7. The words “If a man is not born again of water and of the spirit” have been interpreted in the sense of regeneration through the waters of baptism, but the original text simply stated “Not born again of water and of the spirit,” whereas in some translations the words of the spirit have been replaced by of the Holy Spirit, which no longer implies the same thought. This crucial point stands out in the first commentaries written on the Gospels and will someday be confirmed beyond a doubt.

8. In order to understand the real meaning of these words, one must also pay attention to the significance of the word water, which has not been employed in its proper acceptation.

The ancients’ knowledge regarding the physical sciences was highly imperfect, because they believed that the earth had arisen from the waters, and that is the reason they regarded water as the absolute generative element. That is why it is stated in Genesis that, “The Spirit of God hovered over the waters; it hovered over the surface of the waters; ... Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters; ... Let the waters that are under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry element appear;

Let the waters produce living animals that swim in the water and birds that fly above the earth and under the firmament.”

According to this belief, water became the symbol of the material nature, just as spirit was the symbol of the intelligent nature. The words, “If a man is not born again of water and of the spirit,” or “in water and in the spirit,” thus mean, “If humans are not born again with their body and their soul.” This is the sense in which these words were originally understood.

Moreover, such an interpretation is justified by these words: “Whatever  is born of the flesh is flesh and whatever is born of the spirit is spirit.” Here, Jesus makes a positive distinction between spirit and body. “Whatever  is born of the flesh clearly  indicates that only the body proceeds from the body and that the spirit is independent of it.

9. “The spirit blows wherever it wishes and you hear its voice but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” may  be understood either as the Spirit of God, who gives life to whomever God wishes, or the human soul. In this latter acceptation, “you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” means that no one knows what the spirit had been or what it will be. If the spirit or soul were created at the same time as the body, one would know where it came from because one would know its beginning. In any case, this passage is the consecration of the principle of the pre-existence of the soul, and consequently, the plurality of existences.

10. Now, since the time of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom of heaven has been taken by violence, and violent are those who obtain it, for up until John, all the prophets and the law thus prophesied. And if you wish to understand what I have said, he himself is Elijah who must come. Let him hear who has ears to hear. (Mt. 11:12-15.)

11. If the principle of reincarnation as expressed in John could be  strictly interpreted in  a  purely mystical sense, the same could not apply to this passage from Matthew, which is unmistakable: “HE HIMSELF is Elijah, who must come.” Here there is neither symbol nor allegory – it is a positive affirmation. “Since the time of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom of heaven has been taken by violence.” What do these words mean, since John the Baptist was still alive at that time? Jesus explains them, saying, “If you want to understand what I have told you, he himself is Elijah, who must come.” Hence, since John was none other than Elijah himself, Jesus was alluding to the time when John was living under the name of Elijah. “Until the present, the kingdom has been taken by violence” is another allusion to the violence of the Mosaic Law, which ordered the extermination of the infidels to win the Promised Land, the Paradise of the Hebrews, whereas according to the new law, heaven is won by charity and kindness.

Then he added, “Let him hear who has ears to hear.” These words, so frequently repeated by Jesus, clearly state that not everyone was in a condition to understand certain truths.