“Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. Matthew 17
The Transfiguration scene and its meaningful significance concerning reincarnation is also discussed in Rudolf Steiner’s Gospel of Mark course, lecture 8,
872. It is true that the believer, who is still based on feeling and instinct, sees the "kingdom of heaven" as a "spiritual kingdom", but this view is only a temporary one, without which such a being would be unable mentally to hold onto the idea of a higher world. How could such a being – who rejects any research into religious or spiritual areas as impossible, if not downright "sinful", since it believes that "God's ways are past finding out" – come into contact with the idea that the only possible way that a higher kingdom can exist is as an actual physical continuation of the kingdom to which it itself belongs? This individual does not understand reincarnation and it therefore sees its present physical life as the only terrestrial life it can ever experience and that a continuation of existence after death or after the cessation of this present life can be by nature absolutely only non-physical, and must therefore be a "spiritual existence". It is inevitable that this being is going to associate this "spiritual existence" with the "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus spoke about. There is no other possibility within the temporary scope of its imagination. This is also completely in contact with Jesus' attitude towards such people, and to whom he could express himself only in symbols and parables being, as they were, people who "would not accept" that John the Baptist was Elijah or who did not have "ears to hear" when it came to understanding reincarnation. It is therefore not difficult to understand why Jesus cannot refer to that part of terrestrial human beings' eternal life that comes after the cessation of their present earthly life using such expressions as "reincarnation", "rebirth" or "future terrestrial lives", but has to confine himself to the use of such terms as the "kingdom of heaven" and "everlasting life", just as on one occasion he also uses the expression "resurrection" for the continuation of existence after the present terrestrial life. Among other things he says: "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels who are in Heaven".
What enormous cosmic knowledge is revealed in these divine words? It cannot possibly be explained away that in using the expression "resurrection" the world redeemer has in mind a specific form of experience of life that is fundamentally different from that which his listeners, the ordinary terrestrial human beings, experience. Does he not strongly and explicitly point out how it differs from that of terrestrial human beings in that no one marries or is given in marriage but, on the contrary, that these beings are "like the angels in heaven"? Who are these angels? Is it not clearly stated in the Bible: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation"? Beings that have "resurrected" are, like the "angels", beings who "minister". But was it not precisely this that, according to Jesus, was the main condition for "inheriting everlasting life"? And did it not constitute the general principle in his own way of being? Does he not say at one point: "the Son of Man did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister"? Is not the great commandment that decrees that one should love one's neighbour as oneself the very culmination of serving others? And is it not precisely this form of consciousness that, in the words of this commandment, is set up as the goal of every human being's mental training and development? What other purpose could there possibly be for Jesus' ideals and precepts? And how could they be acquired without training and practice? Is it not the attainment of the mode of behaviour that Christ showed that, after the "day of judgment", ultimately will constitute the mental form of existence he calls the "new heaven" and the "new earth"? But if there is going to be a "new heaven" and a "new earth" it cannot be only a "spiritual existence"; it must also still constitute a physical form of existence. And consequently he is right when he says: "My kingdom is not of this world". Until this form of existence has been acquired by terrestrial human beings in such a way that their basic character or way of being is, on a daily basis, a total physical fulfilment of the commandment to love, the "new heaven and earth" will not be of this world. Just as the meaning of his words to Nicodemus becomes an inevitable fact: "Unless a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". The training necessary in order to bring the terrestrial human being to perfection in neighbourly love or in serving others cannot be completed in one earthly life. In fact, not even St. Paul could achieve total perfection of his being in one earthly life. Does he not say: "For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do". Certainly, the world redeemer's cosmic knowledge of reincarnation and evolution and consequently of the eternal existence of living beings cannot be denied or concealed, despite the primitive formulas that he was constantly obliged to use in order to interpret his divine knowledge.
A Comparison of Martinus to Steiner Concerning Reincarnation
“A man must first become accustomed to being a specific individuality. This he cannot easily do when he is transferred from the element of the nation in which his soul had taken root into a condition of being dependent upon himself alone. The Twelve were deeply rooted in a nationality which had constituted itself in the grandest form. They stood there as if they were naked souls, simple souls, when Christ found them again. There had been a quite abnormal interval between their incarnations. The gaze of Christ Jesus could rest upon the Twelve, the reincarnated souls of those who had been the seven sons of the Maccabean mother and the five sons of Mattathias, Judas and his brothers; it was of these that the apostolate was formed. They were thrown into the element of fishermen and simple folk. But at a time when the Jewish element had reached its culminating point they had been permeated by the consciousness that this element was then at the peak of its strength, but strength only—whereas, when the group formed itself around Christ, this element appeared in individualized form. We might conceive that someone who was a complete unbeliever might look upon the appearance of the seven and the five at the end of the Old Testament, and their reappearance at the beginning of the New Testament, as nothing but an artistic progression. If we take it as a purely artistic composition, we may be moved by its simplicity and the artistic greatness of the Bible, quite apart from the fact that the Twelve are the five sons of Mattathias and the seven sons of the Maccabean mother. And we must learn to take the Bible also as a work of art. Then only shall we develop a feeling for the artistic element in it, and acquire a feeling for the realities from which it springs.”
You may find the work of Rudolf Steiner interesting in this regard.
At the end of his life Rudolf Steiner took up the task that was his special destiny; to bring to the West a knowledge of reincarnation and karma. To do this he gave over eighty lectures in 1924 in which he explicitly and concretely revealed the destinies of various individuals from one life to the next in order to show how the general laws of karma operate in individual cases.
