Hell, II

FRI., APR. 28, 1989, 6:20 AM
FARM, STUDY

The long letter you have written to My servant Mable is about as I expected and desired. It is a good description of what We do together and of the spiritual path along which you move. It is essentially positive, and that is the theology of your Christian path. One of her main difficulties with it, from her Biblical base, should be the lack of judgment and of hell. There is a Scriptural basis for hell, and I want you to know the interpretation I offer to you.

The traditional Christian interpretation of life is that it is a time of decision for or against Christ Jesus as the manifestation of Almighty God. Those who say Yes, with their spirits and with their lives, at death come to Me and spend eternity in heaven, a place of blissful continuing relationship with Me, as Triune God. There is no purpose to this eternal “life”. It just is a reward for the crucial decision.

My servant Paul suggested that there are levels of heaven. He didn’t truly develop this idea, but it could be similar to the truth that there are numerous realms in which a soul, without a body, can continue in development… which may include just “resting in the Lord.”

Those who say No, however… who reject Me as the Christ or even any relationship with Me as God… must suffer an eternal punishment, which is a banishment to hell. This is a place of everlasting suffering, with no further chance for relationship with Me or with those in heaven… or heavens.

There are two related but still different interpretations of the criterion for ending up in heaven rather than hell. One is the simple decision for Christ… giving your life to Him, in the fullness of your spirit… whether this is at 8 years of age or on your deathbed at 80. The acceptance of My grace is what gets you to heaven. Non-acceptance lands you in hell. The other tradition is more a matter of justice. There is a record kept of your life actions and motivations. If you have consistently broken commandments and not lived according to My Sermon on the Mount and, at death, the balance is toward bad deeds, then you go to hell as your just punishment. Sins send you to hell, so live life clean and holy, or that’s where you shall be for eternity.

It isn’t clear, in traditional Christianity, what happens to those who “are not against Me”… those who do not reject but who do not really accept, either. The Catholics created purgatory, a place of temporary suffering, from which one could progress to heaven. I’ll just say to you that this is in the right direction.

But this Teaching is supposed to be about hell. Hell exists as a realm, I say to you, but it is different for different people. It is the most intense and the most a place of suffering for those who expect such, either for their conduct or their lack of acceptance of the Lord. It is possible to stay in such a state for eternity, but only a few stubborn, unrepentant, masochistic folk do this.

For the Christ spirit continuously offers the opportunity to grow toward Me, and when one in hell accepts such an offer she may move to a more productive realm. I tell you that life is much more than a single span of years in a body on earth. Life is advancement toward Me or movement away from Me or a temporary time of being “dead in the water.”

The concept of hell is a good one for some souls. Some can truly turn to the good in order to avoid the evil. Some who believe in justice know they deserve punishment for evil thoughts and deeds in earth life. There is such a place for these. But there are opportunities to move on.