"You are spirits, inhabitants of another, greater, infinite, everlasting world! o not forget that this transient life on earth is only a trial life! The greater, indeed the greatest, art is awaiting you in a world where the sun no longer sets, where night is banned and only light, equivalent to love, permeates all heavenly spheres as a stimulator." (Sermon 2 - The Lord's Sermon) Parable of the Sower and the 3 Heavens "[9] But I have said, that, unto you it is given to understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God. Yet I perceive that, basically, your understanding is not much better than those on the shore. Then hear and listen as to how the parable of the sower has to be understood: [10] If anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom of God that I speak but does not understand it in his heart, which with its worldliness is trodden smooth as a roadway, then the wicked one soon sees the Word not fallen in the Earth but unto the trodden world-smooth outer and exposed surface of the heart, easily plucking off what actually is sown in the heart, yet clinging to the world-smooth outer surface. And see, such man is like unto a wayside unto which the grain i.e. My Word, has fallen. And of this variety there are many standing at the shore. [11] But the following is a case of the seed falling on stony ground: where a person hears the Word, receiving it with much joy. But, because like a stone, such man has little life-moisture or proper stoutness of heart, and too little soil, or firmness of will, in or above himself, being like the stone dependent upon the weather, whether it be moist or dry, and therefore changeable, then such person, when on account of My Word he comes to be tried by all kinds of tribulations and persecution, turns full of anger and fury, resembling the sun-heated stone, upon which of course My word cannot take root, in the end having to wither away. [12] And see, there upon the shore stand many such stones, who indeed now are offended in Me on account of the Pharisees, but then seeing My Words directed to them being immediately followed by all sorts of tribulation and persecution, they deaden the Word in their heart by, on the one hand being too much offended, and too fearful on the other. For in spite of all the signs they saw and all My living assurances that I can adequately protect them against all kinds of trouble, they still don't believe and therefore resemble the stone upon which the seed fell. [13] But the falling of the seed among thorns signifies the following: where a person hears the Word and even accepts it, but is immersed in all kinds of worldly business, and worries associated therewith on account of deceitful gain and even more deceitful riches. Such trivial worries accumulate by the day, richly proliferating in the heart like all weeds, to but easily smother My sowed Word.
[14] And again see, of such there stand many at the shore, resembling the thorns among which the seed fell. [15] And the following is the seed sown into good soil, where a person hears My Word, receiving it into the depth of his heart, where alone it is at all times understood validly, rightly and animatedly. Such man then is such good ground into which the seed falls and, depending on man's will and strength, brings forth the fruit of good works a hundredfold, sixtyfold or thirtyfold. And a hundredfold is when he does all for Me, sixtyfold where he does much for Me and thirtyfold where he does a good portion for Me. [16] By analogy, there are in My Kingdom 3 Heavens. The first for the hundredfold fruit, the one below it for the sixtyfold and the lowermost for the thirtyfold. Lower than the thirty receives no consideration, and he who has less than thirty shall have it taken from him and added to him who has thirty, sixty or a hundred. And it shall thus be taken from him who has nothing and added to him who already has, that he may have in all fullness.’" (GGJ I, 191:9-16) THE 3 DEGREES OF INNER PERFECTION CORRESPONDING TO THE 3 HEAVENS "[6] Therefore, whoever can battle against all the bad passions of his body, and in this way has become master over himself by the firm and living faith, by the love for God and fellowman and by the unwavering hope, will then also soon become lord over the whole visible nature. And then he already finds himself in the first degree of the true inner life perfection, because he has become fully a lord over himself, although he still will oftentimes not lack all kinds of temptation that will prick him to make one or the other light sin. [7] If he then also succeeds in making a firm pact with all his sense-organs to turn away from all earthly pricks and to turn only towards the pure spiritual, then this is already a sure sign full of the light of life that the inner Spirit out of God has totally filled the soul, and then man is already in the second degree of the inner true life perfection. [8] In this degree, man has already received such great strength and life freedom that he, because in his soul he is completely filled with God’s will and can act according to it, can nevermore commit any sin, for when he himself has become pure, everything is also pure to him. [9] But although man is then already a perfect lord over the whole nature and has within him the complete conviction that he can sin no more, because all his actions are guided by the true wisdom out of