7: David and Jesus- Biblical Reincarnation?

Is there biblical evidence that Jesus had any other past lives?

A.    Was Jesus God’s “only” son?

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

“Only”, of course, means “exclusively” – the only one. How can this be true if God called others His “son” in Scripture? What made Jesus unique – the “only Son”?

For example, in psalm 2:7 David says, “I will tell of the decree: the Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’” David is called God’s begotten son. Most people read this as David prophesying about Jesus in the future, but some Biblical prophecies have double meanings, and David is writing this Psalm about himself. Does God have two begotten sons, Jesus and David? As stated in the previous section, God also calls Israel collectively son of God (Exodus 4:22), Solomon son of God (1 Chronicles 22:9), and angels are also called “sons of God” (Genesis 6:2, Genesis 6:4, Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7).

As an aside, some Trinitarian Christians have made the argument that Jesus being God’s only “begotten” son means he was not created. “Eternally begotten” has been used to describe Jesus – a phrase not seen in Scripture. The Hebrew word for “beget” is “yalad”, and means bear, beget, give birth, bear, become the father”, among other meanings. This verb is used almost 500 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it never means “eternally begotten” ("Strong's Hebrews: 3205"). It simply means being born. In every case the son has a beginning. “Begotten” is not some sort of special word in the Hebrew Bible – it’s meaning is straightforward. Jesus as God’s “begotten son” had a beginning: at least if the meaning matches with the other almost 500 times it is used in Scripture. God is not trying to confuse us. Jesus clearly had a beginning as God’s begotten Son.

Yet Scripture testifies that the following persons are also called God’s son: Israel as a whole, angels, David, and Solomon. How does reincarnation play a role in understanding how Jesus could be God’s “only Son”?

First, in terms of reincarnation, Jesus is obviously not the reincarnation of Israel, a whole nation – he would have to be the reincarnation of a person, like he was of Adam. God calls Israel his son as a whole group of people, so He is meaning something else when He calls Jesus his “only Son” in John. “Sons of God” as a reference to angels is also not referring to Jesus as his “only Son”. People, Jesus included, are not angels, and are excluded from them in the Bible (Psalm 8:5, Hebrews 1). The Israelite nation as a whole being the “son of God” and angels being “sons of God” are clearly not connected to Jesus in any sort of reincarnation way.

So, what about David and Solomon? Could Jesus have been the reincarnation of one of them, as they are both called God’s son? While it is possible, more Scripture is needed to make any definitive conclusion. Scripture provides great evidence for Jesus having a past life as David beyond David also being called “God’s son”. Notably, David is specifically called God’s “begotten son” (Psalm 2:7), a reference never given to Solomon, that is applied to Jesus as well.

(Williams, 2019b)

B.    Could Jesus have had a past life as David?

“He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’ And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”

Psalm 89:27

 This Psalm is referring to David. David will call God his Father and God.

Unlike Solomon, who is also called “son of God” as previously stated, David is uniquely called both “firstborn” and “highest of the kings of the earth”. The only other individual called “firstborn” and “highest of the kings of the earth” is Jesus, who was Adam. Now, the Psalm does day God will “make him” firstborn, so he is not inherently firstborn (he was the youngest of 8) or highest of the kings of the earth. 

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that David is receiving the same titles as Jesus, who was Adam, and that, logically, there is only one “highest of kings” – or, to say it another way, “King of kings.” If David will be made by God to be the “highest of the kings of the earth”, is this Psalm saying that God will make him to be Jesus, who is King of kings? At the end, will David and Jesus reign side by side, both as King of kings? Does that even make sense? Or are they the same person?

It seems Jesus was David in a past life as this verse describes both the reality of David and Jesus, who both called God “Father” (Psalm 89:27) and who God made King of Kings (Acts 2:36). Logically, there cannot be 2 “King of Kings”.

“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Revelation 20:4-6

“…then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Ezekiel 37:21-28

“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

1 Peter 5:4

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

Matthew 26:31

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel… and he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Micah 5:2-4

“For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.”

Hosea 3:4-5

“I [the Lord] will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Ezekiel 34:22-24

“But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”

Jeremiah 30:9

Is Jesus the reincarnation of David?

