A basic cosmic law taught in the Scriptures is that of rebirth: the
doctrine that as differentiated Spirits in God we are reborn again and again
in bodies of increasing efficiency on the physical plane to learn the lessons
incident to material existence, and to unfold our latent divine potentialities
into dynamic powers.
It is evident that the Jewish priests believed in the theory of rebirth,
or they would not have sent to ask John the Baptist, "Art thou Elijah?", as it
is recorded in the first chapter of St. John's
Gospel, 21st verse. In the 14th verse of the 11th Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel we have the words of the
Christ concerning John the Baptist which are unambiguous and unequivocal. He
said, "this is Elijah." Upon a later occasion, at the time when they had been
upon the Mount of Transfiguration, as recorded in the 17th Chapter of Matthew, the Christ said, "Elias is come
already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they
listed...Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of John the
Baptist." In the 13th verse of the 16th Chapter of
Matthew we find
the Christ asking His disciples, "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."
"And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?" And Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." We notice
from these passages that Christ Jesus did not contradict His disciples and
this is quite significant. He was essentially a teacher, and if they had
entertained a wrong idea concerning the idea of rebirth, it would have been
His manifest duty to have corrected them. He did not indicate that there was
any need for correction, however, and Peter's reply conveys a knowledge of the
deeper truths involved in the present mission of the Christ.
As further biblical sustantiation for the doctrine of rebirth, we find
cases mentioned in the Scriptures where a person was chosen for a certain work
BEFORE his birth. An Angel foretold the coming of Samson and his mission: to
slay the Philistines. In the 13th Chapter of Judges it is related: ''There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of
Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and bare not.
"And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her,
Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and
bear a son.
"...and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines."
"...and the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson." In the first
Chapter of Jeremiah, 5th verse, the Lord
said to the prophet, "...before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee,
and I ordained thee a prophet unto all nations."
We are all familiar with the stories in the Bible telling of the coming of
Jesus and John and of their special missions. A person is chosen for a special
mission because of a specific fitness for the particular type of work to be
done. Proficiency presupposes practice, for as we have often heard, "Practice
makes perfect." Ability is not handed to us on a platter, as convenient as it
may be to believe it at times! Practice prior to birth could only have been in
a previous life, so by implication, and by using logic and reason as guides,
we find that the doctrine of rebirth is taught in the cases we have mentioned.
It may also be observed that there are other passages in the Bible, the first
Psalm, for instance, which can be sensibly interpreted only by using a belief
in rebirth as a basis.
Working along with the Law of Rebirth to bring about the perfect justice
becoming toan all-wise Creator is the Law of Cause and Effect, or the Law of
Consequence. The Law of Compensation or Retribution, it is also often called.
The occult investigator finds that this law works perfectly on all planes,
bringing to fruition exactly what we have sown — in thought, word and deed.
In the 6th Chapter of Galatians, 7th
to 9th verses, we are told: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
"For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but
he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting."
"And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap."
In 2nd Corinthians, 9th Chapter, 6th
verse, St. Paul tells us again: "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also
sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."
In the 9th Chapter of St. John's
Gospel we find an interesting parable which teaches the working of this
law. It reads as follows:
"And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from birth. And His
disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?"
"Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that
the works of God should be made manifest in him."
In this passage Christ Jesus endeavors to make clear that the law back of
all physical limitation is not punishment, but enlightenment. Here we find the
perfect justice of the Law of Causation which underlies all disease and
deformity. When an Ego breaks a law of Nature in one life, it returns in
another life to face the limitation which results as a violation of that law.
Transgressions of divine laws upon the mental and moral planes of action are
quite as responsible for physical disorders as the hidden side of the Moon is
effective in producing the tides. Through the sorrow and suffering which
accompany limitation, the Spirit learns its lesson and the infirmity is
removed.
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