> Tim, I (haven't looked it up for exact quote) but I believe that Peter
> was referring to a "Prophecy"--you know, one of those things Brett took
> me to the woodshed for--but it was a prophecy stating that
> "Elijah" would come--before the great and terrible day of the
> Lord. So there were all sort of rumors flying about. I
> believe Jesus said that John the Baptist was, in a sense, Elijah, "if
> you could receive" what he meant.
Go look it up. (try Matthew, somewhere around chapter 9 or 10)
You might read on afterward as well. Where in the next sentence Jesus
tells Peter he is a "rock" for seeing him as he is, BUT not to tell anyone
else who he is! (Christians kinda dropped the ball on that one, eh?) Then
he gets pissed off at Peter for being dense in the very next paragraph!!!
While you're reading (funny that I've read more of your Bible for this
debate than you, the Believer, has isn't it? Huh?!?) you might go on to
Matthew 13:10-17 for Jesus' reasons why HE ALWAYS TAUGHT IN PARABLES! Do
you read parables literally? You shouldn't. They are analogies, not to be
taken word-for-word. That is how Jesus taught. To bad it is not how his
followers learn!!! ("Like seeds on rocky ground")
> But I prattle on. Suffice it to say that I do not believe Jesus
> believed in reincarnation from this scripture. Also, He said, "It is
> appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgement."
He also said, "The Lord is the lord of the living and not the dead."
Jesus didn't really give a hoot about an afterlife. His ministry was
always about life and *how to live it*, not about were you go after you
die. (The "I go to prepare a house for you"? Check it out. It is a
*PARABLE*!!! Even says so in the beginning!)
-Prof. Tim