Padgett's Messages
Important Truths that all mankind should know.
What happens after Death?
When souls leave their earthly bodies, they enter the spirit world. As each spirit arrives in the spirit world, they are taken to a temporary place and are then helped by more advanced spirits who guide them and inform them that they have left their earthly bodies forever. These newborn spirits are also shown how to overcome the confusion and terror that may be theirs with the help and encouragement of these spirit helpers. Reference 1.
Some of the newly born spirits, when they come into the spirit world meet their guardian angels and also many of those whom they loved on earth. For a certain length of time they are very happy and rejoice because of the uniting with those they loved so much when on earth. They all have a wonderful time together.
This meeting place, where loved ones wait to meet the new arrivals and welcome them into their new home in the spirit world with great joy and gladness, could be compared to our Grand Central Station in New York, Chicago, or any other large city where trains come in from all over the country on many tracks. This joyful meeting helps to overcome the anxiety, and often fright that may be theirs upon first entering the spirit world. But the love and protection of these spirit helpers consoles them.
After a while, the spirit is told that there is a law, which is that all spirits have to go to a plane corresponding to their soul condition. That means its purity or lack of purity. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so (is) he.” Prov 23-7. This means, of course, his soul condition. Does he love things that are righteous and pure and holy, or does he love things that are evil and depraved? Reference 2.
When the spirit is conducted to its plane, according to its soul condition, the spirit finds itself in a place or environment that is in exact harmony with that condition.
Those spirits who find themselves in darkness and suffering because of evils done on earth, find that etched in their memories are every act and deed and thought that they had when on earth. When the conscience becomes awakened, as it does to all spirits sooner or later, then comes the scourging of conscience, remorse and regrets. Until these spirits are willing to receive the help and instructions of spirits from a higher plane, they will continue in their deplorable condition. Reference 3.
Conscience then becomes the judge and executioner, and causes the suffering - not an angry God inflicting this condition, as some of the orthodox churches teach. Conscience gradually becomes awakened and, with it, the remorse and regret because of its evil life on earth that causes the darkness and suffering. Now, you can readily see that the evil spirits, in order to make progress, must get rid of these evil creations that are the result of their own wills. Until their consciences are satisfied by getting into harmony with the laws that have been violated, these spirits will continue to suffer. Reference 4.
When these spirits get rid of these sinful desires and memories of those things they had forgotten to forget, suffering will cease. As the soul progresses, these memories become fainter and fainter until such memories and sinful desires will be removed sooner or later, and conscience ceases to cause suffering. Then these spirits can claim they have been forgiven and will find themselves in a beautiful place. Forgiveness is, in effect, forgetfulness.
First, it must be understood that when a mortal passes into the spirit world it has the same beliefs that it had on earth, and does not come into all knowledge, as some think. To obtain knowledge, the spirit must receive knowledge of Truths from a spirit who has progressed to a higher sphere.
There are many planes in each spirit sphere, but there are only seven spheres. The lower planes that exist in the first sphere, which is in contact with the earth plane, are called the hells. There are many hells as well as many heavens. To make progress into higher spheres, or heavens, the soul must be qualified to go higher, as in different grades of school.
Many spirits are stagnating in their plane or sphere because they are not willing to give up their erroneous beliefs from earth that retard their progress. But, if a spirit after it passes into the spirit world is in the soul condition of sufficient purity, it passes into the second sphere, which contains considerable light, and the spirits in this sphere have a good deal of happiness.
Because in the second sphere there are spirits who still have their orthodox beliefs much the same as they had on earth, the spirit does not come into all the knowledge, as some think. To obtain greater knowledge the spirit must receive this knowledge of truths from a spirit who has progressed to a higher plane or sphere.
There are two ways whereby the soul can make progress into the higher spheres or heavens - because there are two different purifying processes. Each purifying process leads to different heavens. There is the Kingdom of God 1 (or Biblical Heavens), wherein the perfect natural man exists. There is also the grander and more glorious kingdom, or Celestial Kingdom , where only those can enter who have received the New Birth, which is obtained by the inflowing of the Divine Love that comes from God by His Holy Spirit. Divine Love is the very essence and substance of the Father, while the natural love as taught by Moses - love to God and love to your fellow man - is not.
