The Other Side Explained

Hi there, welcome to Divine Truth Sharing. I'm delighted you're here. In today's video, I'm going to be describing in detail, as best we know, what life is like on the other side. It's a lot of material, so let's get started.

Perhaps the first thing to understand about the other side is that it's where our real life begins. This whole earth experience is a bit of a trial period, as I've described before. It's sort of like we have training wheels on here. I've also called it a playground. Some people call it a school, but the bottom line is this: Earth experience is where our heavenly creator has given us the opportunity to first experience and learn good versus evil, if you will, and how to live in harmony with God's laws and what happens when we live out of harmony with God's laws. So, there are some consequences here, as we've discussed, but they're a bit buffered.

So when we cross over onto the other side, the true reckoning of what we have sown begins. We begin to truly reap what we have sown, and this is both good news and maybe not so good news, depending on what our choices have been. Regardless of where we find ourselves on the other side, the most beautiful truth about it is that God's love is still all-pervasive and absolutely prevails. God has provided for each and every soul a dwelling place that is perfectly suited to the soul condition, and remember that our soul condition is a form and feature of the choices that we have made during our earth life. And one can perhaps logically surmise, therefore, that our choices represent our preferences. So when we get on the other side and we're reaping what we've sown, on some level, even if we find ourselves in a dark place, we're reaping choices we have made that reflected our preferences, at least as well as we understood them during our earth life.

With so many different souls, and every soul being entirely unique, we are not surprised to learn in the messages that there are multiple spheres and many, many spheres within spheres and levels within those. So there are many, many varied and wondrous experiences on the other side, and that's how we can each find a habitation that is perfectly suited to us.

One of the ways that I like to describe how different and varied things can be is to give the example: What if an alien who had no experience of Earth or understanding of Earth came and saw our planet and determined, "What is life like here?" Well, if they were to visit a member of a Bedouin tribe in the Gobi Desert, for example, or if they were to visit a Manhattan socialite, as a radically different example, they might think they're in two different worlds, two different universes, even, much less planets, because they'd be so different. And this comes through to some degree in the variations that we can see when people talk about their near-death experiences. A lot of times, they reflect the individual uniqueness of that particular soul. God speaks to each of us in ways that make sense to us, and our experience on the other side, in particular, truly reflects that.

Now, if we give it some thought, we might not be surprised to realize that it takes quite a bit of development to transform a mortal soul that has a dual nature. And by dual nature, I don't mean good and evil, because that's not really the nature with which we were created. I mean, as mortals, we were created with an animal nature and a spiritual nature, both of which were in harmony with God's laws and God's love.

Most humans cross over into the earth sphere, and the earth sphere and below might be considered the hells. Now, there's nothing to be alarmed about with crossing into the earth sphere, because it's very much like Earth and will feel very familiar. And it has the added benefit of being absent those souls whose choices were truly unloving. So, no concern about that. Even though, compared to the spirit paradise and the celestial realm, it's called hell, it's not going to be anything like the fire and brimstone that we were taught in the Bible. So, this is good news.

Now, I am going to describe the hells first, and then I'm going to go into the more fun part of talking about the spheres above that. God is merciful even to those in hell. Again, each goes to a place that is befitting their condition. So, if a soul is in a condition of degradation and evil, it would suffer even more in the lighter spheres than it will in the spheres that are suited to the condition with which it is in harmony. And we have to keep that in mind. So, that's the first thing to remember about what the gift is of hell. The, what the benefit is of hell, is that it's suited to these, the souls who are there.

The second thing to remember that is a benefit is that it provides a very clear reckoning of their choices. So, they're able to come face-to-face with the true and full and complete consequences of all the choices that they made while on Earth, and nothing can be hidden. This brings us to the third and final gift of the hells, and that is that life there becomes unbearable for the souls who are there. Now, realize they were given opportunities on Earth to feel discomfort and make different choices, but they passed those up. I always tell people, if you don't learn your lessons the easy way, then you're going to have to learn them the hard way. And if you don't learn them the hard way, you're going to have to learn them the harder way, and they just keep getting harder. But eventually, every single soul will learn the lessons that are theirs to learn, which is how to live in harmony with love, which is the true essence of our creator. So, some people like to learn with more experience than others, and that's their choice. God doesn't press. But in hell, when these souls come face-to-face with the consequences of their choices, eventually these things do become unbearable, and they start searching for something better in a different way.

There are quite a few descriptions of the second sphere through the soul and into the celestial realm in the messages. There's really only one good description of what life is like in the hells, and it was actually given to us by a man who was once upon a time considered to be a gifted newspaper writer. And sadly, he had what he calls a lot of animal appetites, and he said they were varied, but primarily he was deeply into alcohol, and it really kind of destroyed his life. He also didn't really give God much thought, and he thought if there was a God, he wasn't going to give him much thought either, because he was only one of millions, and of course, we know really billions, right? So, in any case, sadly, when he crossed over, he was in darkness, and he spent 17 years in hell.

