Lesson 7 -- Life Forever

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OUT ON THE FIELDS, on a clear day, you can see them. The delightful and lovable butterflies, the flowers of the air, are some of nature’s best offerings. Endowed with iridescent colors and markings, they shimmer with exceptional beauty. Neither hemmed in nor restricted, above the hustle and bustle below, they flit in and out of flower clusters, in the beauty and fragrance of it all, carefree, happy and content. Free to enjoy nature’s bounties, free to love and be loved in return, free to live amid the beauty and splendor of God’s grand creation, life to the butterfly is such a joyful and very wonderful thing.

02 But not so very long ago, the butterfly was not yet a butterfly. For only a short time before, it used to be just an ugly caterpillar, crawling laboriously up a tree, unglamorous and grubby. Then, busy with its voracious preoccupations, never in its wildest dreams could it have imagined that, in time, it would be able to fly far and wide into a very different and far more beautiful world.

03 Man is so much like a caterpillar. And like the caterpillar, he, too, will undergo a very similar metamorphosis. Man, at the present time, thinks himself earthly, subject to the elements and the debilitating influence of his physical form. But inevitably, he, too, will be able to cast aside his repressive body of flesh. After all the pain and the sorrows, he will be able to soar to far greater heights. No longer so constrained, he would be free to live a much more meaningful existence than ever was possible upon the earth.

04 But how do we explain to a caterpillar the changes it will undergo in the coming days? Will it be able to understand? How can we describe the mechanics of its flight? How can we demonstrate the vastness of the earth, when all it can sense, for now, is only its own limited and dim surroundings? How can we picture the beauty and the grandeur of nature, which is all around it, but which it cannot yet perceive?

05 In point of knowledge and perception, man is as an ignorant and insensitive caterpillar. He still has so much to learn. But, as yet, his capacity to comprehend is so very limited, his perceptions are thoroughly deficient and his experiences, too inadequate.

06 Teaching even the wisest of men in this world the deeper spiritual realities is not quite unlike teaching pre-school children medicine, politics, algebra, magnetism and astronomy. Such children would find extreme difficulty trying to understand skyscrapers, moon landings and computers. And man is, very much, in a similar situation. Man may feel that he is already very highly developed; however, even the most advanced humans are, in actuality, only as very little children in comparison with the more spiritually evolved beings inhabiting the higher worlds. To these higher beings, we are as mere grubs and caterpillars. And so, necessarily, the journey of every man towards greater light and truth is ever so gradual. We can only take one small step at a time.

07 That which is flesh is flesh and to dust it will return. However, man, in reality, is not the flesh body. He is far greater. Man is a creature of spirit, a divine spark of God (1).

08 Spirit is distinct and separate from the body. However, for the sake of convenience, we have always been taught that we are body and soul. But we are not. We are, plainly stated, spirit beings indwelling and manifesting through a physical body. At the transition that we term death, we, the spirit beings, disengage from our gross physical bodies. And in like manner that the caterpillar sheds off its outer covering and humans take off their clothes at the end of every day, so also do spirit beings cast aside their flesh bodies and return home to where they really belong.

09 For there is a far greater world than this world. In fact, there are many other worlds. Moses and Elias are still alive on those worlds. So are Abraham, Jacob and the rest. For spirit is immortal. Spirit cannot die (2, 3, 4).

10 Jesus spoke to us concerning these worlds. He insisted that he is not of this world, and neither are we of this world (5, 6). But because we were very much like that ignorant and insignificant little caterpillar, we could not fathom what he was trying to tell us.

11 Our real home is not this world of pain and suffering. We should not love this world or the things that are in the world. Instead, we should much prefer the things of heaven. Only in the Kingdom of Heaven can we find the pearl that is more valuable than all the other pearls together. Only there can we find the treasure that is well-worth selling everything we have in order to buy it (7).

