nl-Hoofdstuk 28 - Sterven, Dod en Ontwaken in het Hiernamaals
VII The developmental path to perfection
The Immortality of the Spirit
1. This is the time when people are awakening to the beauties of the spirit, when they are interested in the eternal and ask themselves: "What will life be like that awaits us after death?"
2. Who has not already asked himself—no matter how unbelieving he may be—whether there is not something within him that survives the physical body? Truly, I tell you, there is no one who does not sense that mystery and who has not for a moment reflected on the unfathomable.
3. Some ask questions about the mystery of spiritual life, which seems distant yet is in reality right before your eyes; others are confused by it, and still others deny it. Some speak because they believe they know everything; others remain silent and wait; yet how few are those who truly know anything of the hereafter. (107, 1)
4. In the Third Era, I have risen from the grave of oblivion into which humanity has consigned Me, to awaken them to new life; for I am life. No one can die. Even he who takes his own life with his own hand will hear his conscience reproach him for his lack of faith. (52, 63)
5. My teaching is not only meant to give you strength and confidence during your journey through life on earth; it is meant to teach you how to leave this world, cross the thresholds of the hereafter, and enter the eternal homeland.
6. All denominations strengthen the soul on its journey through this world; but how little do they reveal to it and prepare it for the great journey into the hereafter. That is why many regard death as an end, without knowing that from that point on one beholds the infinite horizon of true life. (261, 52-53)
7. "Death" is only a symbol; "death" exists only for those who are not yet able to recognize the truth. For them, "death" remains a terrifying image, behind which lies the incomprehensible or nothingness. I say to you: Open your eyes and understand that you, too, will not die. You will separate from the body, but this does not mean that you will die. Like your Master, you have eternal life. (213, 5)
Preparing to leave this world
8. You must understand that you—endowed with spirit—represent the Father's most beloved work in creation, because He has placed spiritual essence, spiritual qualities, and immortality within you.
9. For the soul, there is no death—a death as you understand it, that is, the cessation of existence. The death of the body cannot be the death or the end for the soul. It is precisely then that the soul opens its eyes to a higher life, while its physical shell closes them forever in relation to the world. It is merely a moment of transition on the path leading to perfection.
10. If you have not yet understood this, it is because you still love this world very much and feel closely bound to it. It weighs heavily on you to leave this home because you consider yourselves the owners of what you possess in ; and some also have a vague premonition of My divine justice and fear entering the Spiritual World.
11. Humanity has loved this world all too much—all too much because its love was misguided. How many have perished on it for this reason! How much have souls become materialized for the same reason!
12. Only when you have felt the footsteps of death near, when you have been seriously ill, when you have suffered, only then have you thought that you are but a step away from the Hereafter, from that justice which you fear only in such critical moments; and then you make vows to the Father and swear to love Him on earth, to serve Him, and to obey Him. (146, 46–49)
13. People have loved this life so much that—when the hour approaches to leave it—they rebel against My will and refuse to hear the call I send forth to them. They spurn the peace of My Kingdom and ask the Father for another period of time on earth so they may continue to possess their temporal goods.
14. Become sensitive so that you may sense the spiritual life and not be content with the beginning of your development—for that is this life—because higher works of creation exist above it.
15. Do not try to reject death when it approaches you according to My will, nor ask the scientist to perform the miracle of defying My decrees and prolonging your existence, for you will both bitterly regret this mistake. Prepare yourselves in this life, and you will have no reason to fear your entry into the hereafter. (52, 55–57)
16. Love the things of this world, as long as you live in it, to a certain extent, so that you may understand how to fulfill its laws; but always nurture the lofty goal of dwelling in the higher spiritual realms, so that your soul is not disturbed when it sheds its physical form, nor is it led astray by what it loved on this planet, for then it will remain bound and chained to a world to which it no longer belongs and which it can no longer enjoy in any way. (284, 5)
17. Have mercy on yourselves! No one knows when the moment will come when his soul separates from the body. No one knows whether his eyes will still open to the light the following day. You all belong to the sole Owner of all creation and do not know when you will be called home.
