "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Notice that each person dies only once. He does not experience a repeated cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Then after death comes, not another life on earth, but rather judgment.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). Everyone will be judged according to what he has done in the body. This shows that each person will have only one body - it says "body" (singular) not "bodies" (plural).

What happens after judgment? Do we then receive another physical body or another life? Will there be another chance to make up for evil done in this life? Matthew chapter 25 describes the judgment, showing the wicked will be separated from the righteous. Verse 46 concludes that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

God's plan provides for each person to have one life in one body. Our eternal destiny is determined by how we live this one life. The concept of multiple lives is fundamental to Oriental idolatry, but it is as foreign to the Bible as the heathen concept of multiple gods!

For further study I encourage the reader to go to /instruct/ and  study our online articles about life after death and about the second coming of Jesus.


(c) Copyright David E. Pratte, 2/28/1996

To study more articles like this (syndicated for reproduction) visit our Bible study topics web site. This article is freely available to be reproduced in print or on a web site under the following conditions: (1) The article must be reproduced verbatim in total without any change in content, (2) the name of the author and web site addresses must be included (as in this trailer), (3) the use must be entirely non-commercial with no fee or financial charge of any kind to the readers. Click here for more information about our copyright guidelines.  

For a complete list of Bible articles and study materials by the author please visit these web sites: https://gospelway.com and https://biblestudylessons.com


Bible study topics: brief articles free online View our menu of brief Bible Study Topics and articles

Please bookmark our site in your favorites.

THE GOSPEL WAY | COURSES / COMMENTARIES, etc. | BIBLE | SALVATION | CHURCH | CHRISTIAN'S LIFE | GOD | MORALITY | MANKIND | INVITATIONS | FAMILY | CREATION | AUDIO | ARTICLES | TOPICS | RELIGIONS | PUBLICATIONS | VIDEO | GOVERNMENT | EMAIL ARTICLES

Subscribe to our free Bible study email lists. E-mail us at the Gospel Way Gospelway icon

We welcome links to us from other sites :
gospelway.com - The Gospel Way: Free Bible Study Materials & Guides

See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) if you have questions about our site.

Scripture quotations are generally from the New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved.

Hit-meter: 51282816