Jesus Writes about After Death, the Judgment. What it is and what it is not.

February 25, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I am here and desire to write a few lines in reference to the "Great Day of Judgment," of which the preacher and teachers of theological things write so often. I know that the Bible, or rather some of the books, lay great stress upon this day when, as they claim, God will pour out His vials of wrath upon the ungodly and condemn them to an eternity of punishment.

There is, as you know, very great and diverse opinions among these learned men as to what is the meaning and significance of this day of judgment, and when, in a chronological point of view, it will take place; and all these varied opinions have many students and teachers who embrace and proclaim them to the world as being true and free from doubt.

Well, it is certain that all men must die and there will come the judgment, and that which follows the death is just as certain as is the death itself, and just as reasonable as is the following of any cause by an effect. So men should have no difficulty in believing in the judgment as a fact that cannot be avoided, just as death cannot be avoided.

But the word and the fact, "judgment," when used as an effect or following of death, may have many meanings in the opinions and understandings of many men, depending upon what men may believe as to things that are called religious or scientific or philosophical.

To the ultra-orthodox this term "judgment" means and necessarily comprehends the active pronouncement of a sentence by God, because of and determined by their lives and thoughts while living in the mortal life, irrespective of any of His general laws and the workings thereof. God is Himself the judge - personal and present - and by Him in this capacity are each man's life and works known and digested and made the basis of the sentence that He must pronounce in each individual case. God keeps the record of all of these acts of men, or, if man is conceded to be his own record-keeper, his records are, or will be, at the time of the great assemblage for judgment, opened up or brought into view so that nothing can be lost; and then, upon this record men will be sent to eternal happiness or to everlasting punishment or, as some believe, to destruction or annihilation.

Others, not orthodox, who believe in the survival of the soul and the continuing memories of the acts and thoughts of men, teach that the judgment will follow death as a natural consequence of the operations of the Law of Cause and Effect; and the effect cannot be escaped from until, in some way, there comes to the consciousness of men a realization that the effect in their suffering has satisfied the cause and that there is nothing mysterious or unnatural in the appearance and workings of the judgment. They do not believe that God by any special interposition or personal punishing will pronounce the judgment, or determine the merits or demerits of the one called to judgment.

Besides these views, there are others extant and believed in, but the two that I have mentioned are principle ones and are sufficient to show what the large majority of thinking or rather believing men conclude the term judgment as used in the Bible should mean or be understood to mean.

Well, the judgment of the human soul is an important accompaniment of the human life, both in the flesh and in the spirit world, and as regards the questions and punishments, hardly anything demands more of the thought and consideration of men, for it is a certainty that beliefs, true or false, he cannot avoid them. Judgment as certainly follows what men call death as does night the day, and no philosophy or theological dogmas or scientific determinations can alter the fact, or in any way change the character or exact workings of this judgment.

But judgment is not a thing belonging exclusively to the after-death period or condition, for it is present and operating with men from the time that they become incarnated in the human until they become disincarnate, and thereafter continuously until the causes of effects have been satisfied and there remains nothing to be judged, which happy ending is also a fact - for all men are dependent upon their progress towards the conditions of harmony with the laws that make effective as well as pronounce the judgments. While on earth these laws operate and continuously man is being judged for the causes that he starts into existence, and the after-death judgment is only a continuation of the judgment received by men while on earth.

Of course, men may not know this. These judgments, or the effects thereof, become more intensified after men have gotten rid of the influences of the flesh existence, and they become spirits having only the spirit qualities. And because of this fact, men must understand and try to realize that the expression: "After death, the judgment," has a greater significance and is of more vital importance than the saying that: "Judgment is with men all during their mortal lives."

After death, the causes of the in-harmony with the law becomes more pronounced and appear in the true meaning and force and, consequently, as this is true, the effects become more intensified and understood, and men suffer more and realize the darkness, and sometimes the gross darkness, that these effects produce. The in-harmony appears in its unclothed and unhidden reality, and the Law's workings bring to men the exact penalties that their violations demand.

Man is his own bookkeeper, and in his memory are recorded all the thoughts and deeds of his earth life that are not in accord with the harmony of God's Will, which is expressed or manifested by His Laws. The judgment is not the thing of a day or a time, but is never ceasing so long as there exists that upon which it can operate, and it diminishes in proportion as the causes of in-harmony disappear.