18. Consider that not even the hair on your head belongs to you, nor the dust upon which you tread; that you yourselves do not belong to yourselves, that you have no need of transitory possessions, since your kingdom is not of this world.
19. Become spiritual, and you will possess everything with justice and moderation as long as you need it. When the moment comes to renounce this life, you will ascend, filled with light, to take possession of what is yours in the other world. (5, 95–97)
The Transition to the Other World
20. At every hour, my voice calls you to the good path where peace is found; but your deaf ears have only a moment of sensitivity to that voice, and that moment is the last of your life, when the agony of death announces the nearness of physical death. Then you would gladly wish to begin life anew, to make amends for your mistakes, to calm your soul in the face of your conscience's judgment, and to offer the Lord something of value and merit. (64, 60)
21. If you strive for the immortality of the soul, do not fear the coming of death, which brings human life to an end. Await it prepared; it is subject to My command, and therefore it always comes at the right time and for good reason, even though people often believe the opposite.
22. The difficulty is not that man dies, but that his soul lacks light as it leaves the body and cannot see the truth. I do not desire the death of the sinner, but his repentance. Yet when death becomes necessary—whether to liberate a soul or to prevent a person's fall into ruin—then My Divine Justice severs the thread of life of that human existence. (102, 49-50)
23. Know that in the Book of your destiny, the day and the hour are recorded when the gates of the Hereafter will open to grant your soul entry. From there, you will see all your deeds on earth, your entire past. Surely you do not wish to hear voices consisting of reproaches or complaints against you, or to see those who accuse you of being the cause of their misfortunes! (53, 49)
24. Because you still see a long road ahead of you, do not stand still and think that you will never reach your destination. Press onward, for your soul will later weep even over a single lost moment. Who has told you that the destination is in this world? Who has taught you that death is the end and that in that moment you can reach My Kingdom?
25. Death is like a brief sleep, after which the soul, caressed by My light, will awaken with renewed strength as if to a new day that begins for it.
26. Death is the key that opens the gates of the prison in which you were confined as long as you were bound to the material body, and it is at the same time the key that opens the gates to eternity.
27. This planet, which has been transformed into a valley of atonement by human imperfections, was a prison and exile for the soul.
28. Truly, I tell you, life on Earth is another step on the ladder of life. Why do you not view it this way, so that you may make use of all its lessons? The reason why many must return to it time and again is this: because they did not understand it and did not benefit from their previous life. (167, 22-26)
29. You must know that before its incarnation on Earth, the soul receives thorough preparation, for it is about to be subjected to a long and at times harsh trial. But thanks to that preparation, it is not unsettled when it enters this life. It closes its eyes to the past in order to open them to a new existence, and thus it adapts from the very first moment to the world into which it has come.
30. How different is the way your soul adjusts itself at the threshold of spiritual life once it has left its body and the world. Since it has not received true preparation for the return to its homeland, it is confused; the feelings of the material body still dominate it, and it does not know what to do or where to turn.
31. This is due to the fact that it did not learn that at the very last moment one must also close one's eyes to this world; for only in this way will it be able to open them again to the Spiritual World it had left behind, where its entire past awaits to be united with its new experience, and all its former merits will be added to the new ones.
32. A dense veil shrouds her mind as she regains the light; a persistent influence from all that she left behind prevents her from sensing the vibration of her spirit; yet as her shadows dissolve to unite with her true essence—how much turmoil, how much pain!
33. Is there anyone who, after hearing or reading this message, rejects it as a useless or false teaching? I tell you that only one who is at a stage of extreme materialism or blind obstinacy could reject this light without his soul being deeply moved by it. (257, 20-22)
The "Sleep of Death"
34. Spiritual peace, as your earthly nature understands and conceives it, does not exist. The rest that awaits the soul is activity, is the multiplication of good deeds, is making the most of every moment. Then the soul finds rest, frees itself from self-reproach and suffering, refreshes itself by doing good, and finds rest by loving its Creator and its brothers and sisters.
