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March 12th, 1916
Received by:James Padgett.
Washington D.C.
I am here, St. John - Apostle of Jesus.
I was with you tonight and heard the sermon of the preacher on
heaven and what it is and, as his text was founded on some expressions
in a book of the Bible ascribed to me and which I did write, though
not just as is contained in the Bible, I thought it meet
(appropriate ) that I should come and write you as to the truth of the sermon,
and as to the value of the book as descriptive or suggestive of
what heaven is and what its appearances are, and what the spirits
of the redeemed are doing in what the preacher designated as service.
Well, I first want to say that while I did write a book of the
nature of the one in the Bible named Revelation, yet this one does
not contain my writings to any great extent, nor are my ideas set
forth or followed in this book of Revelation. As you may now know,
in my time, and for a long time previous, the Jewish writers, because
of the great troubles and persecutions their nation was undergoing,
were accustomed to write books in the nature of the one contained
in the Bible, and called Revelations, for the purpose of encouraging
their people to believe that all the wrongs that they were suffering
would be avenged by God, and their enemies made to suffer and become
destroyed, and that in the end their nation would be rescued from
its condition of servitude and sufferings and become the ruling
nation of the earth; and these writings were accepted by the Jews
as having the authority of divine inspiration and conveying to their
nation the truths of God and the same promises of His intervening
in their behalf. The writings were always ascribed to some prophet,
seer, or man of God who had the special privilege of coming in contact
with God or some of His angels through the mysterious and sacred
means of visions.
Of course, these writings were merely intended to encourage the
Jews to establish their faith in God and in the belief that He would
send them a Messiah who would have the power to redeem them from
the punishments and thralldom that they were undergoing under the
tyranny and strength of their heathen captors and persecutors.
Always were these writings prophetic and held forth the promises
for the future, without ever attempting to fix a time for their
fulfillment, or the ending of the nation's woes and the coming of
its deliverer, so that time went on and the promises were not fulfilled,
hope continued to exist and the belief of the Jews was not lessened,
and non-fulfillment was explained by the further belief that the
time for the consummation of their eagerly wished for expectations
had not yet arrived. That God was all knowing as well as all powerful
and careful for their race and that He and He alone understood just
when the proper and fitting time should arrive.
This hope upon hope was a wonderful force in keeping up the beliefs
and expectations of the Jews, and so effective was it that to this
day they remain a nation or rather a race in belief and expectation
of this coming Messiah. But, alas, as they did not recognize and
accept him when he did appear, they will never again see his appearance,
for he will never come as their Messiah as expected of old, but
only as the great teacher and redeemer, not only of their race,
but of all the peoples of the earth. He has already come as such
a redeemer, and is working now to lead men to the true and only
way to life and happiness and immortality. But never will any Messiah
come to the Jews to establish them on earth as a great and chosen
nation, as nearly all of them believe and still look for.
Thus, as I say, many books or manuscripts were written by the claimed
Jewish prophets holding forth to the Jews the results of visions
claimed to have been experienced by these writers. But as the prophecies,
in the sense that the Jews understood them, have never been fulfilled,
neither will they be fulfilled in the future, and their value has
no reality.
This custom as I may call it, continued from these early times
down to the time in which I lived and wrote, and my book of prophecy
was written by me, not with the purpose of establishing the Jews
as a nation on earth, or causing them to believe that their hopes
or longings would be fulfilled, but for the purpose of encouraging
the Christians to believe that notwithstanding their persecution
and sufferings and martyrdom they would in the future life, when
they should meet the Master and the saints, find joy and peace and
heaven. But in my writings nothing was said about the wrath of God
being visited upon the persecutors of the Christians or of their
having to go into a hell of fire and brimstone, so that from that
fact the happiness of the redeemed would be increased.
My writings have been added to and all kinds of grotesque imagery
interpolated so that the whole design and purpose of my writings
were changed and destroyed and the present Book of Revelation is
only a mere allegory of some one or more writers who were gifted
with some knowledge of the Christian teachings and unusually oriented
imaginations. This book is of no value, but on the contrary is doing
much harm to the cause of the truth as taught by the Master; as
we who are in the Celestial Heavens and have knowledge of things
heavenly as well as things earthly know to be the fact.
It should not be accepted as a truth of the revelation of truths,
and not be believed in for any purpose. It has lead many good men
and honest and earnest seekers after the truth astray, and caused
them to believe and teach false doctrines that have resulted in
much darkness and stagnation in the development of human souls in
their longings for the truth. So, I say, let men entirely discard
its teachings, and any and all lessons that the preachers or others,
who think that they can understand its meaning, attempt to teach.
The writings that I gave to my people, of the kind mentioned, have
long ago served their purpose, and the writings called the revelations
contain in it no truth that will help mankind to the Heavenly Kingdom
or to their eternal happiness and at-onement with the Father. Let
it die the death of a falsehood, born out of time.
I also was interested in the struggle of the preacher to explain
what heaven is, and what his people who may consider themselves
redeemed children of God, will find when they become inhabitants
of that heaven.
Well, he spoke truly when he said heaven is a place as well as
a condition, for it is inconceivable that any condition of the spirit
of a mortal could exist unless there be a place where that spirit
could find a habitation. All space in the universe of God is a place,
or contains places where things of existence must find localities.
There is no such thing as a vacuum in God's economy, and all parts
of space are fitted with something having substance, either material
or spiritual, and wherever such substance is, there is a place for
its abiding.
Yes, heaven is a place, or a number of places, for the preacher
is far from having the true conception of heaven when he supposes
it is one large place, where all believers go after death, irrespective
of their condition of soul and moral perfections. As I say, there
are many heavens and many places, all as real and substantial as
are the different stories and rooms in your home of earth. And the
partitions, if I may so speak, between these different places are
just as impassable for spirits that have not the proper qualifications
to pass through as are the partition walls between the various rooms
in your earth homes for you mortals to pass through. These places
are distinctive, and the many mansions that the preacher referred
to, are situated in many heavens or more correctly many spheres
of the heavens.
Strictly speaking, there are two heavens in God's spirit universe,
namely, the heavens of the redeemed and transformed soul by the
Divine Love called the Celestial Heavens, and the heavens of the
restored perfect man, called the Spiritual Heavens, each and all
of them being places of real perfection and substance.
As one star differs from another star in glory, so these several
heavens within heavens differ from one another in glory and appearance
and in those things which help to make the mansions of their inhabitants
beautiful and attractive and glorious.
It would take too long for me to attempt to describe any of these
heavens, for they each and all excel any conception that the mortal
is capable of having; but I will say this, that there are no streets
of gold or pearly gates, or suns or stars in any of them; only the
light of God's love and mercy illuminates them.
I will postpone my further writing, but will come
very soon and complete what I intended to say about the sermon
of the preacher, and attempt to show the real appearance of some
of the heavens, and what service the redeemed children of God render
when they come to the spirit world.
So my dear brother, I will say good night.
Your brother in Christ,
John
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