God is not present in wrath demanding as does the human who believes himself to have been injured demanding reparation by the one causing the injury. No, the Father is present only in love, and as the soul of the one undergoing the penalty, which his own deeds and thoughts have imposed upon him comes more in harmony with the Father's Will, He, as you mortals say, is pleased. Never an angry God rejoicing in the satisfaction of a penalty being paid by one of His erring children, but always a loving Father rejoicing in the redemption of His children from a suffering that a violation of the laws of harmony exacts with certitude.

Then, as I say, the judgment day is not a special time when all men must meet in the presence of God, and have their thoughts and deeds weighed in the balance, and then, according as they are good or evil, have the sentence of an angry, or even just God pronounced upon them. The judgment day is every day, both in the earth life of man and in life in the spirit, where the Law of Compensation is working. In the spirit world, time is not known and every breathing is a part of eternity, and with every breathing so long as the Law requires, comes the judgment, continued and unsatisfied, until man, as a spirit reaches that condition of harmony, so that for him no longer the Law demands a judgment.

But from what I have written, men must not suppose, or beguile themselves into that state of belief that will cause them to think that because there is no special day of judgment when God will pronounce His sentence, the judgment, therefore, is not so much to be dreaded or shunned. No, this state of thinking will palliate only for the moment, for the judgment is certain, and is and will be no less to be dreaded, because the immutable law demands exact restoration instead of an angry God.

No man who has lived and died has escaped, and no man who shall hereafter die can escape this judgment unless he has, in a way provided by the Father in His love, become in harmony with the laws requiring harmony. "As a man soweth so shall he reap" is as true as is the fact that the sun shines upon the just and the unjust alike. Memory is man's storehouse of good and evil, and memory does not die with the death of the man's physical body, but on the contrary, becomes more alive - all alive - and nothing is left behind or forgotten when the spirit man casts off the encumbrance and the benumbing and deceiving influences of the only body of man that was created to die.

Judgment is real, and men must come to it face-to-face, and want of belief or unbelief or indifference or the application to mens lives of the saying "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" will not enable men to avoid the judgment or the exactions of its demands.

There is a way, though, in which men may turn the judgment of death into the judgment of life - in-harmony into harmony - suffering into happiness - and judgment itself into a thing to be desired. Elsewhere we have written of this way open to all men, and I will not attempt to describe it here. I have written enough for tonight. You are tired and must not be drawn on further. So with my love I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Helen Writes that Many Spirits Were Also Present at Rev. William Sunday's Service

February 23, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your own true and loving, Helen.

Well my dear husband, I am so glad that the Master has written you, and that the rapport has been re-established so that he can continue the delivery of his messages, for as he said they, the spirits, are all very anxious to do the work.

I was with you tonight and besides me were the Master and your special guardian, John, and we were all watching the impressions made upon your mind by the preachers and saw that what he said, which was contrary to the truths that you have received, made no impression upon your beliefs, except that you desired to be able to tell him of his errors. I will not refer to the occasion further as the Master has written you fully on the subject, and you realize that he corroborates what I said a short time ago in regard to the good that the preacher is doing.

I am glad that you are in much better condition of soul and are able to realize more and more the existence of the Love in your soul and the fact of your increased nearness to the Father. This makes us all very happy, and we know that you will now be able to do your work with greater rapidity and receive therefrom a wonderful happiness. Continue to pray to the Father, and turn your thoughts to these spiritual things, and think of the great responsibility that is resting upon you.

I will soon come and write you a real long letter of love, and I know you will feel that love surrounding you in great abundance. Many spirits are here tonight and rejoice that the rapport has been re-established. I love you as you know and want you to love me, and you will not be happier than I when you come into possession of the surroundings that you desire as you so often depict them in your mind's eye. Have faith and you will not be disappointed, and you need not fear the judgment that comes to all men after death.

