November 21, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, St. Paul.
I desire tonight to finish my message on: "Hell: What it is and what its purpose is."
As I said before, Hell is a place as well as a condition and, the man who believes that it is nothing more than a condition of his mind or soul will be wonderfully surprised as well as disappointed. I know the condition of mind and soul to a very large extent creates a man's Hell and is the chief source of his suffering and the darkness that surrounds and envelops him; yet, this condition is not the only source of that suffering or of darkness in which he finds himself.
Hell is a place; and a place that has all the appearances and ingredients that are in exact agreement with his state as produced or caused by the condition of his mind or soul and is not a place of universal character and fitted for the habitation of souls, irrespective of conditions of degrees of defilement and sin and darkness.
It is not a single place forming a common home for all fallen souls, but is composed of many and different places and as has been said, there are many Hells having gradations of appearances and surroundings that are suitable for causing additional sufferings which souls may have to endure.
The expression, "The lowest depths of Hell," is not a meaningless one, but portrays a truth, a real existing fact that many spirits are now experiencing the reality of. In its broadest sense, Hell is every place outside of Heaven, and Heaven is that place where everything entering into it - its appearance and qualities and its inhabitants - is in perfect harmony with the respective Laws of God and His will concerning the same.
And this statement involves the fact that there are several Heavens, because the Heaven of the redeemed, or those who have received the Divine Essence in their souls and become of the Divine Nature of the Father, is a distinct Heaven from that wherein live those who have been restored in their natural love to the perfect condition that the first parents possessed before the fall - the condition of the restitution to mankind of that perfection which was lost by the disobedience of the first man and woman.
Mortals usually believe that Heaven is a condition, and the Bible, in which so many believe, attempts to describe this Heaven with its streets of gold and pearly gates, etc., and as a fact, it is a real substantial place having all the elements and appearances of a home of bliss, which help to bring to its inhabitants happiness and joy in addition to the happiness which their soul perfection and development cause them to have.
Then as Heaven is a place having real substance perceptible to the spirits that inhabit it, why should not Hell be a place of real substance, also, with those qualities and appearances exactly suited to add to the unhappiness of those who are fitted for it? The spirit world, both Heaven and Hell are places of substance having their planes and divisions and limitations of occupancy and not mythical, invisible conceptions of mind as you mortals ordinarily conceive ghosts to be. The spirits of mortals are real and more substantial than are the physical bodies of mortals, and these planes and divisions, whether of Heaven or Hell, have a more real existence than have the mortals in their places of habitation or confinement in the earth life.
The Hells are places of darkness and sufferings but in them are no fires or brimstone, etc., as have been so commonly represented by the preachers and teachers of the orthodox churches, because there is nothing therein that would feed fires or that fires could affect, and there are no devils or Satan, though there are evil spirits of men that are more wicked and vicious and horrifying than have ever been pictured of the devil and his angels.
In your communications, you have had some very realistic descriptions of Hell from those who are actually living therein and are realizing its tortures and realities, and I will not take the time here to attempt to describe it in detail and will only say that as it has not entered into the minds of men to conceive the wonders and beauties of Heaven, neither have they ever conceived of the horrors and sufferings of Hell. But from all this, men must not understand that the punishment and darkness which the spirits of evil endure in the Hells are specifically inflicted by the Father because of any wrath that He may have towards these spirits, or to gratify any feelings of revenge, or even to satisfy any outraged justice, for it is not true.
Man, when he becomes a spirit, is his own judge and executioner, submitting to and receiving the inexorable results of the Law that: "Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap." This is a law that is necessary to preserve or bring about the harmony of God's universe, which, of course, is absolutely necessary, and while it may appear to man, at first sight, to be a harsh and cruel Law, yet in its workings and results, even to the individual spirit who may suffer in the reaping, it is a most benign and beneficial law, for the darkness and sufferings of a few years, as you mortals say, bring about an eternity of light and happiness.
The Law must rule; and in all the apparent harshness and suffering and want of mercy, the Great Divine Love of the Father overshadows the sufferer and finally makes the defiled and wicked soul become one of purity and goodness. Men may never have thought of the fact; that if it were possible for these evil spirits to live in Heaven, their sufferings and unhappiness would be greater than what they endure by living in the place that is more in agreement in its surroundings and appearances with their own distorted conditions of soul. So even in their Hells, the Father is Merciful and Good.
And regarding the second proposition of the preacher (Dr. Ratcliff) in his sermon, namely, the duration of suffering or of the life of the spirit in Hell. His conclusion was that this duration of the spirit is eternal, everlasting and without end. How it must have hurt and violated the teachings of his soul and his conception of the loving Father to come to such a conclusion! But, yet, being bound by his creeds and the domination of his belief that the Bible is the sole authority upon Hell, as well as Heaven, in the conviction of his mind - and here I want to emphasize mind, for his heart was not in agreement - he declared that the duration of the sufferings and life of the Hells is eternal and the saying of Jesus proved it to be, not only because it was in the Bible, but because the true meaning of the original Greek word can have no other translation; not knowing, or if knowing, not recalling, that Jesus, even if he used such expression, did not speak in Greek, and that back of the Greek word, in order to obtain the true meaning of the word used by Jesus, he, the preacher, must go to the word as it was uttered by Jesus and its true meaning.