In Revelation 20, Christ is described as reigning with God and with other Christians. In the Old Testament, David is described as reigning with God and shepherding the people, particularly during end times. The Scriptures clearly say that at the end of the age one king will be king over all of them, referring to David, as well as one shepherd, referring again to David. Not two. Yet in the New Testament, Jesus is King over all the people with God and is the Shepherd as well. Given that Jesus and David are described as doing the exact same thing, have the same exact role as shepherd and king, and the Bible makes no distinction between the two, never mentioning that both David and Jesus will reign under God and as king over Christians, could they be the same person? God’s Word says that there will be one shepherd over the people and one king of kings. One means one. Some verses say this king and shepherd is David, others say this is Jesus. Jesus, then, may be the reincarnation of David (Williams, 2019b).

Moreover, again, it does not make sense for there to be two kings of kings and two primary shepherds, or for David to be God’s peoples’ “prince forever” when that is also Jesus’ role. Hosea 3 is clear that this is something that is happening in latter times, so referring to the end times. The Bible never says two individuals will fulfil this kingly role. According to the Bible, one will, and in describing the end times sometimes this individual is called David, and at other times this individual is called Jesus. The Scriptures in these passages say David “feeds” his people and that his people will “seek David” their king in the latter days. Who feeds God’s people but Jesus? Who do God’s people seek in latter days? According to Peter in Acts 2, the last days are now. People are now seeking Jesus, not David, though Hosea 3:4-5 says that in the last days people will seek David. It seems Jesus may be the reincarnation of David – Jesus is David’s new name (Williams, 2019b).

Jeremiah 30:9 specifically says that God will “raise up” David their king. Believers in reincarnation think that this “raising up” is referring to God raising up David as Jesus via reincarnation (Williams, 2019b). Given this entire context, Jeremiah 30:9 seems to be referring to God raising up David through the person of Jesus.

It appears Jesus is the reincarnation of David. Jesus was David, but as Jesus he was David as he was supposed to be – sinless and fully obedient to God. Jesus is a new creation and a different person than David – or perhaps, a better way to say that is: a more mature and godly David (Williams, 2019b).

Acts 2:22-36 shows that David was the reincarnation of Jesus – a fact that is difficult, if not impossible, to see unless reincarnation’s reality is acknowledged first. Peter seemed to believe in the reality of reincarnation:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him. ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ [from Psalm 16]”

First, in trying to understand if this passage is revealing that Jesus is the reincarnation of David, it is important to note that “Lord” is referring to “Yahweh”, not “Jesus”, who is, of course, also our Lord. David affirms here in Psalm 16 that God will not abandon his soul to “Hades” or let him, God’s Holy One, see corruption. Clearly, the soul referred to here is David’s soul and he is God’s “Holy One””, which is a title also used to refer to Jesus in the gospels in particular.

Peter continues,

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died as was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.”

Peter’s sermon here is very interesting: first he says that David’s soul will not be abandoned according to David and David will not see corruption, and then he says David was speaking of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE was not abandoned to Hades, and that HIS flesh did not see corruption. David is talking, prophesying, in the 1^st person in a passage that Peter declares is talking about Jesus. The plainest reading of Psalm 16 is that David, the author, is talking about himself. The plainest reading of Acts 2 is that Psalm 16 is, according to Peter, talking about Jesus. Could David and Jesus be the same soul? Could Jesus be the reincarnation of David? Or is the Psalm somehow talking about 2 different souls, and David has no connection (in that way) with Jesus? The rest of Peter’s sermons lends insight. He continues:

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’’ Let all the house of Israel therefore known for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Peter shows here that David and Jesus are different. David did NOT ascend into the heavens.  David died in his sin. David called Jesus his “Lord”, as Peter affirms, quoting Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Jesus is certainly, by all accounts, greater than David. Peter’s conclusion is that God has made him this “Lord” that David refers to in Psalm 110.

Is it still possible given Peter’s sermon that Jesus is the reincarnation of David? Psalm 16 shows that David’s soul and Jesus’ soul are the same, as Peter explains how Psalm 16 describes both David, the author of the Psalm, and Jesus. At the same time, David and Jesus are distinct in their personhood and character. Jesus became the Lord that David spoke of in Psalm 110. David could not ascend into the heavens as Jesus did because he sinned. Jesus’ life was incorruptible because he fully obeyed God and was sinless, unlike David. So: yes, Jesus is the reincarnation of David. They are the same soul, but different persons.

Am I forcing reincarnation on to this passage? What other interpretations explain David in Psalm 16 writing about himself, Peter affirming Psalm 16 is about Jesus, and Jesus and David being different persons? Reincarnation is the idea that a soul progresses and lives different lives – and each life is lived by a new person – hopefully one who has matured. I am not reaching this conclusion outside of the Bible. The most obvious example of this is Adam and Jesus. Jesus is the “new” Adam – he was Adam, but became a new creation and succeeded where the first Adam failed.