I will not write more now. May you be happier as the days go by. Good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Jesus Writes About the Preacher Who Does Not Know the Truth that the Judgment is Not Eternal

February 23, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I see that you are in good condition tonight, and that I am able to make a rapport with you. I was with you at the meeting tonight and saw the workings of your mind and the pity, as it were, that you had for the preacher (Rev. Billy Sunday), because of his want of knowledge of what the judgment is that comes to all men after death. A judgment that is certain and exact, but not one pronounced upon man by God, as the preacher proclaimed.

I was trying to impress you in your thoughts and you felt the influence of my suggestions and realized that you did not fear the judgment, or rather its results, because you know the way in which the judgment for you can have no terrors, or no eternity of condemnation. I wished as you did that the preacher might know the truth and then proclaim it to his hearers, and in this manner show them that the judgment is a certainty that cannot be escaped from, and that its sentences are not for an eternity of duration.

He is an earnest man in his beliefs, and teaches just as he believes, and the pity is that he does not know the truth. But, nevertheless, he is doing good to those who hear him, for many of them are caused to think of things spiritual, and of the future as well as of the present, who otherwise might and would neglect these important things that will determine the kind of judgment that they will have to undergo; and I am glad that he is so preaching and doing a work that in many instances will lead men to meditate upon their spiritual condition, and ultimately lead them to seek for the Love of the Father, which they may obtain by their longings, though their beliefs may be erroneous as to how this Love may be obtained.

Men are constituted with a mind and a soul, each having its own perceptions and ability to comprehend the truth, and sometimes it happens that the perceptions of the soul will enable them to see and reach out for this Love, while they may be wholly blind in their mind perceptions, and even these latter perceptions may be in conflict with the operations of the perceptions of the soul.

Until the truths that I, and the other spirits, are revealing to you shall become known to the world, there will be nothing in existence or in the knowledge of men that can supply the place of these truths so much as the beliefs that have been and are being taught by the teachings of the Bible, for in it are many truths, especially those that show men the way to attain to moral perfection; and that, as you know, was one of the objects of my teachings when on earth, but not the great object of my mission. Nevertheless, the man who learns and applies these moral truths to his daily life and conduct comes nearer to the enjoyment of that harmony that man must obtain in order to get into a unison with God's laws, that is necessary to his regeneration and to his becoming the perfect man. And besides, as he - I mean the mortal - progresses in this regeneration, he will find it easier for him to learn by his soul perceptions the great truth of the transformation of the soul through the New Birth.

I approve of the efforts of this preacher to bring men to a realization of their relationship to God, even though he has many erroneous beliefs, and says many things that are contrary to the truth, and not in accord with the true relationship of man to God.

I will write you soon upon this matter of the judgment, and what it means and the variety of its operations. Tonight, I will not write longer, for I think it best to not draw upon you too much at this renewed conjunction of rapport with your condition. I have been with you very often of late, and tried to influence you with my love and suggestions, and I must tell you that you have progressed much in your soul development and nearness to the Father's love.

Continue to meditate upon these spiritual things, and pray to the Father, and you will realize a great increase in the possession of this Love and in your condition that will enable us to come in closer rapport with you.

Well, I will do as you suggest, and am pleased that you feel as you say, for we must do the work as rapidly as possible. We have lost much time and will have to work the harder to bring about the completion of our delivery of the truths. But you need not fear that we will not be successful. We will complete the book and you will receive the other gifts that are promised you. Only have faith and pray, and all will be well.

I must stop now, but before doing so must assure you that I am praying with you in your prayers at night, and that your prayers will be answered. Other spirits will now be able to write you and they have many messages to communicate and all are anxious to do so. Keep up your courage and believe in me and what I tell you. With my love and the blessings of the Father, I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Paul Writes About "What is the real body that is resurrected at the time of the physical death?"

October 4, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Paul.

Yes, I come tonight to write you upon a subject that may be of interest to you and important to all mankind. If you are in condition to receive my message I will write. Well, the subject is: "What is the real body that is resurrected at the time of the physical death?"

Of course, there will be but one resurrection and that takes place at the time the mortal becomes an inhabitant of the spirit world. There will never be what is called a general resurrection of the dead, for the mortal can die only once - I mean in a physical sense. In order to live in the spirit realms, it is necessary that he have a spirit body that preserves the identity of his individuality, and having this body (and never having been without it after the soul is incarnated in the earthly body) and not needing an additional body, there is no possibility of another resurrection, or of another body being added to the one that the soul already has.