So many preachers and commentators on the Bible attempt to determine a most vital truth by a shade of meaning that they conceive a particular word in its original, may have, when they are not justified in concluding that such word had at the time used, such shade of meaning, or that the original as they conceive it to be, was the original word actually spoken or written. They seem to lose sight of the fact that the writings of the Bible, I mean the manuscripts, to which they make reference to prove the correctness of their conclusions, are far removed from the original writings, and that by reason of the copying and recopying of the word upon which they rely, and the shade of meaning that they give it in their interpretations may not have been the word originally used. Of course, they have no way of learning this fact and, consequently, they have to resort to the best authority that they can have access to. But under such circumstances, it is not a justifiable thing to have a vital question of man's future and destiny determined by the shade of meaning that may be given to one word or more words, without reference to other declarations of the same Book having relation to the subject matter of the inquiry.
The preacher said that in his conclusion as to the question, he must be governed by the Bible alone and had no right to indulge in speculation of the philosophies of other men and, that in the Bible, he could find nothing that would justify him in coming to any other conclusion than that the duration of punishment in Hell is eternal. Well, he was not honest with himself, for if he had searched a little more deeply and have given as much credence to other parts of the Bible as to the passage that he quoted, he would have found a strong statement to the effect that the evil spirits in Hell have the possibility of leaving it, and not only that but that a part of the great mission of Jesus, upon whose supposed declaration the preacher based his conclusion, was to show the way and induce these spirits of evil to leave their Hells.
This was the Master's first work after he became a spirit, and he would not have attempted to preach to these wicked spirits in Hell, so wicked, according to the Bible, that God because of their great sins when mortals, punished them as He never punished any other of His children, for their disobedience, utterly destroying them as a race and His only living human creatures from the face of the earth, by one great catastrophe, leaving only Noah and his family as a reminder of the great failure of God in His creation - the most perfect and the "very good." So I say, if the preacher had searched the Bible, he would have found that the Hell that contained the spirits of all the human race that was living at the time of the flood, except Noah and his family was not in its duration eternal.
And again, had the preached searched further he would have found that the Master Himself declared by necessary implication, that, at least, for some of the wicked who became inhabitants of Hell, there was possibility of release and certainty upon conditions. I refer to the declaration attributed to him where he said, "He that sinneth against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but he that sinneth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come." (Matt. Chapter 12--Verse 32)
Now, to any reasonable man there is only one interpretation of this declaration and, that is, that for any and all sins, except that against the Holy Ghost, there is forgiveness in the next world as well as in the mortal world, and that being a fact, it is an irresistible conclusion that the Father would not compel a spirit to remain in Hell after He had forgiven that spirit's sins.
No, the preacher had not searched the Scriptures, as he was in duty bound to do, else his conclusion, could he have ridden his mind of the beliefs that the creeds of his church had driven into his intellect, and of the teachings of the ancient fathers, and of the churches that had taught such false and damnable doctrines for so many years, would have been very different. The preacher repudiated the old teachings that there would be physical suffering in Hell, or fire or brimstone, etc., and expressed his commiseration for those preachers and others who had taught such doctrine and for their awful responsibility and accounting, and his commiseration was needed and appropriate. But l want to say here that he needs as much, if not more, commiseration for the preaching of his false doctrines, as did those preachers to whom he refers. He has more light, or may have, and his accounting will be correspondingly greater.
I have written a long letter, and you are tired and I must stop, but before doing so, let me declare the truth to be that:
"Hell is not a place of eternal punishment; that all the Hells as well as other parts of the spirit world are places of progression and the privilege of probation is not taken from any spirit no matter how wicked, for all are God's children and in His Plans for the perfecting of the harmony of the universe, and man's salvation, all the Hells will be emptied and the Hells themselves destroyed."
But men must not think from this that the duration of suffering in these Hells is necessarily short, for that is not true; some of the evil inhabitants of these places have been in such darkness and suffering for centuries, as mortals count time and may be for centuries more, but the time will come when they will have the awakening to the fact that they may become children of light, and then when they make the effort to progress, they will succeed. The sooner that mankind learns that Hell is not a place of punishment to satisfy the wrath of an angry God, but merely the natural and necessary living place of the spirit, whose condition of soul and mind demands, and that condition changes, and it will change, the Hell of its habitation will change until finally for that spirit all the Hells will disappear.
You are tired and I must stop. So thanking you, and leaving you my love and blessings,
I am your brother in Christ,
Paul
Showing posts with label Laws of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laws of God. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Jesus Writes Further on How a Mortal May Obtain the Development of His Soul Condition Without the Help of the Divine Love
June 17, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I see that you are in better condition tonight, and it may be that we can continue the message.
Well, as I was saying, the only way in which a mortal may obtain the development of his soul condition, without the help of the Divine Love, is by attempting to exercise his will in the way that will cause the thoughts of evil and error to leave him, and to be replaced by thoughts that will bring his heart and soul into harmony with the laws of his creation as mere man. This can be done by his seeking for those higher things of morality, and the subordinating of the purely animal desires and appetites of the mortal to the aspirations and desires of the higher and nobler part of his nature.
As I have before told you, man was pure and good until he, by the exercise of his will following the suggestions of the animal desires, permitted himself to degenerate from the high and perfect condition of his creation. These sins and desires do not belong to his original nature, for his true nature was pure and in harmony with the Laws of God. And although he has lost it by the excessive and wrongful exercise of his will, obeying the desires of his animal nature; yet he can recover his condition of original purity and harmony, if he will get rid of these sins and errors, so that his nature may again become free from everything that defiles it, or places it out of harmony with the laws that created it.
