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With this history as the back drop, I'd like to cite a few examples in the Bible that escaped the Councils notice and managed to stay in the Bible regarding that of reincarnation:
The most well known is a series of passages which establish that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah:
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the LORD you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:1)"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes." (Malachi 4:5)
Then three times, that we know of, Jesus assured his disciples that John the Baptist really was Elijah returned:
"But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him."(Mark 9:13)"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come." (Matt 11:13-14)
"But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him…" Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. (Matt 17:12-13)
And it's not as if Elijah just came down from heaven and appeared as a herald for Jesus: his spirit and power manifested in a little baby, born in the normal way - according to how reincarnation is understood, a soul's return. Some Christians/Catholics say this only shows John the Baptist was a prophet like Elijah, with a similar spirit and power. They are contradicting Jesus, however, who quite clearly, in the above passages, says John the Baptist is Elijah, and is not just like him. This could be argued as" to be a special case of reincarnation", and by itself it doesn't prove that everybody reincarnates.However, please see notation where Jesus' brother James makes a point of stating that Elijah is not being a special case, when he says,Elijah was a man just like us. (James 5:7)
Next, we have:
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. (Job 1:21)
…when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. (Hebrews 7:10)
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you, and I appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:45).
A question that Jesus posed to his disciples led to what has become known as Peter's Great Confession, and is recorded in all the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Jesus and His disciples were in Caesarea Philippi when He asked them: "Who do men say that I am?" (Mark 8:27).
And they told him, John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets (Mark 8:28).
This exchange indicates how widespread belief in reincarnation was at the time of Jesus Christ. Christ did not need to tell people to accept the idea of reincarnation, because they already did. And if -the idea was not a valid one Jesus had many opportunities to tell the disciples so.
Him that over cometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out... (Revelation 3:12). (Authorized King James Version).
The statement, "he shall go no more out," suggests that the norm, that is the usual expectation, is to go out repeatedly. This repeated going out stops only for those who have overcome, have conquered all which blinds them, have passed the "Last Judgment" so to speak thus the Awakening and have gained full spiritual maturity.
In other words, a most reasonable interpretation of this Revelation passage is in the sense of the cycle of reincarnations.
Finally, the ages given in the beginning of the Bible of how long some lived as cited here are two examples listed in the Bible:
Genesis 5:4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh.
It would appear after the Council of Nicaea, the "re-incarnated years" were added up to just a very long life span for each individual (ironically in which death was not considered an end, but a continuous life cycle of re-births).
Much like the constant revisions the Old and New Testaments underwent in order to coincide with the political powers of the day, re-incarnation re-surfaced however in each revision by way of being overlooked.
There are other accounts in the canonized testimonies that have not been mentioned here, but I think there are apt examples given here to dispute the notion that re-incarnation was never mentioned in the Old and New Testaments.
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