The body that dies when the man ceases to be a mortal disintegrates into its elements, and never again do these elements form the same body that becomes decayed and, hence, it is impossible for that body to be resurrected. The only body that is ever resurrected is the body that encloses the soul of the mortal at the time he gives up the earth life.

I know that many believe that when the man dies, his conscious existence ceases, and he becomes, as it were, dead in body, soul and spirit; that although the physical body decays and returns to dust or ashes, yet the soul and spirit, in some mysterious and unexplainable manner, continues to exist as an unthinking sleeping entity not subject to sensation or activity, and so remains until the great day of judgment or of Christ's coming when, in response to the summons, it arouses itself, answers the summons, and again becomes clothed in the body which it possessed while in the human form. In their belief, it may not be the exact or identical body which once existed, but the new body will be one of flesh and blood and of such a nature as to be in substance the same body that was dead and buried and decayed.

But this is not true. For the very laws of nature, with which men are acquainted, prove the impossibility of such an occurrence. And many arguments have been formulated and declared to prove that such a resurrection cannot be - that it will be wholly impossible for the elements that constituted the old body to again assemble in the same form and give to the soul the body that it discarded when it experienced its freedom from the bonds of the flesh.

But the advocates of this untrue theory respond that God is all powerful and, in some way not understood by men, will resurrect this old body and clothe the soul therein so that the identity of the individual will appear. It must be remembered that God works and produces beings and entities in accordance with laws that he has established, and not by any special, sporadic act, irrespective of and, as said, in contravention of these laws.

Man understands, to some extent, the workings of these laws in what he calls nature, or the normal, and some spirits understand not only what man understands, but also the workings of these laws that may be called above nature or super-normal, and the laws work the same and without change or interference in the one case as in the other.

As it would be impossible to clothe a mortal having one body of flesh with another body of flesh, so in the spirit world it would be impossible to clothe the spirit who has a spirit body with any additional body, whether of flesh or other substance. This spirit body is a thing of real substance and not susceptible of being enveloped in any other body.

Well, I see that you are not in condition to write and I will postpone the remainder of the message until later. I have not written you for some time and am glad of the opportunity to again write. I understand what you mean and will act on your suggestion as I think it a very wise and desirable one. I will come more often and write. So with all my love I will say, good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Paul

**********

Paul Continues the Previous Message

October 5, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.

I am here, Paul.

I will finish my message tonight if you are so inclined. Well, we will try.

As I was saying, the body that is resurrected at death is not the physical body, but the spirit body; and never after the first resurrection is there another. I am now dealing with the resurrection other than that of the soul, or the resurrection from the death of which I have before written you.

The body that is once laid in the grave will never be resurrected and neither will any of its elements enter into any other body for the purpose of a resurrection. The body of flesh is created for one purpose only, and when that purpose has been accomplished, never will that body or any derivation from it be used for any other resurrection. This body of flesh is of matter, and like all matter, is used for the life on earth only, and cannot be used for any function or clothing any spirit in the spirit world, and neither can it be translated into the spirit realms. All material bodies must die and never will there come a time when men can leave the earth and enter the spirit life in these material bodies.

I know that it has been written that certain of the prophets of old were translated into the spirit Heavens clothed in their fleshly bodies, but this is not true, for it is impossible that such a thing could be, for the same laws apply to the physical body of the saint as to that of the sinner; both are of the earth - earthly - and must be left behind when the spirits of men enter the Heavens of spirits.

So that when men believe and preach the general resurrection of the material body, or the special resurrection of the same, they are in error and do not believe or preach the truth. Flesh and blood, or flesh without blood, cannot inherit the kingdom, and no belief or teachings can make that true which is untrue.

I do not desire to write more on this subject, because many men who are acquainted with the Laws of Nature, and many more, who will become acquainted with these laws, know and will know and understand the impossibility of the material entering the realm of the spiritual. So thanking you for your kindness, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
St. Paul

Martin Luther Writes About "The Atonement" by Pastor Russell and Gives Advice on How to Test the Spirits Who Wish to Communicate

October 19, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Luther.

