Reincarnation in the Bible?

This post is the first of three parts, answering a question as to whether the doctrine of reincarnation was found in the Bible and acceptable to God. It was written by a friend:

REINCARNATION IN THE BIBLE
Do the passages Matthew 11: 11-15 and 17: 9-13 teach reincarnation? In these passages, Jesus refers to the coming of His cousin, John the Baptizer (or Baptist, if you prefer) as being the coming of Elijah, as asked by various people of Him.
Many people have used these verses to support the idea of reincarnation, but we need to look closely at this use. In addition, we also need to consider several other passes, including Mark 9:11-13, Luke 1:17, and John 1:21, where the connection of John the Baptizer and Elijah is also discussed by Jesus.
It is also important to consider some other Biblical information. But first, let us make sure that we are clear on just what reincarnation is. For convenience, let’s use the common definition found in on-line dictionaries, such as www.thefreedictionary.com This defines “reincarnation” in five ways, and gives an example:
1. Rebirth of the soul in another body.
2. A reappearance or revitalization in another form; a new embodiment: "The brownstone had already endured one reincarnation: In the 1940's, it was converted into eight studio apartments" (Ben Lloyd).
3. (Christian Religious Writings / Theology) the belief that on the death of the body the soul transmigrates to or is born again in another body
4. (Christian Religious Writings / Theology) the incarnation or embodiment of a soul in a new body after it has left the old one at physical death
5. embodiment again in a new form, as of a principle or idea
Definitions 1, 3, and 4 really duplicate each other, as do 2 and 5. Those who propose that the Bible (and specifically, these passages) teach reincarnation can be assumed to use 1/3/5, and we will use that assumption for this study. Note in particular that the soul is incarnated in another body: not that the old body is revived or resurrected. (The second definition can be viewed, by the way, as a figurative use of the word, and seemingly could be applied to people as well as objects and ideas, but let us concentrate on the primary definition.)
It is also important to be sure to distinguish between the concepts of reincarnation and resurrection: resurrection is not the same as reincarnation, though some people seem to confuse the two.

Back to the Bible: All of these passages deal with Elijah and John the Baptizer, and the idea is that John was Elijah reincarnated: that Elijah’s soul (or spirit) left his body at physical death and was born again in another body: that of John the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and cousin of Jesus (Luke 1:51).
John was the “forerunner” – he began teaching some time before his younger Cousin began his ministry (Luke 3:1-3), and specifically taught that he was fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah, and making ready the Way of the Lord. He specifically identified Jesus of Nazareth as the One who was coming (Matthew 3:13-17).
Elijah was the Old Testament (Tanakh) prophet quoted by John, who preached during the reign of Ahab of Israel. Also known as Elias, or Elijah the Tishbite, he was from Gilead, a part of Canaan now in the Kingdom of Jordan, and his career in recorded in 1 Kings 17:1 to 2 Kings 2:11. He did not die, but instead was taken up to Heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). A later prophet, Malachi, predicted Elisha’s return “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” (Malachi 4:5) As a result, Elijah was always mentioned in Hebrew worship on the Shabbat both in the time of Jesus and even today, as well as other Hebrew observances, and was considered to be the harbinger of the Messiah.
In John 1:21, John the Baptizer explicitly denied being Elijah, simply quoting Elijah himself to identify himself as the Forerunner, preparing the Way for the Messiah. This is a strong argument in itself that John was NOT Elijah reincarnated.
Another strong argument is the fact recorded in 2 Kings 2:11: Elijah DID NOT DIE. There can be no reincarnation without death. IF John (despite his denial) DID have (or was?) the soul of Elijah, that was NOT reincarnation, but some other miraculous act of God. We know that John’s birth was as miraculous as that of Jesus Himself (Luke 1ff), and this could be part of the miraculous process that led to his birth.

In the next part, I'll look at Jesus' statements about John.

Edward: This was written by a friend who asks to remain anonymous for reasons having nothing to do with this posting. Feel free to pass questions or arguments through me to them.