But in January 1916, he came across James Edward Padgett while Padgett was taking dictation from some of the Celestials. And so this man, whose name was George Butler, became intrigued, and he reached out to James Padgett to describe what life was like for him. So, I actually want to read his passage to you because I can't really do it justice without. So, I hope you'll indulge me just a moment.

"Oh, what a fatal mistake I've made in believing there was no hell. That there is a hell, I know to my sorrow and sufferings, for I have been the occupant of one for, oh, these many years. And it is always the same place of horrors and darkness, except sometimes it is lighted by the flame of lurid light that comes from the anger and sufferings of some unfortunate like myself. In this hell of mine, and there are many like it, instead of beautiful homes as the other spirits described, we have dirty, rotten hovels, all crooked and decayed, with all the foul smells of a charnel house ten times intensified. And instead of beautiful lawns and meadows and leafy woods filled with musical birds making the echoes ring with their songs, we have barren wastes and holes of darkness and gloom, and the cries and cursings of spirits of damnation without hope. And instead of living silvery waters, we have stagnant pools filled with all kinds of repulsive reptiles and vermin, and smells of inexpressible, nauseating stinks. An eternal house is a house of decaying flesh, so it's very stinky, I tell you. These are all real and not creatures of the imagination or the outflowing of bitter recollections. And as for love, it has never shown its humanizing face in all the years that I have been here, only cursings and hatred and bitter scoffings and imprecations and grinning spirits with their witch-like cackling. He's no rest, no hope, no kind words or ministering hand to wipe away the scalding tears which so often flow in mighty volumes. No, hell is real, and hell is here. We do not have any fire and brimstone or grinning devils with pitchforks and hooves and horns as the churches teach, but what is the need or necessity for such accompaniments? They would not add to the horrors or to our torments. I tell you, my friend, that I have faintly described our homes in these infernal regions, and I cannot picture them as they are. No."

I don't say any of this to scare anyone, but my feeling is this: If it's real, I'd like to know about it because I would not want to be unpleasantly surprised, as was that man, and as are so many other souls.

Now, I have one more little passage to read you about that. This is an interesting fact talking about souls in darkness. In many cases, loving friends may visit that soul in its place of existence and offer consolation. That's wonderful, and help and encouragement and instruction. So, that's wonderful. So, some people who are stuck in hell get help. But in some cases, this cannot be, for as this soul is then laid bare to itself, all its deformities and sins and evil qualities come before it, throwing around it a wall, as it were, that prevents the good friends and loving ones from appearing to it. So, that's really, really sad.

How does this happen? Well, this is why we're told so many times in the messages that we must have faith. We have to believe in the love of God, even though we can't see God, and even though we may find ourselves in trials and tribulations here on Earth or in darkness in the spirit world where there doesn't seem to be any evidence of God. And that's required because that's part of how we choose versus how we might be otherwise compelled by God to seek God or seek love. We have to be given the opportunity to choose. So, those souls who have a wall thrown around them on the other side to the point where they literally cannot perceive the help that is available to them, that happens because they have no faith, because they have no belief whatsoever that there is anything else for them. And this is why it's very important for us, as gently and kindly as we can, and little tiny drops at a time, to just sort of ease aspects of loving truth into the awareness of those whom we meet. It's incumbent upon us to try to teach others and help them see the way. And this is why we want everyone to avoid such a darkened condition.

And the wonderful news of this man, George Butler, is that after he was done telling his sad tale, James Padgett told him the truth, and that is that God is real, and God loves him, and that there are loving spirits and divine love angels who were ready, willing, and able to assist George to come out of his darkened condition. And George didn't believe at first, but he was so desperate, as he had become after seventeen years of torment, that he, he had just enough willingness to be open. And lo and behold, the spirits and James Padgett's band did appear to him, and George went with them, and he found himself gradually, over time, as his soul was prepared, fitted for a much lovelier place. And I have no doubt whatsoever that he's a divine love angel today. He did come back to visit James Padgett about three years later and let James know that he had a new home in the third sphere. And when we get to talking about the third sphere, you'll realize that he was basically in heaven.

So, this story has a wonderful ending. And keeping in mind that every story will eventually have a wonderful ending, because eventually the hells will be emptied, and all the souls will find their place of habitation and a beautiful, beautiful sphere, either in the spirit world, which are spheres two through six, or in the seventh sphere, or the celestial realm. And we're going to start talking about that right now.