Jesus: the descendant of David?

In Psalm 16 David writes that he is literally the “soul” described (verse 10), and Peter says this verse refers to the “resurrection of Christ”. Perhaps David’s soul overcame in the person of Jesus? One possible objection to this conclusion is Acts 2:30, where Peter says David foresaw that one of his descendants would sit on the throne – so, perhaps, someone who is not David himself, but a descendant of his. Jesus is one of his descendants – the Bible makes it clear. But what is Peter really saying here? How is Jesus one of David’s descendants? Jesus was born of a virgin. Joseph, the real descendant of David, is not his actual father. Literally, Jesus is not one of David’s descendants due to the virgin birth.

Jesus says he is the “root and offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16), and he is called the Son of David by the crowds (Matthew 21:9 and 21:15). This is interesting, as given the virgin birth he is not the direct offspring of David as Joseph was not Jesus’ father, and Joseph came from the line of David. Could “offspring” refer to something else? The Greek word for “offspring” in the Greek is “genos” (“Strong’s Greek: 1085”). It does not always refer to physical offspring, and in the case of Jesus, it cannot given the virgin birth. So how is Jesus the offspring of David?

If the biblical reference concerning Jesus’ connection to David is not through the father’s line, it follows that Jesus being the “offspring of David” means something different that people generally think of “offspring”, as Joseph the husband of Mary was not Jesus’ actual father. “Offspring” or “genos”' means “born of” (“Strong’s Greek 1085”). Given that Jesus is the son of David, he is “born of” David. “Genos” is used in 1 Peter 2:9 to refer to how Christians are a chosen “genos” or “nation”. In this instance, Christians become a new nation of people because of the Holy Spirit, not because of being born from certain parents.

Jesus, then, IS the Son of David, the offspring of David. But how? Spiritually, perhaps – not because he was born of his father Joseph, as he was not. But what does that mean? Could him being an offspring of David mean more than just a spiritual reality? A Hebrew understanding of “offspring” is helpful at this point.

In Hebrew, “offspring” comes from the Hebrew word “zera”, literally meaning “descendants, seed, offspring”. It can also mean: child, line, race, “what you sow” or “the product of thy seed” (“Strong’s Hebrew: 2233). However, the word “zera”’s primary meaning is “seed”, and refers to literal seeds of plants in agricultural contexts, though it is extended metaphorically to refer to “offspring” or “descendants”. We have already established that Jesus is not the offspring of David through David’s physical line, so this is a spiritual reality. Given this, what does the idea that Jesus, then, is the “seed” of David, mean spiritually? What is God trying to reveal here?

Galatians 6:7-8 says, ^“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  David reaped what he sowed in becoming Jesus. He was not perfect, but he lived a godly life and loved God. His life as David set him up to be able to be who Jesus was. In Psalm 16 David writes that God would not let His “Holy One see corruption.” Peter is clear in this passage that David’s body saw corruption. His soul, however, did not, and lived on in the person of Jesus, who did ascend to the heavens because he sinlessly overcame. Jesus is a “seed” of David spiritually. David’s godly, repentant life, though he died, reaped eternal life in his new life as Jesus.

Romans 1:1-4 speaks more to this idea. Paul writes, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴ and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord…” How could Jesus be descended from David “according to the flesh” if Joseph was not Jesus’ actual father?  The Greek word for “flesh”, “sarka”, has a variety of meanings according to Strong’s Concordance, including 1) the material flesh of something, 2) the meat of an animal as food, 3) the body as opposed to the soul and spirit, and 4) human nature with its frailties and the sinful, corrupt nature each person has (Strong’s Greek: 4561). Which definition fits this passage? Why did Paul think it was significant to state that Jesus was descended from David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God in power according to the “Spirit of holiness”? Could his holiness be connected to being descended from David according to the flesh?

“According to the flesh” in this context cannot be referring to “the material flesh” of something as Jesus was not the “material flesh” of David. Obviously, this is not referring to the meat of an animal or food.  The third definition of flesh referring to the body not the soul or spirit, is again not relevant as Jesus did not have the body of David. So, the “flesh” here must refer to human nature with its frailties and the sinful, corrupt nature each person has. Jesus certainly, as a human, had the human nature with its natural frailties. No one disagrees with that. But what about the sinful, corrupt nature each person has? Did Jesus, if he was the reincarnation of David, receive that as part of being descended from David “according to flesh”? Why was Jesus sinless? What if David defeated sin at its root (explained in my post, “Jesus is Worthy”) and thus Jesus did not receive a corrupt nature because he defeated sin as David? Jesus did not need to be born of a virgin so God could miraculously enable him to be born sinless. Jesus needed to be born of a virgin so God could protect him from being stained by his parents’ sin.  God sanctified Jesus in his life as David.