Love to God and love to your fellow man as taught by Moses and other teachers and reformers, is a beautiful love when lived up to, and leads to the Kingdom of the Perfect Natural Man but not to the Divine Kingdom of the Celestial Heavens, where Jesus dwells. Jesus was the first to obtain the Divine Love. Since he has been in the Celestial Heavens he has obtained it in such great abundance that he is nearer to the Fountainhead of the Father, and has a greater glory and beauty than any other Celestial Spirit. Because of this greater abundance of the Divine Love in his soul, it gives to him far greater wisdom and knowledge and soul perception of the Great Soul of God and His attributes. It makes him the greatest authority in all the Celestial Heavens of the Father’s plans for the salvation of His children.
Moses taught the Ten Commandments, and many other teachers and leaders taught the moral precepts before Jesus came to earth. Jesus was the first man to teach of a greater Love than the mere exercise of the natural love. This Divine Love is no part of the natural love, neither is it that love developed into its purest state. It is a separate and distinct quality of love.
A spirit who had reached the Kingdom of the Perfect Natural man wrote through Mr. James E. Padgett that “although he was a very bright spirit, his glory was like a pale moonbeam compared to the glorious sun at midday.” This fact is very convincing that these Celestials have obtained in their souls a quality of love that is of the Divine Essence, or Divine Love, which causes that greater glory and beauty that shines through their spirit body countenances, that the natural perfect man has not.
Spirits who have progressed to the Kingdom of Perfect Natural man, which is the highest sphere of those who develop their natural love and become free from sin and error, find themselves in a condition of stagnation, for they have found the limit of their purifying process that they have passed through. Of course, they are beautiful and glorious spirits, and wonderfully happy in investigating laws both material and spiritual, for there is always something new coming up for them to study. The purifying process they have passed through is the result of good deeds and good thoughts, their natural love to God and their fellowman, renunciation of their sins that are not in harmony with God’s laws of harmony, and helping spirits who are in a lower sphere than themselves. When these spirits reach the condition whereby their souls become free from the perversions of their natural love, they have then reached the sixth sphere, the Kingdom of the Perfect Natural Man, but are still in a condition of stagnation, and become anxious for higher Truth as the soul longing increases.
After a while, these spirits referred to find their souls becoming hungry for something they know not what, and then the Celestials, who often visit the spheres, are able to instruct them in what their souls are really hungry for, even though they have no idea of what it is. Then these spirits will often listen to the Celestials and take their advice, and seek with all the earnest, sincere longings of their souls for the inflowing of the Divine Love. When this Love comes into the soul, it transforms the soul into the Divine Nature, and eventually the Love comes into the soul in such abundance that the Celestial Heavens will be reached.
The Celestial Heavens follow the seventh sphere. The spirit who makes its progress from the lower spheres by earnest and sincere prayers for the Divine Love finds that as the Divine Love enters into the soul in sufficient abundance it is then qualified to enter the sphere above. After it reaches this sphere and seeks for more of the Divine Love, and more of the Love comes into the soul in sufficient degree, the spirit rises into the next sphere that is higher, and as the Love increases in the soul, the spirit progresses from sphere to sphere, until it reaches the seventh sphere. After it reaches the seventh sphere, the spirit possesses the Divine Love in almost, but not quite sufficient abundance to enter the Celestial Heavens, which are immediately above the seventh sphere.
Acknowledgement.
Dr Stone was the first to have the true teachings of Jesus and the other Celestials printed; he was a close associate of Mr. Padgett while receiving the messages; he was present with Dr. Samuels when he received the supplementary writings from Jesus; he served as the first President and one of the Founding Trustees of the Church of the New Birth; from 1918-1967 (the year of his passing) he spread the true teachings of Jesus of Nazareth; and during all of those years he spoke every night to the dark and suffering spirits.
1 I do not use the phrase “Kingdom of God” in this way. To me, the Kingdom of God is the Celestial Kingdom, and I would call the spheres preceding that, the Kingdom of Spirit or the Kingdom of the Perfect Natural man. From my perspective I see Jesus referring to the Kingdom of God in Matthew 19:24 (Going through the Eye of the needle) and again in John 3:3 (being born again – as spoken to Nicodemus) and those references can only refer to the Celestial Kingdom. G.J.C.
See a current message from Dr Stone.