I came to tell you that you are not much benefited by the book (Pastor Russel's The Atonement) you have been reading tonight, because it ignores the very foundation of the plan of man's redemption; that is, the Divine Love which the Father bestowed on mankind at the coming of Jesus. The blood atonement is all wrong and misleading and has done much harm to the truths of God and to mankind.

I will admit that there are many truths stated in the book and many that will do much good to humanity to understand and believe, but because of the great error in the vital point of the declaration as to the plan of man's salvation, these truths which the book contains may not do the good that they otherwise might.

Of course, you who understand the true plan of salvation may make the true discrimination between those declarations, which declare the truth and those which do not. But on the whole, I do not see that the teachings of the book will do you much good.

Well, I know that the passage in John refers to the spirits of men who once lived on earth and who communicated to the members of the early church in their places of worship, and elsewhere John has explained to you, and what he said, I have been informed by others of the apostles, is true.

The author of that book has certain theories and, of course, he is construing all the teachings of the Bible in such a way as to sustain his theories. But he is wrong as he will discover when he comes to the spirit world.

He teaches that the soul as well as the body of man goes into the grave to await the great day of judgment, and there is no such place as the spirit world inhabited by the spirits of departed mortals and to maintain this position he quotes from some of the old books of the Bible. But these books were not written by men inspired by God to declare the truths; and the quoted expressions are merely the result of the purely human minds of the authors, who did not know what they wrote to be a fact, but because of the conditions in which they were in, they concluded that such assertions must be true.

Let not the writings of these old writers, or of the present day writers either, cause you to hesitate to believe what the Master may write as being true. I merely wanted to say this as I saw that you are interested in this book and I wanted to warn you against letting it influence you in any way.

Yes, I say that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh, and I know it, for he is here a spirit and once lived on earth, But that fact does not prove that any spirit who acknowledges that is a true follower of him or a redeemed spirit of the Father. There are many spirits in the spirit world who believe that Jesus, the spirit whom they sometimes meet, once lived as a mortal and would, if asked, say that he lived in the flesh, but they are not believers in the Divine Love of the Father, or have had the benefit of his great plan of salvation or acknowledged him as the savior from sin and error. So that the test set forth in the Bible may have been considered a true test in the days of the early church, yet it is not now a very safe one for the reason that I have mentioned.

And if a test is necessary, I think a better one would be: try the spirits and every one who does not acknowledge that Jesus is the best beloved son of God and brought to the knowledge of mankind the rebestowal of the Divine Love and declared to men the way in which that Love may be obtained, is not a spirit that should be communicated with for the purpose of learning spiritual truths. This test is better, because no spirit who has not received this Divine Love, or the New Birth, will acknowledge the existence of these things, because it has no knowledge upon which to make the acknowledgment.

I must not write more to night, but I hope the little that I have said may help you and others who have doubts, as to what the meaning of that part of the Bible, which refers to the trying of the spirits, is. I am very anxious to write you again as to some of the higher truths pertaining to the spirit world and soon I hope that I may have the opportunity. I will say goodnight.

Your brother in Christ,
Martin Luther

Jesus Writes on the True Meaning of "Immortality"

May 28, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I want to tell you what I mean by immortality, as you and your friend differed today in your ideas of what it means.

When Adam*, or whom he typified, was told that if he should disobey God and eat of the forbidden fruit, he should surely die, the word death meant death of the soul so far as its future progress in that which would insure its receiving the Divine Essence of the Father's Love was involved. It did not mean the physical death or the death of the body, because it is very apparent that after his doom was pronounced, he lived in the flesh a great many years. But his soul's progression stopped.

And it was only after my coming to earth and teaching the doctrine and truth of man being restored to the condition which Adam occupied before his fall, did mankind have the privilege of becoming immortal again - that is, of being permitted - and in condition - to obtain that soul progress, which would enable them to become one with and a part of the Father in His love and affections.

I do not mean that Adam was endowed with this Divine Love when he was created, but that he had that formation of soul potentialities which, if properly exercised, would have brought him in that unison with the Father that would have made his nature divine. And when he disobeyed the commandments of the Father, he died - so far as that possibility of obtaining that Divine Nature is concerned.