Consider what the Bible says about the “sinful flesh”: "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:3 says, ^“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” Galatians 5:24 says, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Jesus only lived according to the Spirit and did not commit any deeds of the flesh. Jesus was sent in the “likeness of sinful flesh”, which speaks to him being descended from David according to the flesh in terms of his natural human weaknesses that all people share, and also to his sinlessness as he was only born in the “likeness” of sinful flesh, not actually with sinful flesh. This is why Paul can say in Philippians 2:6 that Jesus was in the “form of God” and in Colossians 1:15 that he is the “image of the invisible God”. Jesus, as a man without sin, is in the formless, invisible God’s form and image because Jesus possesses the divine nature, not the sinful nature – he loves Gods with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbor.

Amazingly, this will be true for all Christians too. 1 Peter 1:3-11 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Christians participate in the divine nature too as we follow Christ and God sanctifies us to one day become just like Christ. The root of this corruption is “evil desires”. When evil desires are taken care of, sin is defeated at the root. This is what happened with David, who desired only God. He says so in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” His desires changing resulted in him being sinless as Jesus and enabled him to be Jesus. I explain this in more detail in my post, “Jesus is Worthy” in section 4 of my blog, “God’s Only Begotten Son”. These truths also further demonstrate that becoming like Christ is not an unattainable goal for any person.

Jesus: the “Lord” of David?

Matthew 22:41-46 says, “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² ‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’

‘The son of David,’ they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:    “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies    under your feet.”’^[

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?’ ⁴⁶ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.”

Jesus is revealing here that there is more to him than being David’s son. In a very real way, he existed before David, which Jesus states in other places in Scripture. For example, he says that “Before Abraham was, I am!” (John 8:58). As Abraham was before David, Jesus certainly existed before David. Jesus calls himself the “root and offspring of David” in Revelation 22:16. He was David’s root and David’s offspring. Reincarnation explains this confusing verse. Jesus, as Adam, was David’s root, and Jesus was David’s offspring. Jesus is David’s “Lord” in the sense that he was Adam, the father of the human race and the one God intended to be Lord and King as the “firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15).

Additional Proof: Jesus was David

Acts 30:30-41 gives further proof that Jesus is the reincarnation of David:  ^{30 “}But God raised him [Jesus] from the dead, ³¹ and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. ³² And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, ³³ this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

“‘You are my Son,     today I have begotten you.’”

We see another example, like Psalm 16, of David’s words for himself describing both him and Jesus. Is this just a coincidence? Again, God says that Jesus is His “only” Son. If Psalm 2 refers to David and Jesus, and God has only 1 begotten Son (before Christians were adopted into God’s family), it follows that David and Jesus are the same soul.

The text continues,

^{34 “}And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

³⁵ Therefore he says also in another psalm,

“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’”

Verse 35 refers to Psalm 16 which is talking about, initially, how God will not let David, His Holy One, see corruption. Verse 34 speaks of Jesus as “no more to return to corruption” as if Jesus had seen corruption in the past, i.e., “no more”. And he had, if he had past lives as Adam and David, who both died because of their sin. Finally, in verse 34, why will Jesus get the holy and sure blessings of David? Don’t they belong to David? Unless, of course, Jesus is David – or David and Jesus will both receive the blessings if they are different souls. But we see in Scripture again and again the connections between the two men. It seems Jesus is the reincarnation of David.

Further:

^{36 "}For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, ³⁷ but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.”

Just as was referred to earlier in the passage, David did see corruption… and yet he proclaims in Psalm 16 that God will not let His Holy One, referring to himself, see corruption. How can both those statements be true? They can be true if David died because of his sin and God raised him up as Jesus, and Jesus did not see corruption.

Paul continues,

^{38 “}Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

⁴¹ “‘Look, you scoffers,     be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days,     a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

Acts 13:30-41

If Jesus is the reincarnation of David, why are they described as different men by, first Peter in Acts 2, and now Paul?

Jesus and David are different. Jesus is not David. He is the reincarnation of David. He is more than who David was. However, the many connections between them show that Jesus may have been David in a past life. Again, they are both the begotten Son of God.