Just above the earth sphere is the second sphere, and this is the beginning of the spirit world that goes all the way through sphere six. Now, the second sphere, we're told, is the most populous of all the spheres. It has the most souls coming into it, and far more souls coming into it, we're told, then actually progress out of it, which is interesting. It's the most diverse of all the spheres because it's so populated, and we know that souls are diverse, and it has, therefore, the most levels and the most layers and so on and so forth.

In the way that these spheres are organized in the spirit world, spheres two, four, and six are primarily devoted to the interests and activities of those souls who are on the intellectual or moral or natural love path. In other words, those souls who really are not seeking oneness with God. And spheres three and five are devoted primarily to the interests and activities of those souls who are seeking for God's divine love, the souls who are ultimately headed toward the celestial realm.

And between the spirit world and the celestial realm is the seventh sphere. The seventh sphere is expressly devoted to the souls on the divine love path. It is their final place of preparation for entering the celestial kingdom of God, and that's the kingdom that Jesus came to teach us about. No soul who has not the divine love will ever enter the seventh sphere. So, the souls on the natural love path top out at the sixth sphere.

Now, the good news is, by the time we reach the second sphere, which, as I said, is only just one step above the earth sphere, nothing can defile it from that point on. Everyone is evolving and progressing, and anyone who is in darkness is not there. So, there are many souls who spend a very long time enjoying life in the second sphere, and it's sort of like a pleasanter version of Earth. It's nice enough, in fact, that it's earned the name Summerland. Spirits on the moral or intellectual or natural love path may spend a long time there, but spirits who are headed for the celestial kingdom will likely go to the third sphere very quickly.

And the third sphere will seem heavenly to any soul. The third sphere is probably about what we could possibly imagine if we could pick up paradise. If we could imagine a paradise, we would probably not be able to imagine anything nicer than the third sphere. And I'm stating that because in reading the messages, it's pretty clear that the spirits who come through have a difficult time describing anything above the third sphere. Even the fifth sphere and the seventh sphere, which aren't celestial yet, they basically say, "Well, wow, it just keeps getting better." And that's almost all they can say.

We do have some descriptions, which I'll share with you in just a moment, but I want to first help everyone understand that we are told that there is little intermingling of spirits, even when they're sharing the same sphere, when you're on the separate paths. So, for example, you might be destined for the celestial kingdom, and when you're in the second sphere, you're not going to be attracted to or intermingling with people on the natural love path because your interests are different and distinct, and so are the levels and spheres within the second sphere where you're going to be. And again, if you're on the divine love path, you're going to quickly go through the second sphere to the third. If you're on the natural love path, you're going to quickly progress through the third sphere to the fourth, because it's just not as suited to your interests as those on the other path. And that keeps happening. So, this sort of leapfrogging kind of goes on for souls on both paths as they progress rapidly through the opposite level of spheres, if that makes sense.

So, the third sphere feels heavenly, but one thing that is kind of exciting that we're told in the messages, so there are universities and all kinds of opportunities to learn anything you might possibly want to learn about science or mathematics or art or history or whatever. And of course, there's a lot about creation that we don't have here, many, many things to learn on the other side of which we have no knowledge here at all. So, we will never get bored, which is super exciting. But what's really cool is that the spirits on the intellectual path, they're working really hard to gain a lot of knowledge and experience and so on. Whereas spirits on the divine love path, they're praying for God's love. But what we learn is, as they receive God's love and are developed and become gradually transformed into the divine, they automatically receive the knowledge that the other souls worked so hard to gain, and in fact, greater knowledge than that. So, there's no loss of any opportunity on the divine love path. The divine love path, you get both. Pretty cool.

The fourth sphere is going to feel like heaven to any intellectual or morally developing soul, because it is rich in these beautiful experiences of learning well above and beyond the second sphere. And they may spend a very long time in the fourth sphere before they go on to the fifth, where they'll quickly skip through. And for souls on the divine love path, the fifth sphere is definitely going to feel sublime. Again, it's going to be beyond what we could imagine. The spirits have beautiful homes and gardens and, you know, opportunities for all kinds of activities. We're told the social life is outstanding, way beyond here on Earth.

Souls on the natural love path quickly skip through the fifth sphere because they have a better kinship with souls in the sixth sphere, and again, they top out there. And life in the sixth sphere is so beautiful. It's a paradise. Most of the souls that end up in the sixth sphere who are on the natural love path are never unhappy, and they never seek anything more. There are many ancient spirits who are there, for example, who just can't imagine that there's anything better, and they're really not interested. They're perfectly contented to be where they are for eternity, and God allows that.

Now, fortunately, when James Padgett was taking dictation by the Celestials, he did attract some ancient spirits from the sixth sphere who came down to say, "Hey, what's going on down there? I haven't seen that happen before." And when they heard about this, they thought, "Hmm, you know, we have had some spirits who have come to us and told us about something above the sixth sphere, but I didn't listen to them. I didn't think they were real. Maybe I should give it another thought." Then, when they do, what they discover is they need to go back down. So, they go back down to the third sphere, where it's suited to praying for the divine love and progressing on the divine love path. They'll go down from the sixth sphere to the third sphere to begin their first steps on the better path. And they'll probably quickly progress from there.

