Ask the Pastor: Reincarnation, Binding Demons, the Book of Life
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist
     Q: Would you point me in the right direction and give me some Scriptures
regarding past lives and reincarnation?
     A: There are several Scriptures that let us know that we only live this
one life, that there is no cycle of reincarnation. Included are Jesus'
promise to the repentant malefactor on the cross (Luke 23:43): "This day you
will be with Me in paradise." As he was being martyred, Stephen prayed
(Acts 7:59), "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." For those who are unbelievers,
the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) shows the believer in
heaven and the unbeliever in hell following death. And in Hebrews 9:27, the
Lord says, "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this is the
judgment." These and other passages clearly remind us that there is no
"second chance" in another life. Thus, "past lives" are lies, tricks of our
imaginations, or are of demonic origin.
     These verses are just the beginning of an exploration of places we might
turn. The entirety of Scripture leads away from the possibility of
reincarnation. That is why Jesus and the evangelists and apostles focus so
much on the Church's message of forgiveness, for if people die in their sin
and not believing in Christ, they are lost forever. There isn't another
chance to get things right. Even much of the Revelation, which is so often
dismissed or misinterpreted, clearly focuses in several places on the
importance of proclaiming and living this saving word of Christ.
     Q: I hear much from some Christian authors and broadcasters about
"binding demons." Are there Scriptures that give us the power through Jesus
Christ to do this?  I tried to find references to "binding" and like-meaning
words using the Bible, but only Matthew 16:18, 19 seemed to get close to the
issue.
     A: There are some mentions of the demons being placed under the
authority of the disciples, such as when Jesus sends out the seventy, but we
don't know the duration of that promise---it may have been just for that
time. Individual pastors may be called upon by their own flocks for help in
specific cases where, perhaps, an exorcism must take place. We do know that
Satan himself is "bound" by the death, resurrection, and ascension of
Christ---although he is still a dangerous foe.
     Matthew 16, however, is not talking about the binding of demons. This is
instead part of the office of the ministry, which Christ was at that time
forming and instituting among the twelve. The binding and loosing is that of
sins, according to whether or not they are confessed and forgiven.
     Q: I'd like to know what names are written in the "Book of Life." Are
all names written and then the sinner is blotted out or is a person's name
only added after he is saved?
     A: Since God is spirit, perhaps the "book" is symbolic of those whom God
knows to be his own through faith in Jesus Christ, not an actual scroll or
bound volume. Those who are in it are the believers. If you wanted to
investigate the means by which God keeps a "running tally," then you could
look to our being called "from eternity" and say that we start there; thus,
our names would be written from eternity. However, taking the Scriptural
testimony that we are born sinful, children of wrath, and dead in our
trespasses, you could figure from time of baptism and conversion and say that
God adds the names as we are brought to faith. If we must decide, this seems
a better way to look at it. Either way, to fall from faith would remove one
from the book. Being brought back (as in the Good Shepherd finding the lost
sheep) would return one to the book.
     To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO,
65327 or send email to askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from
you.
     Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma,
Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."