Sunsets Into Sunrises
Bishop Martin - The Progress of a Soul in the Beyond
- Chapter 86 -
THE ONE GREAT, EVERLASTING HERO. - THE GLORIOUS REDEMPTION. - PARABLE OF THE SOWING, GROWING, AND REAPING. - THE GREAT HARVEST.
1
(Bishop Martin): "But why would these twelve spirits show that much respect to the one messenger? They have all gone down on their knees and are practically worshipping him. It wouldn't be the Lord Himself, would it? If I could only see his face I would soon know whether it is the Lord or somebody else.
2
The twelve are once more rising to their feet and bowing deeply to the one, but he now shakes hands with all of them, saying in a low, but clearly audible, voice:
3
'Look, brothers, what a good pasture. I am handing these lambs over to you. Graze and fatten them for My fold as good food which My heart can enjoy. Lift them cautiously from the vessel of My care and let them feed freely on these vast pastures of My love, grace, and mercy. So be it!'
4
It is the Lord, indeed! In the infinity of heaven, no one but the Lord can speak as this messenger has now spoken. Therefore, I am now convinced that this messenger is the Lord Himself. What do you think, brother?"
5
(Borem): "Yes, brother, it is the Lord. And you could have noticed that long ago, but He confined your eyes to enable your spirit to become all the more active. But now is the time for your eyes to be opened. Now they have been opened, and you now recognize the Lord, which is very good.
6
However, continue to watch the scene before us for a short while longer, so that you will see the complete unravelling of the great tangle, and that you might recognize the Lord's boundless love and mercy. For there is no one like Him, neither in all the heavens nor in all the worlds, nor in all infinity!"
7
(Bishop Martin): "O God, o Lord, You most loving and holy Father! Who could ever conceive Your boundless wisdom and kindness? You, alone, the Holiest of Holy, are a Master of the depths of all being! No cherub could ever conceive Your wisdom completely! Holy, holy, is Your name, and the everlasting order of all things is Your Holy will!
8
You are forever self-sufficient and need nobody's counsel. But Your holy fatherly heart does not want to enjoy the boundless profusion of Your holy perfection alone. So from its most profound ideas, it calls forth beings, shaping them into children of God in the fire of His endless love and in the light of His eternal wisdom, to enable them forever to fully participate in the infinite perfection of this most holy heart of the Father, like independent divine beings.
9
Hear this - all you heavens, you seraphs and cherubs, and all you angels - God, the everlasting Spirit, in all His fullness of divine perfection, forever inconceivable, is our Father, walking among us as if He were not any more than we are! Oh, let us praise Him in our hearts for having so inconceivably lowered Himself to us sinners!
10
O Lord, o Father, from now on nothing else will have room in my heart but You, for You have now become all things to me! There was a time when You were very small in my heart. That was when I was a sinner. Now You have grown infinitely large and, consequently, I am a blessed spirit. But all this, Father, is solely Your work, and I was, am, and shall forever remain, a most idle servant!
11
Oh, brother Borem, look, over there, the twelve are now lifting the guests of the holy chalice from the water, and they are so beautiful and sublime that I can only describe them as angels. How magnificent they now look! Look at the joy that is shining from their heavenly eyes, which are now destined to behold God!
12
Rejoice with me, brother, and feel how good the Lord is! Oh, oh, I could waste away with love for the Lord!"
13
(Borem): "That stage of the work where we could not have done anything, and where the Lord Himself always acts directly, is now completed. It is now up to us, as children of God, to carry on with this work within His love and order. Therefore, we now have to be prepared for whatever may emerge.
14
Actually, what the Lord is doing here corresponds with what He is doing on earth. There, men take grains of wheat and sow them into the soil. Such preliminary work was done here, too, when you were teaching and instructing this entire party, aided by me. Thus we sowed God's wheat into the furrows of their turbid hearts.
15
Once the seed is in the soil, no man can do anything at all to make it grow and bear fruit. The Lord alone can do that, through His direct influence on the respective spirits of nature, inspiring them to full activity, resulting in the growth of plants and animals. In this work, only few of those spirits are involved who are at all times the Lord's closest friends and brothers.
16
When this work is completed and the crops are ready, they are once more handed over to men, to be gathered and stored in their barns. And this same work is now awaiting us.
17
First we sowed the seed of the Word of God into their hearts, where it rested like the seed in the soil on earth. During this rest, the Lord commenced His work, and there is nothing we could have done except watch Him at work. Just as on earth, the farmer can only watch his corn grow and ripen for the harvest.
18
This corn here - our brothers and sisters - has now ripened, thanks to the sole efforts of the Lord. Now the time has come for us to harvest it. Therefore, let us take possession of this abundance in the name of the Lord, and let our hearts once again become active.
19
As you know, the harvest always considerably exceeds the sowing; the same will be the case here. Where originally we had to deal with one only, there will now be thirty to one hundred. Rejoice, dear brother, for a rich harvest is awaiting us!"