LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

swirling sand until a patch of open ground was cleared, and I could see what appeared to be a bridge leading to an entrance just the other side of this very wide and very deep chasm. Across this gulf I could see beautiful hills and white houses surrounded by lovely trees and gardens.

      “That is the Sanctuary! It is a safe place for travelers such as us to rest and pray and prepare for our difficult journey ahead. It is also a place where searching and penitent spirits can learn more about God. Of course, they first need the faith to get through the sandstorm. Many such secure havens are set aside by God as spiritual reserves. The truth is that this sacred zone has existed ever since the very beginning when the Lord created the Earth. This zone was originally much larger and acted as a base where angels could come and rest, and relax a bit. Since the time of the Fall and the slaying of Abel, it has served many different purposes. For a long time it became the resting place of the good spirits of people who died before Jesus came. Those souls from the predeluvian world who were found worthy all waited here for the Promised One to appear and establish the Kingdom of God. Some had to wait hundreds of earth years. It became a great school for learning patience and wisdom, as they were able to see the fruit their lives bore on the Earth.”

      This revelation only increased my curiosity and although we both were eager to cross over the bridge, I had questions I wanted to ask. Elatia was ever patient and understanding of this novice’s insistence on quizzing her about everything and disrupting her mission of rescuing people out of Hell.

      “You mean to tell me that this place was like a reservation for the spirits of just people?” I asked.

      “Yes, some of them came here, but some were taken up higher in the spirit to the place we call the mountain of God.”

      I was still trying to get it straight. “There seems to be some discussion about men like Moses and Elijah, whether their bodies were taken also. Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain to talk with Jesus, as Peter and John testified later. I assume that they came down from Heaven to be with Jesus, but Jesus had not prepared His city yet so was there a place for them in Heaven?”

      “Your understanding of Heaven is a little limited,” Elatia explained. “You seem to think that the city, New Jerusalem that Jesus built for His disciples on the mountain of God, is all the Heaven there is. When Jesus said that He would go and prepare a place for them, He wasn’t implying that there was no other place in Heaven for them. Building a special city for them was only the beginning of His great plan for bringing the Kingdom of God to Earth. But first He had to finish His mission on Earth. Jesus, remember, was the key used by God to restore order in Creation and unlock the mysteries concerning the Kingdom of God in compliance with the prayer, ’thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.’ “

      I interjected, “There are so many differing teachings about Heaven and life in the spirit. As soon as someone draws a circle around what they believe to be all the truth that one needs to know, God comes along and draws a bigger circle of truth that includes their circle plus a lot of other circles as well.”

      “One reason you’re here, Travis, is to discover the different circles of truth there are to things mentioned in the Bible. After you’ve seen how much more there is to this region than you thought, your question may be, ‘Will I ever be able to see the whole picture or will God keep revealing greater dimensions beyond what we know and presently understand?’ ”

      “Will God keep moving the goal posts of our understanding farther out every time we think we have reached them?” I asked.

      “I suspect that He will keep things interesting for eternity,” she agreed. “But it may take that long just to properly introduce Himself because there is that much to learn about Him.”

      ”Getting back to understanding Heaven, Saint Paul says that he was caught up to the third Heaven. Are there different levels of Heaven?” I asked, eager to understand more.

      “Yes, there are different levels in Heaven, but getting to go to a higher level works the opposite from getting a promotion on Earth. In God’s Kingdom those who go higher are humble souls who were the servants of all.”

      “Speaking of Heaven, how does the city of New Jerusalem fit in?”

      “Jesus commissioned the building of New Jerusalem so that those who His Father had given Him could be with Him to behold the glory which His loving Father had given Him before the world began. There were a lot of angels and saints at work helping Him to build it, along with His Father as well. But His city was not the only dwelling place for those righteous men and women who died before He came to Earth. Each person was judged according to his works, and taken to a place or position in the spirit world fitting his station, the role he played on Earth. Different saints went to different levels in the city of the living God. Remember that Jesus and the angels, and presumably certain saints, lived in a very nice Heaven that had many mansions in it before the physical world was created. What you have to realize is that the spirit world is not some static place that never changes. Only God Himself never changes. He said that heaven and Earth will one day pass away but the Word of God will never pass away.”

      “You are saying that some saints went up into the eternal realm, while others were sent to the Sanctuary.” Seeking more specifics, I asked, ”Can you give me an example of anyone who went to Paradise, Heaven or Hell?”

      “Yes. The thief on the cross who repented was told by Jesus ‘Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.’ Jesus also told the story of the rich man who went to Hell and saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. In that example we see a man punished in Hell and we see Abraham and Lazarus up in Heaven. But remember the story of the witch in 1 Samuel who called up Samuel at Saul’s request. Samuel’s spirit was at rest in the Earth. Where do you think Samuel went when he died? Up to Heaven to be with Abraham and Lazarus, or down to the Paradise in Hades in order to reflect a bit more on his life?”

      “It seems that he went down to reflect a bit on his life on Earth”, I replied. “Maybe because Samuel, like his mentor Eli, had raised some problematic sons.”

      “Jesus visited Hell for three days, and probably was there in the Sanctuary, to greet the thief when he died. And as you will see the Sanctuary is built on one solid rock foundation, symbolic of the Lord Himself.”

      Still wanting more clarification, I asked, “But I thought that Jesus visited the prisoners in Hell itself. If He went into the Sanctuary to be with all the departed saints, how could He visit and preach to the souls in Hell, and take the keys of Hell and death away from the Devil, since He Himself said that a great gulf divided those in Paradise from those in Hell?”

      “Jesus went to Hell when He died, but the Devil had no hold on Him, and by so doing He took the keys of death and Hell from Satan. He then went to Paradise and spoke to all the saints of old waiting for Him there. On the third day He began a triumphal march right through Hell with all of His saints, and began to witness to all the spirits in Hell. And He commanded that a bridge be set across the gap. Many of the deceased saints then appeared in Jerusalem as witnesses to the people. This was the first resurrection. Those were incredible times, full of marvelous triumphs and terrible atrocities. Tomorrow is the anniversary of His victorious march through Hell.”

      “Well, it sounds like a very great event that we know little about! Satan has kept the accounts of Jesus’ conquest as quiet as possible. These people had lived good lives, believing that someday a Savior would come. From what you are saying I am seeing that you don’t have to be a church-going Christian to get into Heaven, but you do need to believe that God is love.”

      Elatia finished my thoughts by adding, “ And God has made a way for every person to discover His love, and eventually discover that God sent His Son to save us. Jesus is the embodiment of that love. He is the universal Savior of mankind. Christians are taught that Jesus is the Savior of the world, but few realize that even if you didn’t know about Him personally in this life, you can still learn about Him and accept Him even after you are dead.”

      Surprised by this revelation I said, “This whole concept is not like anything I’ve ever heard about in all my life on earth. None of these early saints of

Скачать книгу