So you see, it is not necessary for man to obtain, or add to his original condition, any qualities that were not his in the beginning, but merely to get rid of or eradicate from that condition those things which are mere excrescences or parasites - and thereby have his nature in the same condition that was his when he was created and was the perfect man.
So long a time has the nature or condition of the nature of man been in this state of defilement and alienation from the true condition of his creation, that the effort to bring about the restoration will necessarily be great, and he will have to use all his power of will that he is capable of to effectuate this object, and he will find in such efforts two conflicting forces, always fighting each other for the mastery.
The fact that he believes his present condition is the natural one, and that the state and purity and freedom from sin and error is one that does not belong to him naturally, but must be acquired by adding something to what he now has and always possessed, will make the fight more uneven.
Therefore, the first things that man must believe is that his present condition is not his natural one, and that he has nothing more or greater to accomplish than to relieve himself of those things which prevent his condition from becoming as it was when he was the perfect man. If he will get this belief firmly fixed in his mind, and assert that he was made by God, and that God never created anything impure or not in harmony with His laws, he, man, will have accomplished the first step towards his regeneration and towards success in his effort.
He must not consider himself to be a weak, low and unworthy creature of God, not being entitled to those conditions of purity and greatness which made him the beloved child of the Father. Of course, self-esteem and pride and everything of that nature must be eliminated from the estimate that he must have of himself, but on the contrary the idea that he is a degenerated and utterly helpless being must not be permitted to enter his mind. Such thoughts do not make him pleasing to God, as he has been taught they do, but only make him subservient to his masters - sin and error - and prevent him from asserting his own superiority to these things, which is necessary to exist in his conception of his true condition in order that he may obtain the ascendancy over those masters.
When he shall have assumed this position, then he will realize that these animal appetites and desires and evil thoughts, which arise from them and from the belief that he is by nature degraded and unworthy of a better and higher condition of nature, are really beings of his own creation and subject to his will and self control and total destruction. And with such realization will come a consciousness that they are not parts of his nature, but foreign to it; and in order that his nature may become separated from them, he must look upon them as enemies and treat them as such, to be destroyed and utterly extinguished, and never more to be taken to his bosom and cherished as inalienable and dominant parts of his nature.
Of course, in treating them as such enemies, great watchfulness and determination will have to be exercised, for they are very insidious and will at all times and in all ways, whenever the opportunity arises, try to convince him that they are an integral and necessary part of his being, incapable of being separated from him. But by the exercise of this belief, based upon a right conception of what is and what is not a part of him as the perfect man, and by the exercise of his will power in accordance with this conception, he will be able to rescue himself from these unnatural appetites and desires and thoughts of error and sin.
As this belief becomes stronger and this conception clearer, and his will exercised in closer harmony with the two essentials, these excrescences will gradually and one by one fall away from him until, at last, he will rise again - the perfect man - with the pure and harmonious nature which God gave him at the time of his creation.
But this process will be slow and sometimes hardly perceptible, for the long years of misbelief in the idea of original sin, and that God created evil and error for the purpose of defiling man's nature and making a disobedient devil of him, without any inherent goodness or the possibility of becoming regenerated, unless by the operation of some miracle, will make it difficult for the acquiring of the true belief as to what he, and what his nature are and enable him to become the master and not remain the servant.
God is the Father of all, and loves all His children, and as He originally provided for their happiness, so now He desires that all may be happy, even though they may not seek for that Divine Love which makes mortals and spirits more than the mere perfect man.
Forgiveness is, in effect, forgetfulness; and when men in their efforts cause all these things of evil and sin to cease being a part of their nature, and only thoughts of purity and righteousness to find a lodgment in their minds, then these other things are forgotten and forgiveness has taken place. Man no longer is the slave of false beliefs and unrighteousness, nor is he their associates, and even in memory they become things of nonexistence; and when he gets into this condition of purity and freedom and in harmony with the laws of his creation, there exists nothing which can be the object of forgiveness, and he is the man of perfect creation.
But in all this man must realize that he does not exist by and for himself alone, for always he is surrounded by mortals or spirits or both, exercising upon him their influence for good or evil; helping him to turn his thoughts from these things of evil and sin into those higher things which are his by nature, or causing him to receive and foster these evil thoughts with increased intensity. He cannot get rid of these influences, of one kind or the other and, hence, he should seek the influence of those who are good and desire to help him in his efforts towards the recovery of that condition which is his by right of birth.
Among God's Laws, which never change and which work impartially, is the great Law of Attraction; and it works in the case of all mortals and spirits and never rests. And the great principle of this Law is that "like attracts like" and the "unlike repulses the unlike." So man must know that as he is - I mean in his state of mind and soul - so necessarily will be his companions of those who desire his association and, hence, he should realize this important truth and all that it implies.
If his thoughts and deeds are evil, he will attract those spirits or mortals who have similar thoughts and deeds, and who will not help him to higher things, but who will retard his progress towards his first estate; and if his thoughts and deeds are good, then his associates will only be those of like qualities, who can and will help him in his progress.
Every effort to create good thoughts strengthens the desires and will in that direction and assists the coming of other good thoughts, for with these efforts comes the help of these unseen influences and the repulsion of the influences of the retarding forces.