As to those who lived on earth between Adam's fall and my revelation of the truth of redemption, they did not receive this nature, or potentiality, and were compelled to live only as mortals and spirits having the natural love. They never were admitted into the Father's Heavenly Kingdom, but existed merely as spirits having the natural love which was bestowed upon Adam and his race. Abraham, Isaac, and the rest of the persons who are described in the Bible as being children of God and obedient to His commands, were not partakers of this Divine Nature and became so only after my coming to earth and showing the way to its attainment.

When I was sent to earth, God sent me with the truth as to redemption and conferred upon man the privilege of receiving His Divine Essence. No sacrifice or death of mine brought this great boon, but only with my coming came this Love and the way to obtain it. Adam was not created immortal, but had only the potentiality of immortality, and after his death, man ceased to have this potentiality until God sent it to them with my coming to earth.

And when it was said that: "As in Adam all men die, so in me were all men made alive,"** it was merely meant that when Adam fell, that which formed a part of his being and made it possible for him to become immortal was taken from him - that is, as to that potentiality and privilege, he died, and was no more able to attain to the condition of soul that enabled him to become one with the Father, or to partake of His Divinity; and in this death remained the condition of mankind until, as I say, I came and brought with me the restored gift of the soul attribute, which made it possible for man to again become immortal.

When this gift was bestowed upon man, it was also bestowed upon all those who were then living in the spirit world, but they could obtain it only in the way that was provided for man to obtain it. Understand me, everything that was lost by Adam's fall was restored by my coming with the restored gift; and it embraced every spirit who had ever lived as mortal and every mortal who thereafter lived up to the present time.

My coming, of itself, or the death or sacrifice of me by the Jews, did not restore mankind to the condition that existed in Adam before his fall. I was only a messenger of God sent with that gift and to teach the truth of its restoration to mankind and to spirits. And when, after my death, I descended into Hell, as the Bible says (but which saying does not express the destination of my going, for the true meaning is that I went into the world of spirits), I proclaimed to the spirits the truth of the bestowal of this restored life which had been lost by Adam's disobedience.

All spirits, good and bad, now have this restored potentiality of obtaining the Divine Nature that I have spoken of, or immortality. So you see, when Adam died, it was the death of the soul quality or potentiality which makes immortality possible.

When the Bible speaks of those men of ancient times who were God's prophets and beloved children and as walking with Him, it merely means that they had obtained such a high development of their natural love that they could occupy those spheres in the spirit world upon their physical death, which made them mere spirits of mortals, close to the Father and supremely happy. I mean that happiness which does not partake of the Divine Nature. They were not in the same condition of soul attributes as was Adam before his fall - for they did not have this potentiality, and any interpretation of anything written in the Bible which gives to any man or spirit, at that time, the possibility of receiving the Divine Essence of the Father is erroneous and misleading.

As I have said, my death or sacrifice by blood, as is emphasized in creeds and worship of the churches, did not in the slightest degree work to bring about the restoration of this great favor of God to man. They were merely the results of the conditions of the beliefs of men in the Jewish nation, which would not tolerate my declarations of truth. My death, etc., did not appease any wrath of God towards men, but of His own Great Love for His creatures He bestowed this gift or privilege of the soul, which man had lost by Adam's disobedience.

It was the disobedience of believing that he was not dependent upon God for the soul quality or potentiality that made it possible for him to partake of God's Divine Nature. The tree of good and evil merely represented the knowledge that God had reserved unto Himself of the existence of that, which if known to Adam, would have subjected him to temptations that would destroy this soul quality of which I have spoken. And when Adam ate of the fruit of this tree that is - when he disobeyed God and sought the knowledge of those things which subjected him to the temptations that might cause him to cease to be all good - God took away the potentiality of Adam becoming one with Him and immortal. It was a direct punishment for disobedience, and the result was that man was left mere man, either as a mortal or as a spirit.

I do not think that it was ever said that if Adam should eat of the tree of life, he would live forever and become as gods, because he was already the recipient of this tree of life in that attribute of his soul which could by its proper development make himself like the gods; and here you must understand that gods could mean only those who possessed this Divine Nature of the Father. There was only one God, and all other living beings in the spirit world were merely those who were possessed of the God-like qualities of love and obedience. None were gods. The Angels of God were merely the spirits that I have last described.