The Transfiguration
“Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. Matthew 17
The Transfiguration scene and its meaningful significance concerning reincarnation is also discussed in Rudolf Steiner’s Gospel of Mark course, lecture 8,
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA139/English/AP1986/19120922p01.html
872. It is true that the believer, who is still based on feeling and instinct, sees the "kingdom of heaven" as a "spiritual kingdom", but this view is only a temporary one, without which such a being would be unable mentally to hold onto the idea of a higher world. How could such a being – who rejects any research into religious or spiritual areas as impossible, if not downright "sinful", since it believes that "God's ways are past finding out" – come into contact with the idea that the only possible way that a higher kingdom can exist is as an actual physical continuation of the kingdom to which it itself belongs? This individual does not understand reincarnation and it therefore sees its present physical life as the only terrestrial life it can ever experience and that a continuation of existence after death or after the cessation of this present life can be by nature absolutely only non-physical, and must therefore be a "spiritual existence". It is inevitable that this being is going to associate this "spiritual existence" with the "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus spoke about. There is no other possibility within the temporary scope of its imagination. This is also completely in contact with Jesus' attitude towards such people, and to whom he could express himself only in symbols and parables being, as they were, people who "would not accept" that John the Baptist was Elijah or who did not have "ears to hear" when it came to understanding reincarnation. It is therefore not difficult to understand why Jesus cannot refer to that part of terrestrial human beings' eternal life that comes after the cessation of their present earthly life using such expressions as "reincarnation", "rebirth" or "future terrestrial lives", but has to confine himself to the use of such terms as the "kingdom of heaven" and "everlasting life", just as on one occasion he also uses the expression "resurrection" for the continuation of existence after the present terrestrial life. Among other things he says: "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels who are in Heaven".
What enormous cosmic knowledge is revealed in these divine words? It cannot possibly be explained away that in using the expression "resurrection" the world redeemer has in mind a specific form of experience of life that is fundamentally different from that which his listeners, the ordinary terrestrial human beings, experience. Does he not strongly and explicitly point out how it differs from that of terrestrial human beings in that no one marries or is given in marriage but, on the contrary, that these beings are "like the angels in heaven"? Who are these angels? Is it not clearly stated in the Bible: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation"? Beings that have "resurrected" are, like the "angels", beings who "minister". But was it not precisely this that, according to Jesus, was the main condition for "inheriting everlasting life"? And did it not constitute the general principle in his own way of being? Does he not say at one point: "the Son of Man did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister"? Is not the great commandment that decrees that one should love one's neighbour as oneself the very culmination of serving others? And is it not precisely this form of consciousness that, in the words of this commandment, is set up as the goal of every human being's mental training and development? What other purpose could there possibly be for Jesus' ideals and precepts? And how could they be acquired without training and practice? Is it not the attainment of the mode of behaviour that Christ showed that, after the "day of judgment", ultimately will constitute the mental form of existence he calls the "new heaven" and the "new earth"? But if there is going to be a "new heaven" and a "new earth" it cannot be only a "spiritual existence"; it must also still constitute a physical form of existence. And consequently he is right when he says: "My kingdom is not of this world". Until this form of existence has been acquired by terrestrial human beings in such a way that their basic character or way of being is, on a daily basis, a total physical fulfilment of the commandment to love, the "new heaven and earth" will not be of this world. Just as the meaning of his words to Nicodemus becomes an inevitable fact: "Unless a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". The training necessary in order to bring the terrestrial human being to perfection in neighbourly love or in serving others cannot be completed in one earthly life. In fact, not even St. Paul could achieve total perfection of his being in one earthly life. Does he not say: "For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do". Certainly, the world redeemer's cosmic knowledge of reincarnation and evolution and consequently of the eternal existence of living beings cannot be denied or concealed, despite the primitive formulas that he was constantly obliged to use in order to interpret his divine knowledge.
https://www.martinus.dk/en/online-library/ttt/index.php?bog=53&stki=872&mode=opslag
A Comparison of Martinus to Steiner Concerning Reincarnation
“A man must first become accustomed to being a specific individuality. This he cannot easily do when he is transferred from the element of the nation in which his soul had taken root into a condition of being dependent upon himself alone. The Twelve were deeply rooted in a nationality which had constituted itself in the grandest form. They stood there as if they were naked souls, simple souls, when Christ found them again. There had been a quite abnormal interval between their incarnations. The gaze of Christ Jesus could rest upon the Twelve, the reincarnated souls of those who had been the seven sons of the Maccabean mother and the five sons of Mattathias, Judas and his brothers; it was of these that the apostolate was formed. They were thrown into the element of fishermen and simple folk. But at a time when the Jewish element had reached its culminating point they had been permeated by the consciousness that this element was then at the peak of its strength, but strength only—whereas, when the group formed itself around Christ, this element appeared in individualized form. We might conceive that someone who was a complete unbeliever might look upon the appearance of the seven and the five at the end of the Old Testament, and their reappearance at the beginning of the New Testament, as nothing but an artistic progression. If we take it as a purely artistic composition, we may be moved by its simplicity and the artistic greatness of the Bible, quite apart from the fact that the Twelve are the five sons of Mattathias and the seven sons of the Maccabean mother. And we must learn to take the Bible also as a work of art. Then only shall we develop a feeling for the artistic element in it, and acquire a feeling for the realities from which it springs.”
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA139/English/AP1986/19120916p01.html
Thanks for bringing this to light.
You may find the work of Rudolf Steiner interesting in this regard.
At the end of his life Rudolf Steiner took up the task that was his special destiny; to bring to the West a knowledge of reincarnation and karma. To do this he gave over eighty lectures in 1924 in which he explicitly and concretely revealed the destinies of various individuals from one life to the next in order to show how the general laws of karma operate in individual cases.
Blessings
~hag
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA237/English/RSP1977/19240701a01.html