Jesus Writes Further on "How the Divine Love Enters into the Soul of a Human Being"

May 8, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I come tonight to finish my message and will do so, if your condition is such that you may receive it.

Well, as you may remember, my subject is: "How the Divine Love enters into the soul of a human being." I have already explained to you the difference between, and the respective functions of the physical body, the spiritual body and the soul, and how the real man is the soul, which may live forever. I have also shown you how the physical and spiritual bodies change their component parts, and as such bodies, disintegrated and disappear in the form that they may have at any one time.

Well, the soul is the man and becomes the Angel of God's Kingdom. The soul may also become the only everlasting part of man in the Spiritual Kingdom as contradistinguished from the Celestial Heavens.

The only way in which the soul may become an inhabitant of the Celestial Spheres is by its obtaining of the Divine Love and thereby become a partaker of the Divine Nature of the Father; and this can be accomplished only by the inflowing of the Divine Love, by means of the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is the instrumentality used by God to carry this Love to the souls of men.

As I have before said, this Love never forces itself into the souls of men and comes only when men seek for it in sincerity and with effort. It is waiting for all men to receive it, but never comes into the soul of its own initiative, and without invitation. So the important question is, "How does it come into the soul and what must men do to induce it's inflowing?"

There is only one way, and that is by the opening up of the soul in such a manner that this Love, when it comes in response to sincere seeking, may find an entrance and a condition of development that will cause it to find lodgment and abiding place, harmonious and satisfactory to the qualities of its own existence. Of course, man cannot of himself open up his soul to this inflowing, for while he has great power, yet the will is not sufficient; nor has he any other inherent qualities that will enable him to place his soul in such condition as to make possible the work of the Holy Spirit in causing the Love to flow into the soul.

The only means by which this can be accomplished are prayer and faith. When a man in true earnestness and sincere aspirations, prays to the Father for this Divine Love, such prayer not only brings Love, but causes those portions of the soul, which are capable of receiving this Love, to open up to its coming and to work in such a way as to attract the Love. The Holy Spirit never performs this work of preparing the soul for the reception of this Love, but merely brings the Love and causes its inflowing when the soul is in condition to receive it.

In answer to prayer, there are other instrumentalities of the Father working to prepare the soul condition that is required, and these instrumentalities are the Bright Spirits of the Celestial Heavens, whose duties, among others, are to answer the prayers of the penitent in the way of infilling the soul with influences that turn the thoughts and aspirations to this Divine Love and its operations.

As I said when on earth, there is no other way to get into the sheep fold but through the gateway provided,. He that attempts to climb over the fence is a thief and a robber. But this should be modified to fit the exact fact, for there is no possibility of getting into this fold by climbing the fence. There is only one way - that through the gate of prayer and sincere longing.

I know that many men believe that the performance of church duties, and the observation of the requirements of the church as to baptism and the sacraments, etc., will be sufficient to enable them to get into the Kingdom; but I tell you that they are all wrong, and their disappointment will be very great when they come into the spirit world.

What are called moral deeds and good thoughts will not cause this inflowing of the Divine Love because these things are necessary steps towards the purification of the soul in its natural love; and no matter how pure this love may become, yet it is not the Divine Love or any portion of it.

Good thoughts and deeds, though, may help to turn the aspirations of the soul to these higher conditions, and open up its perceptions to a degree that may lead to prayer and faith and, therefore, in addition to their work of purifying, the natural love may prove to be of great value in assisting men towards the development of the soul so that the Divine Love may enter into it. But to depend on good thoughts and moral deeds and a life pure from sin to give man the right to an entrance into the Celestial Kingdom is a great mistake.

The Divine Love is a thing entirely apart from the nature of man, even in its purest state, and was never conferred on man as was the natural love and, consequently, when man obtains this Divine Love, and it becomes a part of his soul qualities, his nature, as it were, changes, and he becomes a new creature. An additional something has been conferred upon him and it becomes impossible for him to remain the mere man that he was, and he always would be, except for this change in his nature.

I know that men do not understand the distinction between a man with only the natural love and one with the Divine Love, but the distinction is so great, that the one, when possessed to a sufficient degree, makes the man a part of Divinity, while the other, no matter how fully possessed and how pure it may become, makes man merely man, though a perfect one.

Whosoever will pray in sincerity for the inflowing of this Divine Love will receive it. It is not a respecter of persons, and the sincere aspirations of the soul of any man, be he prince or peasant, rich or poor, will invariably cause this Love to come into his soul and change his nature, so that he will become a new creature, and one not subject to death forever more.