Man is a wonderful being and the highest creation of the Father, and yet his greatest master is his belief in the power and supremacy of these things of evil of his own creation. But beyond all this, a means to accomplish man's restitution to his perfect estate, is the help of the Father, which is never refused when man seeks for it in earnest sincere prayer. Always the Father is willing to respond to the true prayers of man, and by His instrumentalities, will make the efforts of man sure and effective, so that he can acquire that condition that will free him from all sin and error and slavery of false belief in the mastery of his evil creatures.
Man must believe in the love and help of the Father, in the manhood and greatness of himself, and in the utter error of his belief in the mastery of his own children of sin and error.
I have written enough and must stop as you are tired. So assuring you of my love for you and my care and help, I will say good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
**********
Helen Writes a Short Note.
I am here, your own true and loving Helen.
Well, my own dear Ned, you have had a very entertaining letter from the Master tonight, and I am glad that you were in condition to receive it so well. He said that you were very successful and he is pleased.
Good night.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
**********
Martin Luther Writes a Short Message.
I am here, Luther.
I come tonight to say that I would like to write again very soon, as I desire to write further in the line of thought of my last message. I see that you are too tired to write tonight and I will not ask you to do so, but if you can soon give me the opportunity to write, I will be much obliged.
Yes, I know, and I enjoyed his message and believe that it will be readily understood. What a Master he is! So beautiful and powerful and loving.
Your brother in Christ,
Luther
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I see that you are in better condition tonight, and it may be that we can continue the message.
Well, as I was saying, the only way in which a mortal may obtain the development of his soul condition, without the help of the Divine Love, is by attempting to exercise his will in the way that will cause the thoughts of evil and error to leave him, and to be replaced by thoughts that will bring his heart and soul into harmony with the laws of his creation as mere man. This can be done by his seeking for those higher things of morality, and the subordinating of the purely animal desires and appetites of the mortal to the aspirations and desires of the higher and nobler part of his nature.
As I have before told you, man was pure and good until he, by the exercise of his will following the suggestions of the animal desires, permitted himself to degenerate from the high and perfect condition of his creation. These sins and desires do not belong to his original nature, for his true nature was pure and in harmony with the Laws of God. And although he has lost it by the excessive and wrongful exercise of his will, obeying the desires of his animal nature; yet he can recover his condition of original purity and harmony, if he will get rid of these sins and errors, so that his nature may again become free from everything that defiles it, or places it out of harmony with the laws that created it.
So you see, it is not necessary for man to obtain, or add to his original condition, any qualities that were not his in the beginning, but merely to get rid of or eradicate from that condition those things which are mere excrescences or parasites - and thereby have his nature in the same condition that was his when he was created and was the perfect man.
So long a time has the nature or condition of the nature of man been in this state of defilement and alienation from the true condition of his creation, that the effort to bring about the restoration will necessarily be great, and he will have to use all his power of will that he is capable of to effectuate this object, and he will find in such efforts two conflicting forces, always fighting each other for the mastery.
The fact that he believes his present condition is the natural one, and that the state and purity and freedom from sin and error is one that does not belong to him naturally, but must be acquired by adding something to what he now has and always possessed, will make the fight more uneven.
Therefore, the first things that man must believe is that his present condition is not his natural one, and that he has nothing more or greater to accomplish than to relieve himself of those things which prevent his condition from becoming as it was when he was the perfect man. If he will get this belief firmly fixed in his mind, and assert that he was made by God, and that God never created anything impure or not in harmony with His laws, he, man, will have accomplished the first step towards his regeneration and towards success in his effort.
He must not consider himself to be a weak, low and unworthy creature of God, not being entitled to those conditions of purity and greatness which made him the beloved child of the Father. Of course, self-esteem and pride and everything of that nature must be eliminated from the estimate that he must have of himself, but on the contrary the idea that he is a degenerated and utterly helpless being must not be permitted to enter his mind. Such thoughts do not make him pleasing to God, as he has been taught they do, but only make him subservient to his masters - sin and error - and prevent him from asserting his own superiority to these things, which is necessary to exist in his conception of his true condition in order that he may obtain the ascendancy over those masters.
When he shall have assumed this position, then he will realize that these animal appetites and desires and evil thoughts, which arise from them and from the belief that he is by nature degraded and unworthy of a better and higher condition of nature, are really beings of his own creation and subject to his will and self control and total destruction. And with such realization will come a consciousness that they are not parts of his nature, but foreign to it; and in order that his nature may become separated from them, he must look upon them as enemies and treat them as such, to be destroyed and utterly extinguished, and never more to be taken to his bosom and cherished as inalienable and dominant parts of his nature.
Of course, in treating them as such enemies, great watchfulness and determination will have to be exercised, for they are very insidious and will at all times and in all ways, whenever the opportunity arises, try to convince him that they are an integral and necessary part of his being, incapable of being separated from him. But by the exercise of this belief, based upon a right conception of what is and what is not a part of him as the perfect man, and by the exercise of his will power in accordance with this conception, he will be able to rescue himself from these unnatural appetites and desires and thoughts of error and sin.
As this belief becomes stronger and this conception clearer, and his will exercised in closer harmony with the two essentials, these excrescences will gradually and one by one fall away from him until, at last, he will rise again - the perfect man - with the pure and harmonious nature which God gave him at the time of his creation.