35. Truly, I tell you, if I were to leave your soul idle so that it might rest as you imagine rest on earth, the darkness of despair and fear would take hold of it; for the life and light of the soul, as well as its greatest happiness, are work, struggle, and ceaseless activity.
36. The soul that returns from the earth to the "Spiritual Valley," carrying within itself the weariness of the flesh and seeking the hereafter as a resting place to rest, to forget, to erase the traces of the struggle of life — will feel itself to be the most unhappy being and will find neither peace nor bliss until it awakens from its lethargy, recognizes its error, and rises to the Spiritual Life, which is just as I have just told you—love, activity, unceasing struggle on the path that leads to perfection. (317, 12–14)
The Reunion in the Hereafter
37. I want you to be people of faith, to believe in spiritual life. When you have seen your brothers and sisters depart for the hereafter, do not consider them far from you, nor think that you have lost them forever. If you wish to be reunited with them, work, earn merits, and when you then come to the Hereafter, you will find them there waiting for you to teach you how to live in the "Spiritual Valley." (9, 20)
38. Who has not felt anxiety regarding life in the hereafter? Who among those who have lost a loved one in this world has not felt the longing to see them once more, or at least to know where they are? You will experience all of this; you will see them again.
39. But earn merits now, so that when you leave this earth and ask in the "Spiritual Valley" where those you hope to find are, you will not be told that you cannot see them because they are on a higher level. Do not forget that I told you long ago that there are many mansions in the Father's house. (61, 31)
The Judgment of the Spirit by One's Own Conscience
40. When the soul of any great sinner detaches itself from this material life to enter the "Spiritual Valley," it is astonished to discover that hell, as it had imagined it, does not exist, and that the fire of which it was told in times past is nothing other than the spiritual consequence of its deeds when it stands before the inexorable judge, which is its own conscience.
41. This judgment in the hereafter, this light that breaks forth in the midst of the darkness surrounding that sinner, burns more intensely than the hottest fire you can imagine. Yet it is no torment prepared in advance as a punishment for the one who has wounded Me; no, this agony springs from the realization of the transgressions committed, the sorrow of having wounded the One who granted him existence, and of having made poor use of the time and all the blessings he received from his Lord.
42. Do you believe that I should punish the one who has hurt Me through his sins, even though I know that sin hurts the one who commits it more? Do you not see that it is the sinner himself who does evil to himself, and that by punishing him I do not wish to increase the misfortune he has brought upon himself? I merely allow him to see himself, to hear the relentless voice of his conscience, to question himself and answer himself, to regain the spiritual memory he had lost through matter, and to remember his origin, his destiny, and his vows; and there, in that judgment, he must experience the effect of the "fire" that eradicates his evil, that melts him anew like gold in the crucible, to remove from him what is harmful, what is useless, and all that is not spiritual.
43. When a soul pauses to hear the voice and judgment of its conscience—truly, I tell you, at that hour it is in My presence.
44. This moment of peace, stillness, and clarity does not come to all souls at the same time. Some quickly enter into this examination of themselves, and in doing so, they spare themselves much suffering. For as soon as they awaken to reality and recognize their errors, they prepare themselves and set about atoning for their evil deeds to the very end.
45. Others who are deluded—whether by vice, by some grudge, or because they have led a life of sin—take a long time to find their way out of their delusion.