Again, David says in Psalm 16 that God would not allow His “Holy One” to see corruption, referring to himself, yet here, Paul says David did see corruption and Jesus did not. This shows that Jesus was David in a past life but Jesus and David are not the same person in the sense that Jesus is more than who David was. Among many differences, Jesus is sinless; David was not.

In considering all the passages so far referring to David and Jesus and the connections between them, Jesus is who David was becoming. Ultimately, David, perhaps raised as Jesus, God’s “Holy One”, did not see corruption, but David himself, as a sinner, did.

Without acknowledging that Jesus is the reincarnation of David, the passages quoted so far do not seem to make logical sense, and God is logical. Additionally, God never aims to confuse, and much illogical confusion arises if David and Jesus are two separate souls.

Scripture provides even more evidence that David and Jesus are the same soul. For example,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning… All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him! …I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death… they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

Psalm 22:1, 7-8, 14-15, 18

David was indisputably a prophet. This Psalm gave prophetic insight to what would happen to Jesus on the cross. Jesus even quoted the words of David from Ps. 22:1. David is writing about himself here, that much is clear. The orthodox explanation was that this prophetic Psalm had double meaning: one for David in his life, and another for Jesus in his life. David and Jesus are not the same person.

Another explanation is that David is writing about what will happen to him in the future: he uses “I” and “my”, and the plainest reading of this Psalm is that he is describing himself. This interpretation is of course rejected by those who do not believe in reincarnation, but if reincarnation is true, this Psalm can certainly be understood as David directly referring to himself and what will happen to him in the future.

Consider also:

2 Corinthians 5:1-5

 “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened – not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

Paul compares our bodies, our earthly home, to a tent.

2 Peter 1:12-13:

 ^“Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this body,^[a] to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.”

Peter also considers how our bodies are temporary and are “put off” when we die.

Amos 9:11

 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old…”

Amos speaks of David’s “booth”, or in other words, his “tent”, saying that though it fell God will repair its breaches, raise it up, and rebuild it in olden days.

Acts 15:7-18 says,

 ^“7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴ Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶ “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins,      and I will restore it, ¹⁷ that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,     and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,      says the Lord, who makes these things ¹⁸ known from of old.’”

Given that in 2 Corinthians 5 Paul compares human bodies to earthly homes that can be destroyed, in which we long for our heavenly dwelling as we dwell in our earthly body, or “tent”, and that “booth” is another word for David’s body or tent in Amos 9:11, could raising up David’s body’s ruins and rebuilding it point to him returning in a new body as Jesus?

2 Peter 1:12-13 reveals that Peter believes that who he is is separate from his body, stating, “as long as I am in this body”. He, Peter, is in a body, but the body is not who he is. He will put off his body soon and be with Jesus. He does not need his body to “be Peter”.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 affirm this. The body is considered to be “our earthly home” that will be destroyed. God will make for us a building from God that is eternal – our new body. The body is considered to be a temporary tent – temporary clothing before we receive further clothing and immortality.

In this context, Amos 9:11 and Acts 15:7-18 are clearly referring to a new, heavenly tent for David where breaches are repaired. This may refer to David’s sin. What was broken in David’s life will be repaired when God rebuilds David’s “new tent”.

Who is David’s new tent? Maybe Acts 15:7-18 reveals this new tent – David’s new body – is Jesus’ body. Why else would Paul quote Amos 9:11 in Acts 15?  David’s tent is rebuilt and restored in the person of Jesus so that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by God’s name. Which person’s life resulted in the remnant of mankind seeking the Lord and made a way for the Gentiles called by God’s name to seek Him? Only Jesus. Jesus’s body – moreover, who Jesus is – is David’s tent rebuilt and restored, to bring great blessing to the world.

(Williams, 2019b).

Scripture gives strong evidence that not only is Jesus the reincarnation of Adam, he is also the reincarnation of David. Moreover, Jesus himself provides the best evidence for the reality of reincarnation in the Bible.

If God used reincarnation in the life of the Author of our salvation (Hebrews 12:1-3) in order to sanctify him and enable him to save us, God may use reincarnation in the lives of all His children. God longs for all to repent as Adam did and become like Christ. Reincarnation is not unbiblical. The life of Jesus shows that it is both real and biblical. If God used reincarnation to sanctify Christ, it is not unreasonable to suppose God would use reincarnation to sanctify others, though this is not explicitly stated in Scripture.