God, yet he still remains thereby in the second degree of the inner life perfection. [10] But there is still a third and most high degree of inner life perfection. [11] Of what does it consist, and how can man attain to it? [12] It consists in the fact that the perfect man, who knows very well now that he is a powerful lord of the whole nature, and without sinning can do whatever he wants, still, in a humble and meek way, controls his willpower and might, and in all his actions, out of pure love for God, only waits until he receives for this reason from God an assignment, which is for the perfect lord of nature still a very difficult task, because he, in his full wisdom always realizes that according to the will out of God that lives in him, can only do the right thing. [13] But an even more profound spirit will also realize that between the special will of God in him and the most free and endless universal will in God there is still a big difference, by which he makes his special will completely subordinate to the universal divine will, and will only do something of his own power when he directly receives an assignment for it by the only self-will in God. He who does that, has attained within him to the innermost and highest life perfection, and this is the life perfection in the third degree. [14] Whoever has attained to it is also completely one with God and possesses just like God the highest might and power over everything in Heaven and on Earth, and nobody can ever take it away from him because he is completely one with God. [15] But nobody can reach this highest life perfection wherein the archangels are, before first having attained to the first and second degree of life perfection. [16] Every archangel has the power to achieve at once everything that God can achieve unlimitedly Himself. But still, no archangel does anything out of himself, but only when he receives the assignment from God. Therefore, even the highest archangels are asking God to assign them to do this or that, especially when they can see that the people of this Earth are lacking one thing or the other." (GGJ, VII, 155:6-16) The 3 Heavens "[14] Yet, Heaven has also 3 degrees, just like Hell has 3 degrees or stages. [15] The 7 men from Upper-Egypt were representing the lowest degree of the pure Heaven of Wisdom, and only in there the hellish spirits from Jerusalem were allowed to come first. Then a light began to dawn within them and they became aware that they were completely in the evil of Hell. When they began to be aware of it more and more, the light of the second degree of Heaven came down to them in the person of Raphael and they felt the need to rid themselves of their evil and to turn to the light. Only when they looked at themselves completely for the first time in the bright light of the truth and love of the second Heaven, true repentance started to penetrate into them and there was a longing for Me, the highest degree of the Heavens. And when I Myself came to them,they were then at once completely converted, and so they are now candidates for the first degree of Heaven." (GGJ Book 17, chap. 89 ) "01] (The Lord:) “This is what awaits and is even necessary for a perfected soul, nevertheless, this characteristic of a perfected soul must be seen as a lowest degree of the actual great bliss, because this alone would begin to disgust a perfected soul in time to such an extend, as if it would disgust you if you had to look at this although very beautiful landscape, for only a hundred consecutive years. 02] The greater bliss of a soul obviously consists only in that the perfected soul is equipped with truly divine creative powers and that it with divine like wisdom can do everything that God Himself can do and produce in exactly the same way. 03] An even higher and actually almost greatest degree of bliss of a perfected soul consists therein, that it can have God, the only Lord and Creator of infinity, around it all the time as its best friend and to love Him without measure and beyond any limits and can see with Him in an instance the complete spiritual and material creation. 04] But the greatest bliss of a perfected soul lies therein, that it, being fully united with God through love, is experiencing the fullest divine freedom.' (GGJ VII, chap. 67) The Wisdom Heaven (First Heaven) 14] For the most part only souls from all other worlds attain to the first or wisdom heaven, and from this earth the souls of those wise heathens who have lived a decent and just life, yet also in the beyond do not wish to hear of My person. If, however, they in time accept some of this knowledge, they can certainly enter into the second, the higher or middle heaven. But they cannot ever enter into the third, the innermost and highest heaven, the true heaven of love and life. For there, only those will enter who have already fully succeeded in becoming a child of God.” (GGJ Book 9, chp. 84) (An angel talking to an inhabitant of the first heaven on the spiritual sun and his wife) "Dear friend! Your question is justified and the sound of your speech is full of pure heavenly wisdom. But lo, in your words one thing is lacking, namely, love! Although your household is magnificently appointed and all your wealth has gone forth from your wisdom, one grain of sand in the Kingdom of the Lord's love is endlessly more than all your splendour! - Look, those here with me are