The merely intellectual prayers are not efficacious, for it does not have any effect in opening up the soul, and neither does much of this praying do the work. One little moment of this true praying will be more effective in causing this Divine Love to flow towards the soul than a whole lifetime of idle repetition of prayers that come from a source merely mental. And here let me say that the mind is not the soul, and much less God.

Well, I think I have made plain how this Love flows into a man's soul and, in addition, what its effect is when possessed by man. There is nothing in all God's universe that can take its place for the purpose of making a man at-one with the Father and of causing him to become Divine insofar as he possesses this Love.

So I say to all men, pray and pray and never cease to pray for the inflowing of this Love, for there is no limit to its abundance, or the amount which man or spirit can obtain. Always in the Celestial Heavens, we spirits continually pray for an increased bestowal and always our prayers are answered - but always there is more to follow.

I must not write more tonight. I am satisfied with the correctness of your receiving my message and will come again and write you another.

With all my love and blessings, I am your brother and friend,
Jesus

John P. Newman, a Former Methodist Minister and Bishop, Writes About the Doctrine of Atonement

December 9, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John P. Newman.

I wish you would let me write a few lines tonight. I was, when on earth, a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus, as I then understood it, and made my great and earnest efforts to show my brother man what the truths of that Gospel were, and at times succeed to a great degree. But I now see how far short I was in my knowledge and understanding of these truths and how very much the creeds and dogmas of my church interfered with me and the members of my church in getting a true conception of the truths of the Master.

Many a man lost his opportunity to develop his soul by his beliefs in the atonement. I mean that he relied upon the sacrifice of Jesus being all sufficient to pay the debt which he supposed he owed to the Father and, relying upon such belief, he neglected to develop his soul qualities of love for the Father.

This doctrine of atonement is one that is working great harm among the children of men, and one that should no longer be believed, but be shown to be utterly at variance with the truth and not approved by either God or the Master.

I know it may seem surprising to some people that such assertions could come from an orthodox minister of the church, (Methodist) but if these people could only know what I now know, they would not be surprised at all, but would bend their efforts to have the creeds of their churches so revised and reformed, that the doctrine that I speak of, and a number of other untrue and harmful doctrines, would be entirely eliminated from these creeds and from their own beliefs also.

I have found that progress in this spirit world is a portion of the heritage of spirits just as progress belongs to mortals on earth; but not every spirit progresses, just by reason of being in the spirit world. Desire and will must exist, and must be exercised in order for this progression to take place, and I have heard that numerous spirits have been in a condition of stagnation for a great many years, just because they won't exert themselves to desire and believe what is often told them.

I have taken up more of your time tonight than I intended, and I must apologize for having so intruded, but I felt that I should like to say just what I have said, as it may be that these truths may help some mortal to get into the light and the way to God's Kingdom.

So, if you will pardon me, I will say that I am thankful for your kindness and would like to come again, if it is agreeable to you.

I will in saying good night subscribe myself,

Your true brother in Christ,


John P. Newman
late a minister of a church in 
your  city and a Bishop of the 
Methodist Denomination

Judas Writes a Short Note About His Betrayal of Jesus and Will Come Again to Tell His Story

August 23, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Judas Iscariot.

I came tonight because I want to tell you of just what my condition and expectations were when I betrayed Jesus, which resulted in his crucifixion.

I was a very enthusiastic lover of the Master and believed thoroughly in his teachings and his power and did not believe that the Roman soldiers could take him away from where we were, if we did not permit it to be done. As a consequence, I was anxious that Jesus should show his great power and demonstrate to the Jews that he was a true son of God with power over men and devils.

I never betrayed him for the money that I received for it was not sufficient to pay for one moment of happiness, which I have lost because of my act in betraying the greatest spirit in all God's Kingdom.

I see that you are too sleepy to write more tonight. I will come again and tell my story.

So goodnight,
Judas

Ann Rollins Describes the Condition of the Higher Spirits in the Celestial Spheres

March 10, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your Grandmother.

Well, I am exceedingly happy and am glad that you are feeling so much improved.

You had quite a long letter from Helen, and I hope, a very satisfactory one. When she tries she can write a very good letter.

I am, as you know, in the same sphere with her and your mother, and we are all very much together, though we live in different homes. Helen, of course, is not as far advanced as I am, and neither is your mother, but, nevertheless, we are very congenial and love one another very much. Soon though, I will leave them for a higher sphere, and then they will miss me I know, for they keep telling me so, and say that they will follow soon after, and I believe that they will, for they are wonderful spirits in Love and faith; and these two possessions, as you know, are the "open sesame" to things and spheres higher.