But they find something interesting. Once they get into the third sphere, they have a different point of attraction. So, they're in different levels or layers of the third sphere than they were before. And they learn that spirits on the divine love path, even in the third sphere, have more light and more brightness and more beauty than the sixth sphere on natural love souls. So, they'll come down from the sixth sphere and discover somebody in the third sphere who's never been above the third sphere is brighter and more beautiful than are they. And that's strictly due to having God's divine love in their souls. So, that's kind of cool too, and they can progress up from there and are always so happy that they did.

As I mentioned, the seventh sphere is expressly devoted to souls on the divine love path. No soul without God's love will ever see it, nor will they progress above the sixth. So, it's the final stepping point between the spirit world and the celestial kingdom is the seventh sphere. And I just love the fact that seventh heaven is real. I think it's so cool that God's truth does come through in little tiny bits at a time over time. And, and there's a lot of God's truth here. And sadly, of course, as we're all aware, there's a lot of falsehood here on Earth too. And the best way to get to God's truth is really to pray and be transformed by God's divine love. And that's how we get our soul perceptions developed, and we have a soul knowing of God's truth at that point. And of course, our prayers give us all kinds of access to God's love and to his angels, which provides guidance for us here while we're still on Earth. And it also helps us to help others, because it develops our gifts, which we then share with others and can, as many souls as we can, come along on to this divine love path as we possibly can.

Now, once we get into the celestial kingdom of God, I think they number the first three spheres, and after that, they don't even count the spheres anymore because it's just beyond, beyond, right? It's at that point, counting, I guess, just doesn't matter. So, they really can't describe the celestial realm to us, primarily because it exists of materials that we don't even have on Earth. So, there are no ways to describe it. There is no language for it. There is no frame of reference or anything like that. But we are told that there are cities and there are country dwellings, which is great, because if you've fallen in love with those things here on Earth, it's kind of nice to know that, you know, God will continue to provide them even when you're an angel. And that's very cool. We don't have to sit up there just on some cloud playing a harp, which I frankly think would be boring. And there's certainly no boredom in heaven. There is an unlimited opportunity for absolutely eternal evolution of the soul. And once you hit the celestial kingdom, you know that you know you're immortal. You know you're eternal. You know you're one with God. So is everyone else there, and you're filled with more joy than we can possibly imagine.

There is only one word for the celestial kingdom and beyond, and that is ineffable, which is to say, can't be described. Having said that, somebody tried, and I want to read you just a tiny snippet of another message. "In general, for those spirits, there's everything to make them happy to the extent of their capacity to receive and enjoy. So, as much as your capacity to receive and enjoy can hold, there's that much fabulousness awaiting. There are trees and flowers and hills and dales and rivers and lakes and beautiful landscapes, and above all this, a wonderful atmosphere that is created by this wonderful love of the Father is a glorious light that illuminates and gives life to all who live in it, which comes from this love of the Father. It is the sun, moon, and stars, and sunrise and sunset, and summer clouds and evening shadows and morning glories. Your material sun and stars do not appear in this heaven, for the effulgence of the light from the Father's love eclipses and eliminates the light of these material creations of the mortal world."

In other words, this person, who is the Apostle John, Jesus's bestie, has done what he can to try to describe it for us, but in reality, we, we just don't know anything like it. The Bible says, "Eye has not seen, nor ear have heard, what God has ready for those who love him." And of course, we now know that means, you know, praying for and longing for God's love to transform your soul. So, we have so much wonderment awaiting us. Yay! Unlimited development. The timing is ours and ours alone. Again, the freewill contract actually kind of never goes away. The Father does not press. God does not press. Each soul chooses step by step, and to the depth of their longing, that's how much of love they receive. God does not parse it out. You just long for it. And it's kind of interesting, because a man and a mom, when they came through, talked about their big crime being that they didn't want to wait on God's divine love to transform them. They wanted to just believe, you know, that they could be divine. And they found out that it wasn't going to happen by them, it was going to happen through God's only plan for reaching the celestial kingdom, for reaching it, one met with him, and that was praying for and longing for his love to transform you. But, you know, God knows that that takes time and doesn't expect it to happen overnight, and so it doesn't. But along the way, we have many wonderful adventures. And this is certainly an adventure we're on here, isn't it?

And I wish you all the love and all the blessings that our Heavenly Father can possibly bestow upon you. And I urge you and encourage you to pray. And I thank you so much for watching these videos, and I certainly hope that you'll choose to share them with others. I wish all the best for you. Remember, you are deeply, truly loved. God bless you.