46. Still others, who are dissatisfied because they believe they were taken from the earth too soon, when everything was still smiling upon them, curse and blaspheme, thereby delaying the opportunity to free themselves from their distress; and like these, there are a great number of cases known only to My wisdom. (36, 47–51)
47. You must answer for everything, and depending on the nature of your evil deeds, you will receive the most severe judgments from yourselves. For I do not judge you; that is false. It is your own spirit, in its state of clarity, that is your terrible accuser and dreadful judge. I, on the other hand, defend you against the fierce accusations, acquit you, and redeem you, for I am the Love that purifies and forgives. (32, 65)
48. Consider that very soon you will be in the spiritual realm and that you must also reap what you have sown on this earth. The transition from this life to the next remains a serious and severe judgment for the soul. No one escapes this judgment, even if he considers himself the most worthy of My servants.
49. It is My will that from the moment you enter that infinite homeland, you no longer experience the fears of the earth, and that you begin to feel the joy and delight of having ascended to a higher level. (99, 49-50)
50. The Last Judgment, as humanity has interpreted it, is a mistake. My judgment is not one of an hour or a day. It has been weighing upon you for quite some time.
51. Yet truly, I tell you, the dead bodies are destined—and have followed their destiny—to merge with the natural realm corresponding to them; for what is of the earth shall return to the earth, just as the spiritual shall strive toward its homeland, which is My bosom.
52. But I also tell you this: that at your judgment you will be your own judges; for your conscience, your self-knowledge, and your intuition will tell you to what extent you are praiseworthy and in which spiritual abode you must dwell. Clearly you will see the path you must follow, for when you receive the light of My Divinity, you will recognize your deeds and judge your merits.
53. In the "Spiritual Valley" there are many confused and troubled beings. Bring them My message and My light when you enter it one day.
54. Even now you can practice this form of mercy through prayer, through which you can connect with them. Your voice will resound where they dwell and awaken them from their deep sleep. They will weep and purify themselves with their tears of repentance. In that moment they will have received a ray of light, for then they will comprehend their past vanities, their errors, their sins.
55. How great is the soul's pain when conscience awakens it! How it humbles itself then before the gaze of the Supreme Judge! How humbly do pleas for forgiveness, vows, and blessings upon my name spring from the depths of its being!
56. Now the soul recognizes that it cannot approach the Father's perfection, and so it turns its gaze to the earth, where it failed to make use of the time and trials that offered an opportunity to draw nearer to the goal, and asks for another body to atone for transgressions and fulfill unfulfilled tasks.
57. Who, then, ensured justice? Was it not the Spirit itself that judged itself? 58. My Spirit is a mirror in which you must gaze upon yourselves, and it will reveal to you the degree of purity you possess. (240, 345 41-46)
59. When your soul sheds its human shell and withdraws into its own innermost being within the sanctuary of spiritual life to examine its past and its harvest, many of its deeds—which here in the world seemed perfect to you, worthy of being presented before the Lord, and deserving of a reward—will appear pitiful in the moments of that self-reflection. The soul will realize that the meaning of many deeds that seemed good to it in the world was merely an expression of vanity, of false love, of charity that did not come from the heart.
60. Who, do you think, has given the soul the enlightenment of a perfect judge to judge itself? The Spirit, who in that hour of justice will appear to you, shining with a clarity never before seen—and it will be He who tells each one what was good, just, right, and true in what they did on earth, and what was evil, false, and impure in what they sowed along their path.
61. The sanctuary of which I have just spoken to you is that of the Spirit—that temple which no one can desecrate, that temple in which God dwells and from which His voice resounds and the light bursts forth.
62. In the world, you were never ready to enter that inner sanctuary, because your human personality is always preoccupied with ways and means of evading the wise voice that speaks within every person.
63. I tell you: When your soul sheds its earthly shell, it will finally pause at the threshold of that sanctuary and gather itself to enter it, to kneel before that altar of the soul, to hear itself, to examine its deeds in that light which is the conscience, to hear within itself the voice of God as Father, as Master, and as Judge.
64. No mortal can imagine that moment in all its solemnity, which you must all experience to recognize the good within you so as to preserve it, and also that which you must cast aside because you may no longer hold it in your soul.