But this process will be slow and sometimes hardly perceptible, for the long years of misbelief in the idea of original sin, and that God created evil and error for the purpose of defiling man's nature and making a disobedient devil of him, without any inherent goodness or the possibility of becoming regenerated, unless by the operation of some miracle, will make it difficult for the acquiring of the true belief as to what he, and what his nature are and enable him to become the master and not remain the servant.
God is the Father of all, and loves all His children, and as He originally provided for their happiness, so now He desires that all may be happy, even though they may not seek for that Divine Love which makes mortals and spirits more than the mere perfect man.
Forgiveness is, in effect, forgetfulness; and when men in their efforts cause all these things of evil and sin to cease being a part of their nature, and only thoughts of purity and righteousness to find a lodgment in their minds, then these other things are forgotten and forgiveness has taken place. Man no longer is the slave of false beliefs and unrighteousness, nor is he their associates, and even in memory they become things of nonexistence; and when he gets into this condition of purity and freedom and in harmony with the laws of his creation, there exists nothing which can be the object of forgiveness, and he is the man of perfect creation.
But in all this man must realize that he does not exist by and for himself alone, for always he is surrounded by mortals or spirits or both, exercising upon him their influence for good or evil; helping him to turn his thoughts from these things of evil and sin into those higher things which are his by nature, or causing him to receive and foster these evil thoughts with increased intensity. He cannot get rid of these influences, of one kind or the other and, hence, he should seek the influence of those who are good and desire to help him in his efforts towards the recovery of that condition which is his by right of birth.
Among God's Laws, which never change and which work impartially, is the great Law of Attraction; and it works in the case of all mortals and spirits and never rests. And the great principle of this Law is that "like attracts like" and the "unlike repulses the unlike." So man must know that as he is - I mean in his state of mind and soul - so necessarily will be his companions of those who desire his association and, hence, he should realize this important truth and all that it implies.
If his thoughts and deeds are evil, he will attract those spirits or mortals who have similar thoughts and deeds, and who will not help him to higher things, but who will retard his progress towards his first estate; and if his thoughts and deeds are good, then his associates will only be those of like qualities, who can and will help him in his progress.
Every effort to create good thoughts strengthens the desires and will in that direction and assists the coming of other good thoughts, for with these efforts comes the help of these unseen influences and the repulsion of the influences of the retarding forces.
Man is a wonderful being and the highest creation of the Father, and yet his greatest master is his belief in the power and supremacy of these things of evil of his own creation. But beyond all this, a means to accomplish man's restitution to his perfect estate, is the help of the Father, which is never refused when man seeks for it in earnest sincere prayer. Always the Father is willing to respond to the true prayers of man, and by His instrumentalities, will make the efforts of man sure and effective, so that he can acquire that condition that will free him from all sin and error and slavery of false belief in the mastery of his evil creatures.
Man must believe in the love and help of the Father, in the manhood and greatness of himself, and in the utter error of his belief in the mastery of his own children of sin and error.
I have written enough and must stop as you are tired. So assuring you of my love for you and my care and help, I will say good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
**********
Helen Writes a Short Note.
I am here, your own true and loving Helen.
Well, my own dear Ned, you have had a very entertaining letter from the Master tonight, and I am glad that you were in condition to receive it so well. He said that you were very successful and he is pleased.
Good night.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
**********
Martin Luther Writes a Short Message.
I am here, Luther.
I come tonight to say that I would like to write again very soon, as I desire to write further in the line of thought of my last message. I see that you are too tired to write tonight and I will not ask you to do so, but if you can soon give me the opportunity to write, I will be much obliged.
Yes, I know, and I enjoyed his message and believe that it will be readily understood. What a Master he is! So beautiful and powerful and loving.
Your brother in Christ,
Luther
Friday, August 9, 2013
Jesus Writes on "What is the correct way in which a man should live the life on earth, in order to receive the cleansing from his sins, so that he can acquire the purification of his natural love?"
June 11, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I come tonight according to promise and desire to write my message, if you are in condition to receive it.
I wish to write on the subject of: "What is the correct way in which a man should live the life on earth, in order to receive the cleansing from his sins, so that he can acquire the purification of his natural love?"
Heretofore, I have conferred in my messages almost exclusively to the redemption of the soul by means of the Divine Love, so that the redeemed one may become an inhabitant of the Celestial Spheres. Now I will deal only with that cleansing that will fit him to live in the highest and purest of the spirit spheres, where he can have the happiness which a pure natural love will bring to him.
As has been written you, the soul, as it was created and placed in man, was at the time of its creation in human form, or rather at the time it found a habitation in that form, made pure and perfect and in complete harmony with the Laws of God controlling its existence, and that only after the fall by reason of man's own indulgence in the animal appetites and desires did it lose its purity and become contaminated by sin and error, and that ever since that time it has remained in such condition of impurity and alienship to God and His laws.
This impurity has been the lot of each succeeding generation of men and has never been eradicated from men's souls, notwithstanding all the moral instructions that man has acquired; but still there has been wonderful improvements in the purity of man's thoughts, as well as in his actions and habits of life, since the turning from the bottom of his degeneracy.
Now, there are several ways in which man may succeed in acquiring that purity that existed at the time of the creation of the first man and in time, this consummation will be accomplished; but in these ways man, himself, will have to be an important working factor, for man is the highest of God's creation, with powers and will possessed by no other of God's creatures, and there is no power in Heaven or earth that can or will redeem man from this condition of sin and error, unless man will cooperate in the work and that to the greatest and best of his ability.