Well, my son, as Helen told you of her home, I want to tell you a little bit about the condition of the spirits in this sphere. No spirit who has not received this Great Love of the Father is here; or better, all spirits who are here have received and possess this Love. Mere intellectual acquirements are not sufficient to fit a spirit for this sphere; and if a spirit ever realizes that the gate is shut to him, it is because he has not this Love. And then the great happiness that exists here could not be enjoyed by the mere mind, for the mind is limited in its capacity for happiness. Only the soul can enjoy this great happiness.

I sometimes think that if mortals could be permitted, for one moment only, to realize what this happiness is, they would never let their lives slip by without making the greatest efforts to fit themselves for this great life in the Celestial Spheres.

Our time here is occupied in helping one another to a greater realization of the truths of our Father, and in helping spirits who live on lower planes than we do. I do not, now, very often come to the earth plane to help other spirits or mortals; but, of course, in your case I am so bound by my affections and desires, that I am with you quite often, and more so with that darling little daughter of yours; for as I have told you; I am her Guardian Angel, and so long as she lives, I will be with her to help and guide.

We are engaged in the study of things that pertain more to the spiritual things of this life, than to studying the things of the other worlds of the universe; these things to us are what might be called the material things, and while a knowledge of them would be very interesting, yet our thoughts are turned to the more important truths of God.

Yes, we all have our libraries and homes, as Helen has told you of, but, of course, there is a great difference in these homes, depending upon the amount of Love which the spirit has in his soul. I am now living in a home that is so beautiful, that I could not in the short time that I will write tonight describe it to you; but soon I will in detail, and then you can realize what a home it is.

Well, do not believe everything in the book you have been reading because it is said to be written by spirits, because, even if it is so written, the information given depends upon the condition and knowledge and belief of these spirits. Some may tell the exact truth as they conceive it to be, and yet it may not be the truth.

Well, the explanation is, that the spirits whose communications you read have never learned the truth taught by the Master. They only know what they have learned from what they have read, or from what spirits, who have not this great knowledge, have told them. Any spirit who doesn't say that Jesus is the greatest spirit and teacher, and the only one of the great teachers who have ever lived on earth who shows the only and true way to the Father's Kingdom, has never learned this way, or come under the influence of the Master. So as far as that is concerned, do not pay any attention to what they say, or let their communications influence you, for these communications will not help you spiritually.

There are certain great assembly places in the spirit world where the higher spirits meet and discuss the various plans that they think will benefit mankind, and also the lower spirits; and I believe the Master has attended these meetings and given his advice and encouragement. For you must remember that he is a teacher, not only of the way to God's Kingdom, but also of the acquiring of those things that will help and benefit mortals and spirits who have not received this Great Love.

Part of his mission is to make man and spirits happy, even though they may never become inhabitants of the Celestial Spheres. God Loves all his creatures, and the Master, as His greatest instrument of Love and beneficence, is doing all that he can to make these men and spirits happy; and, as some of these communications say, he has helped in many of these assemblies to do good for all. But, while this is so, yet he is the Father's greatest instrument in showing men the way to the higher Life.

Well, that is a question that seems hard to answer; but if these other great teachers will not believe the Master's message as to the only way to the Kingdom, they alone know why and will have to bear the consequences.

Not all spirits are able to see these great truths, any more than mortals are, and the mere fact that they have so much greater opportunity to learn these truths does not seem to persuade them to accept the same.

The higher spheres in which these ancient seers and wise men live are not the Celestial Heavens, but spheres higher up in the spirit world; and no matter how high they may get in these spheres, they will never partake of that Divine essence or nature of the Father which we have told you of, unless they seek for and obtain the Divine Love, and qualify themselves to enter the Celestial Heavens. They will always be nothing more than spirits possessed of the natural love, which they had on earth but, of course, more refined and free from sin; yet it is merely natural love and nothing more.

Yes, I have met Paul and Peter and John and James and several others of lesser development.Yes, they are all in the Celestial Spheres, and very happy, yet they go to the lower spheres to do the work set before them. No spirit who has not received this New Birth is ever permitted to enter the Celestial Spheres and, hence, the spirit that you speak of has never seen the home of John and never will until redeemed by the Love of the Father.

I do not think these mortals who claim that they left their bodies and entered the Celestial Spheres, ever did so, and I have grave doubt that they ever entered the spiritual spheres above the third. This is a subject that I will write you more fully about some other time. I must stop now, and you must not write more tonight.

So with all my love, I am your own loving Grandmother,
Ann Rollins