When it was said that man was made a little lower than the Angels, it meant that while these Angels had that Divine Nature perfected to a more or less degree, man had only the potentiality of soul that would enable him to obtain that development which would perfect him so that he could become an Angel. But this saying does not apply to any man born after Adam and before my coming with the announcement that God had restored to man this Divine attribute which Adam had forfeited.

So you see, the loss of immortality does not mean the death of the physical body, but the death of that quality or potentiality of the soul which enabled man to become like the Father in certain of His Divine attributes. And more strictly speaking, the mere possession of the soul of this quality is not immortality, or rather it does not make a man or spirit immortal, but merely gives him such quality of soul and potentiality that by its proper development he may become immortal.

In the future, all men, either as spirits or mortals, will possess that soul quality or potentiality until the great day of judgment shall again take from those who have not, at the time, perfected their souls into the enjoyment of the Divine Nature, as I have explained. When that day comes, those who are without this Divine Essence in their souls, will be forever deprived of the privilege of receiving this Great Gift or obtaining of this Divine Essence or, in other words, of God's Divine Love. And after that time, those spirits who have never acquired this Divine Nature will be permitted to live merely as spirits enjoying their natural love, just as Adam after his fall, and all spirits and men who lived between that time and my coming, lived only in their natural love. This is the second death. Adam's was the first, and the great day of judgment will declare the second. And after that never again will man have the opportunity of partaking of this Divine Essence of the Father and "becoming as one of the gods."

Men may reason to the utmost of their limited intellects in the way of saying that God would not subject His creatures to this second death and, thereby, deprive them of this great boon of becoming partakers of His Divine Nature and the great happiness that comes with it, but such reasoning, or the conclusion reached, will not change the fact. What I tell you is the fact and many men to their sorrow will, when too late, realize that it is true. And men will not be justified in complaining of this.

The opportunity is now given and will in the future be given to all men and spirits to become the children of the Father in the Angelic and Divine sense, and if they refuse to do so, they can have no grounds upon which to base the accusation of injustice against the Father or His love. He will still be their Father, even though they may not accept His Great Gift, and they will  - from the natural love bestowed upon them - be comparatively happy, but they will not partake of His Heavenly Kingdom.

They will be like the guests invited to the marriage feast who, because of various excuses, declined to attend. While they were not deprived of other food and sustenance, yet, the more precious food, which the host had provided for them at the feast, they never partook of, and never thereafter had the opportunity to. Many of my parables in the Bible illustrate this great truth when properly understood. But men in those days did, when I was on earth, and men now harden their hearts and shut their intellects to the truths of these parables and to my teachings.

Of course, ultimately, all these men will be saved from sin and error and, in fact, sin and error will be destroyed entirely and men and spirits will live comparatively happy; but they will live in death and not in life, so far as the life of the soul with its possibilities of becoming Divine, or of enjoying the great happiness which the Divine Love of the Father bestows, is concerned.

So you see, immortality does not pertain to the physical body or to the spiritual body, or to the soul unqualifiedly, but to those qualities of the soul, which makes it possible for the soul to become in its nature Divine. And immortality does not mean mere continuous existence, because every spirit and every soul may live through all eternity in their individualized form. And when it was said in the Bible that I brought immortality and life to light, it did not mean that I showed man merely that they would, as spirits, continue to live forever, but it meant that they would live forever in the Father's Kingdom with natures Divine and not capable of being deprived of the great and true life which obtains only in that Kingdom.

So let you and your friend think over what I have written, and in places where my meaning may not appear plain, I will try by the inspiration of my knowledge and power to enlighten your souls and intellects. You are both very mediumistic and easy recipients of inspiration, and as your souls seem to be attuned to the truth and as you are seeking earnestly for the truth, I will endeavor with all my powers to inspire you with such intellectual thoughts and spiritual perceptions as will enable you to see these truths in all their nakedness, and face to face, and not as through a glass darkly.

I must now stop and give you my blessings, and the blessing of the Father.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus
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* Adam, typified one of the first parents whose names are Aman and Amon. Both these spirits wrote through Mr. Padgett. Their messages will be posted in the future.

** 1 Corinthians 15:22