65. When the soul then feels that it is confronted with its conscience, and the conscience reminds it with the clarity of truth, that being feels too weak to listen to itself; it wishes it had never existed; for in a single moment, its entire life flashes before its consciousness—the life it left behind, the life it possessed and called its own, and for which it must now finally give an account.
66. Disciples, people, prepare yourselves already in this life for that moment, so that you do not turn that temple into a tribunal when your soul appears at the threshold of the Temple of the Spirit; for the pain of the soul will then be so great that there is no physical pain that could compare to it.
67. I want you to reflect on everything I have told you in this teaching, so that you may understand how your judgment takes place in the spiritual realm. Thus, you must banish from your imagination that image in which you envision a court of judgment presided over by God in the form of an old man, who allows the good children to pass to His right to enjoy Heaven, and who places the wicked to His left to condemn them to eternal punishment.
68. Now is the time for the light to reach the highest realms of your soul and your mind, so that the truth may shine within every person and they may prepare themselves to enter spiritual life with dignity. (334, 5–11; 14–15)
The Regained Spiritual Consciousness
69. There is nothing in My creation as suited as physical death to reveal to every soul the height of development it attained during life, and nothing as helpful as My Word for ascending to perfection. That is why My Law and My Teaching seek at all times and unyieldingly to penetrate the hearts, and why pain and suffering advise people to abandon those paths which, instead of elevating the soul, lead it into the abyss.
70. How happy your soul will feel in the hereafter when your conscience tells you that it sowed the seed of love on earth! The entire past will appear before your eyes, and every sight of what your works were will give you infinite joy.
71. The commandments of My laws, which your memory was not always able to preserve, will likewise pass before your soul with full clarity and light. Earn merits that will allow you to penetrate the unknown with eyes open to the truth.
72. There are many mysteries that man has tried in vain to unravel; neither human intuition nor science has managed to answer the many questions that people have asked themselves, and this is because there are insights intended only for the soul once it has entered the "Spiritual Valley." These surprises that await them, these wonders, these revelations will be part of their reward. Yet truly, I tell you, if a soul enters the Spiritual World with a blindfold over its eyes , it will see nothing, but will continue to see only mysteries all around—where everything should be clarity.
73. This Heavenly Teaching that I bring to you today reveals many beauties to you and prepares you so that, when you one day stand before the Justice of the Eternal One in spirit, you may be able to withstand the wondrous reality that will surround you from this moment onward. (85, 42; 63-66)
74. Receive my light, so that it may illuminate your path through life and free you from the clouding of consciousness at the hour of death. Then, at the moment you cross the threshold into the hereafter, you will know who you are, who you have been, and who you will become. (100, 60)
75. While your bodies are lowered into the earth, where they will mingle with it in its bosom to make it fertile—for even after death they will continue to be a source of strength and life—your spirit, which stands above your being, will not remain in the earth, but will journey with the soul to reveal itself to it as a book whose profound and wise teachings will be studied by the soul.
76. There your spiritual eyes will open to the truth, and in an instant you will know how to interpret what you were unable to comprehend in a whole lifetime. There you will understand what it means to be a child of God and a brother to your neighbors. There you will grasp the value of all that you have possessed, you will feel regret and remorse for the mistakes you have made and the time you have lost, and the most beautiful resolutions for improvement and atonement will be born within you. (62, 5)
77. Strive now, all of you, toward the same goal, thereby reconciling and harmonizing your inner lives. Let no one think that he is on a better path than his brother, nor believe that he stands on a higher level than the others. I tell you, at the hour of death, it will be My voice that tells you the truth about the height of your development.
78. There, in that brief moment of enlightenment before the conscience, many receive their reward; but many also see their greatness vanish.
79. Do you wish to save yourselves? Then come to Me on the path of brotherhood. It is the only one; there is no other; it is the one written in My highest commandment, which tells you: "Love one another." (299, 40-4)