Sunsets Into Sunrises
Bishop Martin - The Progress of a Soul in the Beyond
PREFACE
WHY DO we live on this earth, enter this life, and have to leave it again after a longer or shorter term? This is one of the most profound questions of our existence. To comprehend the problem of "whence", "whither" and "why" means spiritual integrity and making true use of the powers of mind and reason inherent in man as a spiritual being from eternity.
A spiritual rift runs through our era which was predicted in ancient prophecies as the coming "separation of the spirits". Part of mankind has become enslaved by soul destroying materialism which, by denying God, is also denying the eternal continuance of life. In physical death it sees the final extinction and, consequently, all its aspirations are directed towards the transient apparent values of life. By accepting only that as a reality which can be grasped with the senses, it sees in the passing of all material forms of life nothing but destruction and extinction instead of recognizing the liberation of the living core in order to progress to higher forms of manifestation of the spirit.
Countless millions, however, did not lose the knowledge of the eternal worth of man. Had this not been so, all religious feeling would have died on earth and mankind would have lost its last support. Especially in our present time there is much searching for truth in the souls of those who are not satisfied with what the churches or philosophic systems of today have to offer. Hence, for generations, truth-seekers have reached for the powerful works of the New Revelation received and written down by the God-inspired Styrian mystic Jakob Lorber, who during twenty-four years - from 1840 to 1864 - served the Inner Word, the voice of the Divine Spirit dictating to him large volumes about the secrets of creation and life, which are without equal.
Among the works dealing in particular with the states of existence in which man finds himself after death and his development in the beyond to his spiritual perfection, this one plays an important part. Here we see a man, after breathing his last breath on earth, pass through the "big gate" into the beyond. We see how in the other world his "sphere" begins to take shape, initially like a dream-life still reflecting all his earthly errors, notions and desires. We accompany him on his various progresses and regresses on the path to cognition and see how numerous higher spiritual beings and angels join him and, through purifying and instructive experiences, prepare him for a true understanding of God.
We see how realization dawns in the soul of the former bishop, and how his spiritual awakening eventually leads him into realms of the celestial spheres. His ever-growing love enables him to recognize the deity in Jesus as the Father of Eternity, and thus he enters into the state of his perfection - as a child of God, with all its freedom, creative power, and bliss. Comparing the initial scenes of this work of education in the beyond with the attained goal, we realize how the human spirit can fight its way through from sphere to sphere up to the highest spiritual altitudes.
For the uninhibited reader this book gives witness of the loving and wise guidance man receives after his temporal life. In Martin's discussions and encounters with perfected spirits, as the disciples Peter and John, and finally the Lord Himself, the seeker will find a vast amount of answers to questions about his existence. And he senses the immensity of the great idea of creation but, at the same time, also the majesty of man who has attained to the sonship of God and matured to the crown of creation.