These sins that I speak of were created by man's thoughts and desires carried into acts and deeds by the operation of his will, and they must be removed by the same processes. Where the evil thoughts and deeds created that which contaminated and defiled the qualities of his soul, these evil thoughts and deeds must be supplanted by good thoughts and deeds in order that the defilement may be removed and the soul purified.
Evil thoughts are born of suggestions, both inward and outward, and also of the influences of spirits of evil who establish a rapport with the mortals.
Let us postpone the writing for our rapport is not just right. I will come soon and finish.
With all my love, I am your brother and friend,
Jesus
**********
Helen comments on the lack of rapport.
I am here, Helen.
Well, I am sorry that you could not continue the writing, for the Master was very anxious to write the whole message tonight. Well, you were not in condition, and it was hard work for the Master to control your hand and brain. It may be that your brain was tired, and he could not transmit the thoughts. But you may have better success next time. He understands and says that you must not feel bad about it.
Goodbye for a while.
Your own true and loving
Helen
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I come tonight according to promise and desire to write my message, if you are in condition to receive it.
I wish to write on the subject of: "What is the correct way in which a man should live the life on earth, in order to receive the cleansing from his sins, so that he can acquire the purification of his natural love?"
Heretofore, I have conferred in my messages almost exclusively to the redemption of the soul by means of the Divine Love, so that the redeemed one may become an inhabitant of the Celestial Spheres. Now I will deal only with that cleansing that will fit him to live in the highest and purest of the spirit spheres, where he can have the happiness which a pure natural love will bring to him.
As has been written you, the soul, as it was created and placed in man, was at the time of its creation in human form, or rather at the time it found a habitation in that form, made pure and perfect and in complete harmony with the Laws of God controlling its existence, and that only after the fall by reason of man's own indulgence in the animal appetites and desires did it lose its purity and become contaminated by sin and error, and that ever since that time it has remained in such condition of impurity and alienship to God and His laws.
This impurity has been the lot of each succeeding generation of men and has never been eradicated from men's souls, notwithstanding all the moral instructions that man has acquired; but still there has been wonderful improvements in the purity of man's thoughts, as well as in his actions and habits of life, since the turning from the bottom of his degeneracy.
Now, there are several ways in which man may succeed in acquiring that purity that existed at the time of the creation of the first man and in time, this consummation will be accomplished; but in these ways man, himself, will have to be an important working factor, for man is the highest of God's creation, with powers and will possessed by no other of God's creatures, and there is no power in Heaven or earth that can or will redeem man from this condition of sin and error, unless man will cooperate in the work and that to the greatest and best of his ability.
These sins that I speak of were created by man's thoughts and desires carried into acts and deeds by the operation of his will, and they must be removed by the same processes. Where the evil thoughts and deeds created that which contaminated and defiled the qualities of his soul, these evil thoughts and deeds must be supplanted by good thoughts and deeds in order that the defilement may be removed and the soul purified.
Evil thoughts are born of suggestions, both inward and outward, and also of the influences of spirits of evil who establish a rapport with the mortals.
Let us postpone the writing for our rapport is not just right. I will come soon and finish.
With all my love, I am your brother and friend,
Jesus
**********
Helen comments on the lack of rapport.
I am here, Helen.
Well, I am sorry that you could not continue the writing, for the Master was very anxious to write the whole message tonight. Well, you were not in condition, and it was hard work for the Master to control your hand and brain. It may be that your brain was tired, and he could not transmit the thoughts. But you may have better success next time. He understands and says that you must not feel bad about it.
Goodbye for a while.
Your own true and loving
Helen
Monday, August 5, 2013
Luke Writes on the Subject: "What is the use in believing in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as salvation from sin."
June 4, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, St. Luke, writer of the third Gospel that was.
I desire tonight to write a short message on the question: "What is the use in believing in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as a salvation from sin?"
I know that this belief is at the foundation of the so-called Christian religion and is the cornerstone of most of the churches as they now exist, but as such a belief is false and does not effectuate the object claimed for it, I must declare the utter uselessness of such a belief and the great harm it is doing to mankind.
A thing is just what its internal qualities make it. I mean by this, what the ingredients of its composition causes it to really be; and these ingredients cannot be supplied unless they have in themselves an existence of those qualities which are sufficient to make that composition just what is necessary and required to produce the thing in its genuine substance.
This applies to things of the soul, and unless the qualities of the soul are such as to eliminate the elements of sin and everything that prevents that soul from coming into harmony with the Laws of God, that soul will continue in sin and separation from the Divine Nature of the Father.
The soul is in each individual an entity, which is distinct and separate from the soul of every other man, and is dependent for its qualities, not in what that other man may do or not do, but upon that which will make those qualities like, or in substance the same as the qualities of that thing which is desired or sought for, as a necessary acquirement in making the substance of that possessed and that desired similar.
According to the belief of which I speak, the sacrifice mentioned causes the salvation of man by appeasing the wrath of God and lifting from man the condemnation under which he was suffering, and by accomplishing such an object, man became a new creature in his soul qualities and was given the qualities that are required to make him like unto the Father and, therefore, he has nothing further to be done for him in order to relieve him entirely from the possession of this sin and from the demands of God - the sacrifice is sufficient to bring about these results.
