Reincarnation or Deception? The Devil’s Trick with False Memories

 

1. The Setup

Imagine a small child sleeping peacefully.

Suddenly, false memories are placed in the child’s mind by demonic powers.

When the child wakes up, he sincerely believes:

“I was somebody else in my previous life. One day I died, and now I was born again. I had another family. I had a wife and three children. We lived in Bangkok. They still live there.”

He tells the adults these “memories.” They seem detailed and convincing. Even the locations he describes may check out. Since children are seen as innocent and incapable of lying, the adults believe him.

Soon, books are published supporting the doctrine of reincarnation, and many are deceived.

2. The Devil’s Strategy

This is one of Satan’s tricks.

As St. Paul warns:

“…so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)

Demons prefer to use children for these deceptions:

• Adults may doubt and question such sudden memories.
• Adults who claim past lives may be dismissed as liars.
• But when children speak, people believe: “They are innocent; they cannot lie.”

Thus, the devil gains credibility through the naivety of children.

3. False Memories in Adults

The same method works with adults through hypnosis or meditation.

• In hypnosis, the person enters a trance-like state.
• In that trance, “movies” are projected into the mind — what looks like childhood events or even supposed “past lives.”
• These memories feel real but are newly implanted. They did not exist in the subconscious before.

This is why people under hypnosis may recall “past lives” or traumatic childhood events that never happened. They are deceived by the “dream theatre” of demonic suggestion.

4. The Christian Response

The doctrine of reincarnation is incompatible with the Gospel:

• Christ did not conquer death by teaching us to escape the body, but by resurrecting with His body and granting us immortality.
• Before the eternal Judge, man will stand as soul and body, not as a recycled spirit passing through endless lives.
• Reincarnation denies the value of the body, the mystery of salvation, and the very purpose of the Eucharist.

What use is suffering in this life, if you cannot even recall mistakes of a so-called “past life”? What is the benefit of endless cycles with no memory and no redemption?

The truth is clear:

✝️ Christ defeated death once and for all. He offers us not another body, not another chance, but eternal life in Him

The Roman Guards at the Tomb

 

After the crucifixion, Roman soldiers were ordered to guard the tomb of Jesus. Armed, disciplined, and under strict orders — failure meant death.

But at dawn on the third day… a violent earthquake shook the ground. An angel of the Lord descended, radiant like lightning. The stone rolled away.

The soldiers trembled in fear and collapsed “as if dead men.”

When they came to their senses, they ran to the priests and reported everything they had seen.

The priests, afraid of the truth, bribed them with silver:

“Say that His disciples stole the body while you were asleep.”

But Roman soldiers knew well: sleeping on guard was punishable by death.

Their silence, their fear, their bribery — all point to one truth:

Something supernatural happened at that tomb.

 

Father Gerasimos used to say that during the service of the Holy Proskomide, he often entered into ecstasy, and in a spiritual way he would reach “the edge of the wall” of Hades.

The elder said that with the eyes of his soul he beheld a massive wall, an unimaginably gigantic barrier, to which he was mystically transported by the Holy Spirit. There, he would listen and commemorate thousands of names of souls who dwelt within the tormented Hades.

Father Gerasimos recounted that the souls who appeared on their own out of the darkness did not simply whisper their baptismal names. Rather, they literally screamed their names at him as each one cried out to be remembered.

These forgotten souls caused the elder immense grief, endless tears, and compassionate anguish, saying things such as:

“Fatherrr… my name is Catherine!

I have been unremembered for 300 years!

Do not forget me!

Have a little mercy on me, my elder!”

In this way, thousands of unremembered souls revealed their names to Father Gerasimos during each celebration of the Holy Proskomide.

The elder’s paternal joy and deep emotion whenever the souls appeared was indescribable, for at the hour of the Holy Prothesis he would “transfer” to them a taste of paradise. The Lord Himself permitted these hungry and forgotten souls to present themselves before the elder.

Another soul, for example, appeared from within the darkness, standing behind the immense and terrifying “wall” of Hades, and said:

“Elder, I have been starving for 1,200 years. My name is Demetrios. Show mercy to me as well!”

Or again:

“Father, no one has given me even the slightest food for over 700 years. My name is John. Show me fatherly love as well!”

The most astonishing and truly joyful event was the following: after some time—or even after many years—certain souls appeared again in the Holy Altar, on the right side. After making a full prostration, they would say to Father Gerasimos:

“Elder, I am Catherine, the one who had not been commemorated for 300 years. Thank you, my father.”

And then the soul would vanish into the light! The same happened with Demetrios, John, and others.

Once I asked Father Gerasimos:

“Elder, in this state of ecstasy, how many souls could you see with the eyes of your soul at each service of the Holy Proskomide you celebrated?”

And he replied:

“The ‘visits’ of the unremembered souls could reach even 7,000 to 8,000 each time! Yes, you heard correctly!

And all these God-permitted ‘visits,’ my child, took place within only two or three minutes of our earthly, human time!

There is no space and time for the Lord in His spiritual realm. And the incomprehensible fact for us humans, my child, was that I always remembered by heart, one by one, all those thousands of names that I commemorated! The Lord knows!”

This, according to the holy plan of our Triune God, was the saving almsgiving of Father Gerasimos. After these accounts, I would sometimes press the elder intensely to share even more details.

Until one day he confessed the following:

“Every time I revealed a wondrous event from Above, the Lord permitted the tempter to attack me very harshly afterwards. Blessed one,” he would say, “have mercy on me, no more beatings!”

Ascetic Women in the Cellars of Athens

Supplementary Issue, Pillar of Orthodoxy, 

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Why the Saints and the Virgin Mary Can Intercede Before the Lord

In Orthodox faith, the intercession of the Saints is not a fantasy or a human-made doctrine; it is a spiritual reality. The Saints, united with Christ and living in His grace, can spiritually intervene on our behalf before God. Our Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos, holds the highest place in this intercession because of her unique relationship with her Son.

Whenever we seek the help of the Saints or the Virgin Mary, we do not give them “power” nor make them gods; we ask them to plead to the Lord on our behalf. It is like having a spiritual ally, someone who loves God and loves us, to bring our petitions before Him.

For those who doubt, such as many Protestants: the concept of intercession does not replace our relationship with Christ; it strengthens it. The Saints and the Virgin Mary connect the human heart with divine love, so that our prayers reach God with greater force and illumination.

Orthodoxy teaches that no one is alone in spiritual life. The Saints and the Virgin Mary live in Christ and continue to intercede for every person who calls upon them with faith. This is a truth that goes beyond the logic of heretics: intercession is an act of love and connection to God, not a replacement of divine power