students of love and I am now out of great love their guide in the name of the Lord. Do recognize and understand us from this viewpoint! - See, moral purity is a glorious virtue and the righteous is the Lord's friend. Yet, he who is a sinner and repents out of love for the Lord, pleases Him more than ninety-nine of your kind in all their moral purity, who have never needed to repent. And you, pure wife of this pure husband! Truly, your conduct was like the purest star and a never transgressed chastity was your road into this magnificent realm! But look, in the eternal morning are many of your sex, who have often sinned against their flesh. These offenders have recognized their sin and, repenting, have humbled themselves before the Lord and in their great love for Him, they seek nothing but that He, in His grace and mercy, might after their death receive them among the least worthy of those likely to enjoy Hos endless mercy. These are now dwelling in the greatest bliss in the eternal Morning enjoying the perpetual company of the Lord! Truly, everything here is magnificent and full of the greatest splendour. But a most miserable thatched cottage in the realm inhabited by the Lord is worth endlessly more than all this splendour'" (Spiritual Sun I, chap. 44) The Road to Higher Heavens (The angel continuing his communication to the inhabitant of the first heaven and his wife on the spiritual sun) "Dear friends, have you never heard what the Lord said to the rich young man, namely: Give everything away and follow Me!? Besides, have you not read the passage wherein the Lord drew a comparison valid for all times? When a self-righteous Pharisee in the temple proper boasted to the Lord about his works which fully complied with the law of Moses, whilst at the same time, in the background, a poor sinner beat his breast, saying: O, Lord, I am not worthy to raise my eyes to your holy place! - Which of the two did the Lord justify? - You say: The humble sinner! Look, from this you can easily find the true road to the Lord. Do act in the same way! For the Lord's Word is also fully valid in the heavens in all eternity. - Besides, look: Before Him, nothing is pure, good and merciful! Do not imagine to be perfect, but do what the sinner did in the temple and what one of whom you know, who was crucified with the Lord, did. Then you will be truly justified, namely, in the sole love for the Lord. Do become utterly poor, so that you can become rich in the love of the Lord!" (Spiritual Sun I, chap. 44) The Wisdom-Love Heaven (Second Heaven) - excerpt from dr. Walter Lutz book about the NR - 'Principles of Life' vol. II) "In this case, such a denizen of heaven enjoys a correspondingly increasing degree of bliss. It no longer expresses itself as it is the case in the Wisdom Heaven, mainly in the sphere of action. It "consists in that the soul is now also endowed with the truly divine creative power and able to work out of divine wisdom all the things that God Himself works." (GGJ VII, 67:2) The spiritual abode of these souls dwelling in the ether spaces of the Love-Wisdom Heaven are exceedingly modest and simple, but nevertheless, all the more pleasant and charming. In the book 'The Spiritual Sun' this sphere is topographically compared to an endless, charming hilly country, with dwellings resembling the tidy, low alpine cottages of Switzerland. The celestial travellers in our book, who are allowed to inspect all this, say: "Yes. yes, truly, it really looks like this: There is surely a great difference between such a cottage and a palace or even a great city down in the former (wisdom-) plain, but all the same we would rather dwell in it than in such a place." (Spiritual Sun I, 46:1) The dwellers of these sphere are no longer concerned with creating for themselves a great, stately, beautiful dwelling-place and exploring God's creation intellectually, but their life keeps concentrating more and more exclusively on the love-activity, i.e. on the taking part in the great work of redemption of the souls still incarcerated in matter. It is hard work and in the book 'The Spiritual Sun' glimpsed by our celestial travellers correspondingly as all sorts of agricultural implements around the "alpine cottages". But only through this completely humble and selfless love-activity is it possible for the Father in Jesus to appear in this sphere occasionally "in person", visiting the souls that love Him most ardently and taking the fully perfected with Him to the upper-most celestial sphere." (Comp. Spiritual Sun II, chap. 1-3) The Love Heaven (Third and Supreme Heaven) "02] The greater bliss of a soul obviously consists only in that the perfected soul is equipped with truly divine creative powers and that it with divine like wisdom can do everything that God Himself can do and produce in exactly the same way. 03] An even higher and actually almost greatest degree of bliss of a perfected soul consists therein, that it can have God, the only Lord and Creator of infinity, around it all the time as its best friend and to love Him without measure and beyond any limits and can see with Him in an instance the complete spiritual and material creation. 04] But the greatest bliss of a perfected soul lies therein, that it, being fully united with God through love, is experiencing the fullest divine freedom." (GGJ VII, 67:2-4)
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