But as we have told you, and as even the followers or possessors of these beliefs assert, Love is the great necessity to effectuate the union between God and man, and this Love must dwell in the soul of man as well as in the bosom of the Father waiting its bestowal on man. It can be obtained only by sincere seeking on the part of man, and no other way is provided by which it can be obtained.
The sacrifice or the shedding of blood does not cause the inflowing of this Love into the souls of men, and the mere fact even if it were true that an angry God had been appeased, or debt paid, or a mortal is redeemed would not cause this Love to become a part of the souls of men.
I know that it is asserted that these things, in some mysterious way, reconciles God to man, and thereby causes the acceptance of man by God, and when that is done all the sins and depravity of a man's soul immediately become no longer a part of his soul's qualities, and the soul is perfected and its condition is that which enables it to become of a nature like that of the Father.
But a difficulty with this conclusion is that only Jesus and God are the ones that are participating in this great work of redemption, and man is eliminated from the necessity of doing anything, except to believe that the sacrifice is sufficient to cause his full salvation and all that it means.
How this belief that the sacrifice or the flowing of the blood can make a sinful soul pure, or become a partaker of the Divine Nature of the Father, has never been explained by the teachers of the Christian doctrines in any way that is consonant with reason and cannot be so explained, for the one reason that is of itself sufficient and, that is, that the sacrifice does not work such a consummation. No one man, not even Jesus, can do the work of another, or for another, that will produce the results necessary to insure the reconciliation mentioned.
It is claimed that Jesus died to save all men from their sins, or that he that believeth on the name of Jesus shall be saved from their sins. But the question again arises: "How? In what way can it be argued that his death made the impure man clean, even though he believed it did? Can his blood shed on Calvary cleanse the soul of any man?" I know that it is claimed that in some mysterious way it does, but no one explains the how.
Can anyone of the great theological teachers tell you by what mysterious or other process this blood operates on the Mercy or Love of God, so that the sinner is saved from his sins or from the penalties which the violation of God's Laws entail? I know that they cannot, and for the same reason as before stated, that the blood does not accomplish these results.
Then what is the use in accepting such belief when it cannot be understood or explained and is the blindest of blind beliefs of mortals?
No, no sacrifice of Jesus, no shedding of his blood, and no vicarious atonement as it is called, can save a human soul from sin, or bring it into the Love of the Father, or cause it to become a partaker of the Divine Nature.We have already, in previous messages, declared and explained to you what and what only brings to men salvation, and I will not here repeat, but will say this, that: "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." Nothing less is sufficient and nothing added to can in any way bring about man's salvation.
I will not write more tonight, as what I have said should cause men to think and understand upon what false and baseless foundation they stand when they rely upon the belief in Jesus' sacrifice to save them from their sin.
With all my love and blessings I will say, good night.
Your brother in Christ.
Luke
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, St. Luke, writer of the third Gospel that was.
I desire tonight to write a short message on the question: "What is the use in believing in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as a salvation from sin?"
I know that this belief is at the foundation of the so-called Christian religion and is the cornerstone of most of the churches as they now exist, but as such a belief is false and does not effectuate the object claimed for it, I must declare the utter uselessness of such a belief and the great harm it is doing to mankind.
A thing is just what its internal qualities make it. I mean by this, what the ingredients of its composition causes it to really be; and these ingredients cannot be supplied unless they have in themselves an existence of those qualities which are sufficient to make that composition just what is necessary and required to produce the thing in its genuine substance.
This applies to things of the soul, and unless the qualities of the soul are such as to eliminate the elements of sin and everything that prevents that soul from coming into harmony with the Laws of God, that soul will continue in sin and separation from the Divine Nature of the Father.
The soul is in each individual an entity, which is distinct and separate from the soul of every other man, and is dependent for its qualities, not in what that other man may do or not do, but upon that which will make those qualities like, or in substance the same as the qualities of that thing which is desired or sought for, as a necessary acquirement in making the substance of that possessed and that desired similar.
According to the belief of which I speak, the sacrifice mentioned causes the salvation of man by appeasing the wrath of God and lifting from man the condemnation under which he was suffering, and by accomplishing such an object, man became a new creature in his soul qualities and was given the qualities that are required to make him like unto the Father and, therefore, he has nothing further to be done for him in order to relieve him entirely from the possession of this sin and from the demands of God - the sacrifice is sufficient to bring about these results.
But as we have told you, and as even the followers or possessors of these beliefs assert, Love is the great necessity to effectuate the union between God and man, and this Love must dwell in the soul of man as well as in the bosom of the Father waiting its bestowal on man. It can be obtained only by sincere seeking on the part of man, and no other way is provided by which it can be obtained.
The sacrifice or the shedding of blood does not cause the inflowing of this Love into the souls of men, and the mere fact even if it were true that an angry God had been appeased, or debt paid, or a mortal is redeemed would not cause this Love to become a part of the souls of men.
I know that it is asserted that these things, in some mysterious way, reconciles God to man, and thereby causes the acceptance of man by God, and when that is done all the sins and depravity of a man's soul immediately become no longer a part of his soul's qualities, and the soul is perfected and its condition is that which enables it to become of a nature like that of the Father.
