Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/6515

6515 Attaining childship to God.... Opportunities for maturation....

April 3, 1956: Book 70

You cannot prolong your life by one hour when your time has come to pass away from this earth, nor can you arbitrarily return to earth again, you must accept it as a certainty that your earthly life is finally concluded with the hour of your death.... What follows will take place in a kingdom which is not of this world, even if your soul has to take abode again in creations of a lower kind.... if its state does not allow it to stay in spheres of light which no longer require any material creations. But you always dwell beyond this earth, only as long as you are earthbound, i.e., with great longing for this earth you feel repeatedly drawn back to the places of your former abode without being able to make contact with them. Thus your soul can gain through bodily death but it can also have to move to a more primitive abode than the earth was.... always according to the maturity it has achieved as a human being.... But it will never be transferred back to earth again unless there are very special occasions or preconditions which, however, must not be generalised. Earthly life now offers the soul so many opportunities that it can easily reach a degree of maturity which frees it from all oppression, all weakness and all darkness.... if only the human being makes use of these opportunities.... Then the soul truly emerges as an conqueror of death, death is only the last obstacle for it to a life in freedom, light, and strength. If it does not make use of these opportunities then a fetter will certainly fall, the earthly body will release the soul but it will nevertheless remain bound because it is destitute of light and strength and will now be transferred to where it has the opportunity to recognise its miserable state as well as to change this state, yet mostly under far more difficult circumstances than on earth. Then it has, as it were, gone backwards in its development, but through its own fault, in free will.... But there is always a path of ascent, for there are innumerable possibilities of maturing, and the whole of creation with its countless stars offers these opportunities. But the soul has forfeited an unheard-of opportunity, for on earth it was offered the only opportunity to attain the childship to God. You humans do not understand the full profundity of what this means, but the bliss of those who reach this goal is indescribable, and every person can reach the goal if he wants to.... But even the best will is of no use to the soul if it failed on earth and now still takes the path upwards elsewhere.... this goal is unattainable for it. Nevertheless, it can likewise be saved, rise ever higher, for divine Fatherly love constantly draws each of His living creations and does not rest until the goal, the spiritualisation of every being, has been reached.... This knowledge is presented to people but only a few believe and take the transformation of their being seriously.... only a few reach the goal in earthly life, and only a few can leave earth at their death and enter the kingdom of light as fully spiritualised. And yet all people have this possibility.... But they lack love, and without love there is no progress, without love there is no light, no realisation.... Without love they also lack the right direction of will and the strength to carry it out. But people must move on earth in complete freedom of will, and they can only ever be taught. And therefore, as long as earth exists, God's love will not slacken in teaching, admonishing, and warning them through His word.... He will do everything that can move people into the right direction of will, He will spare no grace, and time and again preach love, but He will never induce a person to do what he must do in all freedom of will.... The human being alone determines the fate of his soul after his death....

Amen

Translated by Christian Taffertshofer