12 After he quit his body, before ascending to heaven, he appeared to his followers. Before him, no man ever came back from the dead. But so that we may believe, he came back to prove to all that he is risen. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and then to his disciples. And to resolve the doubts of Thomas, he appeared again. And again, he appeared to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias where he gave his final instructions (8, 9, 10). And according to his promise, because he lives, we, too, will also live (11, 12).

13 Christ comes from heaven above, while we who are still upon the earth are from below. At our present stage of development, we are still unable to fully comprehend the higher realities. But to encourage us further, Christ revealed many of the secrets of the kingdom to us. He came down to earth precisely so that we may be better informed. No one really knows what goes on in heaven, except Christ who comes from heaven (13).

14 Heaven, Christ affirms, is very real, indeed. And we, too, will be able to get there. However, we can approach heaven only gradually, level by level, grade by grade. For in the Kingdom of God, there are many mansions, each one greater than the one before. Each level is as one rung in the ladder of evolution, one step in the golden stairway that leads to God (14). Our earth is only as God’s footstool; and any one of the higher dimensions of being is as Paradise compared to our earth. However, we can ascend only to such level that we have deserved, according to our own thoughts and deeds (15).

15 Life in the higher dimensions is very, very different from what ignorant men may imagine it to be. As much as we may be attached to our physical bodies, we won’t be able to take them with us. Nor will these bodies be resurrected, complete with worms and all. Instead, we will have new and more beautiful bodies, which are infinitely far better than what we have now. We won’t need to eat or drink anything to sustain life; instead, our lives will become more and more gratifying as we continue in God’s loving ways. In heaven, the wealth and the power that we might have highly esteemed on earth have no real significance. Instead, greater value is placed on what we have done with whatever was entrusted to us. While upon earth, money may have been all-important; but in heaven, the character to which we have attained is the only passkey to all things worthwhile.

16 Having no need for food in heaven, no one hungers. And all good things are there in abundance, waiting only to be materialized into being by the force of our will. There is nothing to prevent us from doing all the things we feel we should do. There is no hate, no evil and no conflicts. The law of brotherhood and harmony prevails and God’s justice reigns (16). Love and goodness, peace and wellbeing are present everywhere. The pain and the miseries that all men have suffered while upon the earth just cannot be in heaven. And in heaven, in the realm of the angels, the promised rewards to the just can be enjoyed to the fullest (17, 18).

17 However, much remains to be done before we may be allowed to gain entry there. While entry is available to all, there is a price that must be paid. Only those who are deserving may be admitted in. In the World of Perfection, there can be nothing imperfect (19, 20). The higher and heavenly standards of righteousness must be met fully. These standards are unchangeable and cannot be negotiable (21).

18 On that appointed day, the words of God will judge everyone (22). Then shall we be required to account for our every thought and deed. Then shall we fully realize the glorious results of all our strivings. Then shall we be glad that we fed the hungry and gave the thirsty a drink; that we helped even strangers and all who were in need; that we comforted and consoled the sick and the afflicted. These then, but these only may enter the Kingdom and enjoy the benefits of eternal life (23, 24).

19 During the time that the Master walked upon the earth, people were so very young and ignorant. They did not really have the capacity to comprehend the higher spiritual truths. Their finite minds and error-filled ways precluded the entry of divine light. But the times have changed. Man now has evolved sufficiently enough to begin to comprehend these deeper realities.

20 Whereas before, all these truths were clothed in parable, today, even the mysteries of the world and of the Kingdom are slowly being unfolded and made plain (25).

21 Still, as it was then, so is it also even today. Only those who live according to God’s divine laws of love and righteousness can ever find the Way and know the Truth (26). However, all who are sincere in their quest for God and for truth need not despair. Provided they are ready, the Spirits of Truth will come to guide them (27).

22 It never was meant for us to remain here on this miserable planet. Earth life is merely an intermediate phase, a take-off point to a better life. We really were not created to suffer needlessly. But we are simply being given these great opportunities to further develop spiritually and prepare ourselves adequately for the life that God, our Father, has prepared for us, the life of peace, of happiness and of love that will never, never end.