But a difficulty with this conclusion is that only Jesus and God are the ones that are participating in this great work of redemption, and man is eliminated from the necessity of doing anything, except to believe that the sacrifice is sufficient to cause his full salvation and all that it means.
How this belief that the sacrifice or the flowing of the blood can make a sinful soul pure, or become a partaker of the Divine Nature of the Father, has never been explained by the teachers of the Christian doctrines in any way that is consonant with reason and cannot be so explained, for the one reason that is of itself sufficient and, that is, that the sacrifice does not work such a consummation. No one man, not even Jesus, can do the work of another, or for another, that will produce the results necessary to insure the reconciliation mentioned.
It is claimed that Jesus died to save all men from their sins, or that he that believeth on the name of Jesus shall be saved from their sins. But the question again arises: "How? In what way can it be argued that his death made the impure man clean, even though he believed it did? Can his blood shed on Calvary cleanse the soul of any man?" I know that it is claimed that in some mysterious way it does, but no one explains the how.
Can anyone of the great theological teachers tell you by what mysterious or other process this blood operates on the Mercy or Love of God, so that the sinner is saved from his sins or from the penalties which the violation of God's Laws entail? I know that they cannot, and for the same reason as before stated, that the blood does not accomplish these results.
Then what is the use in accepting such belief when it cannot be understood or explained and is the blindest of blind beliefs of mortals?
No, no sacrifice of Jesus, no shedding of his blood, and no vicarious atonement as it is called, can save a human soul from sin, or bring it into the Love of the Father, or cause it to become a partaker of the Divine Nature.We have already, in previous messages, declared and explained to you what and what only brings to men salvation, and I will not here repeat, but will say this, that: "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." Nothing less is sufficient and nothing added to can in any way bring about man's salvation.
I will not write more tonight, as what I have said should cause men to think and understand upon what false and baseless foundation they stand when they rely upon the belief in Jesus' sacrifice to save them from their sin.
With all my love and blessings I will say, good night.
Your brother in Christ.
Luke
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Jesus Writes that the Soul Must Have an Awakening in Order to Receive the Divine Love
March 2, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I desire to write tonight on the subject of: "How the redeemed soul is saved from the penalties which sin and error has brought upon it."
When the soul is in a condition of sin and error, it is not responsive to the inflowing of the Holy Spirit, and in order to get into a condition of receptivity to these influences, it must have an awakening as to its actual condition of enslavement by these things; and until such an awakening comes to it there is no possibility of its receiving the Love of God into it, and of turning its thoughts to the Truths of God and to the practices of life that will help it in its progress towards a condition of freedom.
I would not have mankind believe that any soul is compelled to stay in this condition of slavery to sin until the Holy Spirit comes to it with the Father's Love to bestow it in all abundance, for the mission of the Holy Spirit is not to awaken man's soul to a realization of sin and death, but merely to bring to that soul this Love when it, the soul, is ready to receive it.
The awakening must come from other causes that influence the mind - as well as the soul - and cause them to realize that the life man lives is not the correct life or one in accord with the demands of the Laws of God, or with the real longings of their own hearts and souls. Until this awakening comes, the soul is really dead so far as its having a consciousness of the existence of the truths of its redemption is concerned, and such death means a continuance in such thoughts of sin and evil, and in the life which leads only to condemnation and death for long long years it may be.
But to come nearer to my point of discourse. The soul that is existing in sin and error will have, sooner or later, to pay the penalties for such sin and error, and there is no escape from the payment of these penalties except in the redemption that the Father has provided by the New Birth. These penalties are only the natural results of the operation of God's Laws and they must be endured until the full penalty is paid. Even though a man may progress to higher condition of soul excellence and have much happiness, yet he must pay the last farthing and thus release himself from these penalties.
With much love, I am your friend and brother,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I desire to write tonight on the subject of: "How the redeemed soul is saved from the penalties which sin and error has brought upon it."
When the soul is in a condition of sin and error, it is not responsive to the inflowing of the Holy Spirit, and in order to get into a condition of receptivity to these influences, it must have an awakening as to its actual condition of enslavement by these things; and until such an awakening comes to it there is no possibility of its receiving the Love of God into it, and of turning its thoughts to the Truths of God and to the practices of life that will help it in its progress towards a condition of freedom.
I would not have mankind believe that any soul is compelled to stay in this condition of slavery to sin until the Holy Spirit comes to it with the Father's Love to bestow it in all abundance, for the mission of the Holy Spirit is not to awaken man's soul to a realization of sin and death, but merely to bring to that soul this Love when it, the soul, is ready to receive it.
The awakening must come from other causes that influence the mind - as well as the soul - and cause them to realize that the life man lives is not the correct life or one in accord with the demands of the Laws of God, or with the real longings of their own hearts and souls. Until this awakening comes, the soul is really dead so far as its having a consciousness of the existence of the truths of its redemption is concerned, and such death means a continuance in such thoughts of sin and evil, and in the life which leads only to condemnation and death for long long years it may be.
But to come nearer to my point of discourse. The soul that is existing in sin and error will have, sooner or later, to pay the penalties for such sin and error, and there is no escape from the payment of these penalties except in the redemption that the Father has provided by the New Birth. These penalties are only the natural results of the operation of God's Laws and they must be endured until the full penalty is paid. Even though a man may progress to higher condition of soul excellence and have much happiness, yet he must pay the last farthing and thus release himself from these penalties.
With much love, I am your friend and brother,
Jesus
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