THOSE WHO CAME BACK
FROM THE DEAD

Jozef Rulof

World Wide Web version
© 2014 'De Eeuw van Christus'

‘When I had knelt before the brother a feeling of dizziness, of sleep overcame me which I could not resist. I went to bed and slept for a long time. When I woke up the brother was standing in front of me and asked: ‘You did not dream now and had a good sleep?’

‘Yes, brother, I feel fine and a bit better, it has done me good.’

My throat did not hurt and nothing else troubled me so that I felt refreshed. I would soon be better. Thinking of that he smiled and I understood what that meant.

‘I have come for you’, the brother said, ‘we’ll go for a walk so that you can admire this land and the surroundings in which you live.’

Thank goodness, I thought, because I was longing to go outside.

‘Will I be able to walk?’

‘Yes’, he said, ‘that is now possible.

My home was now open, I myself had unlocked it and I would take care that it remained open. I was still wearing my black suit that seemed to be joined with me for I could not yet think of other clothes. Although I could think I did not yet have sufficient spiritual property and concentration. For I had not yet learnt anything, I had not been in this life long enough. My clothes corresponded to my entire personality. I had arrived here as a coachman and I would stay that way for the time being. It frustrated me nevertheless, for what did I have to do with life on earth? Sooner or later, I thought, this is bound to change.

I followed my teacher outside. How strange everything looked to me! I saw that the building I was residing in was very big and that it had been built in an earthly way. It could hold about a thousand people. There were people everywhere and many were dressed as on earth. A few wore garments which differed completely from all those others. Were they teachers like the brother who taught me how to pass on into this life? They wore garments similar to that of my brother by which I thought I recognized him. Some people wore very smart clothes and jewelry but others were in rags. There were old and young people, the younger ones were about twenty years of age, though I did not see any children. Nature was similar to autumn on earth. Would winter be approaching here already? What month of the year was it exactly? I had no idea but found it rather chilly and dull. It was not a place to stay in for long and by no means to recover health. In autumn on earth there were shades of green and yellow but they were absent here. Nature here was rather strange, unnatural. It looked as if everything had faded and the crop not fully grown. I could not give a better comparison.’

I had to laugh while writing it down: nature that had faded, I had never seen that before! I saw Alcar smile as well.

‘Is that so funny?’ I heard Gerhard ask. ‘That was really nature as I saw it. The brother walked ahead of me and I followed him. Everything I saw was strange. Where was I? I forgot all the explanations and what the brother had explained to me. I could not make any comparisons because everything I saw was new to me. Suddenly I thought I understood. The atmosphere looked as if it was soon going to rain. It was misty.

We walked along a road winding through the landscape. Notwithstanding the mist I could see fairly well into the distance. I felt cold and shivery, some sunshine would do me good. If only I would not have to stay here too long. As I said I saw many men and women. Nobody looked at me which I found very strange, they ignored me. Didn’t they realize that I had only arrived here a short while ago? Or didn’t they want anything to do with me? Were they of higher rank and of a better level? It was beyond me and it amazed me. Wasn’t it worse the trouble to give me some attention? Not one of them seemed surprised that I was here, they all behaved as if it was none of their business. They seemed to be sad, they were quiet and absorbed in themselves. What were all these people thinking about? I could not grasp that and the brother had meanwhile walked far ahead of me, I would ask him about this later. He was apparently lost in thought too so that I did not want to disturb him. It seemed to me that most of these people were ill, they looked so pale. Well, I thought, they won’t get better here quickly, this is no healthy climate. But there will surely be other regions than this one. Everything I saw looked so earthly.

The brother had told me to concentrate but on what? I was also told to think which I did all the time, I thought too much which tired me out. Surely I had begun to discard my earthly way of thinking now. I imagined that he was pleased that I was doing my best. Never before in my life had I contemplated so much. But I saw nothing but long faces and people who looked ill. Others I clearly felt were mourning, nothing escaped my attention. Everything held my interest, but what should really have my attention I was not aware of. I lived in eternity yet my way of thinking was earthly. I did not see any flowers, but flowers die in autumn and that was, I thought, the reason I did not see them. Alongside the road was a ditch and the water in it was grey, wherever I looked the scenery was dull.

I was rather curious as to where the brother was leading me.

He had walked quite a way ahead of me. I also noticed people who were different to those I had seen and I didn’t understand why they were different. They were not so pale and I thought they were healthier and more alive for their complexion was different. Weren’t they like the others? They didn’t have that greyish complexion that I saw in nature. With deep interest I looked at them but they also ignored me. Wasn’t I a human being like they were, a brother in the spirit? Were they better people than I? No distinction was made here but look at them. Were they the wealthy people from earth? Didn’t they want anything to do with me? A sorry lot they are, I thought. Who do they think they are? Some of them brushed past me and still ignored me.

Finally the brother waited for me and told me to sit down. At the edge of a hill I found a nice place and sat down. Was the brother going to tell me about those people? I felt correctly for the brother said: ‘You are already beginning to take over thoughts from other people for they were really my thoughts.’

‘Your thoughts?’ I asked.

‘Yes, my thoughts.’

I found this remarkable though I had not realized, since I had been thinking the way I always did.

‘Listen to what I’m going to say’, the brother said. ‘I asked you to think over everything we discussed, so that we may progress.’

I was already pleased, so I had done my best.

But he continued: ‘All these people you have seen have come here just like you, so they also died on earth. They are wearing their earthly clothes and don’t know any others, because they cannot concentrate and lack the essential love. They will not cast them off until they arrive at the first sphere. That is why they wear these garments like you do, because they do not know any other life. Our life, as I have explained to you several times, is a life of mind power and people’s feelings of love will determine their level in this spiritual life. Their way of life, like your own, has not been bad. We have talked about that too. I have been following your train of thought.

The people having that different complexion as you noticed will soon leave this sphere. The people living here have not acquired anything on earth. Your affection for others saved you from a total downfall, otherwise you would have entered a different sphere. Here everything is indeed bare and grey, but we know of other lands that are more beautiful and where there is nothing but happiness. There are flowers and greenery and people wear spiritual garments. The way you think about nature and make your comparisons surprised me. You described nature very accurately, but bear in mind that you were describing your own image. You are like nature.’

‘What do you mean, I am like nature here?’

If that is true, I thought, then it is autumn and misty within me. I had to laugh at this idea.

The brother, however, remained serious and said: ‘Don’t laugh, dear friend, just wait a while, I have other things to tell you. Your ideas of life and nature on this side are priceless. However, I advise you to change your way of thinking. In this way you won’t get any further. You described your own image, think about that. Nature is equivalent to your inner attunement. The more refined you think, the purer your thoughts are, the more your surroundings will change and become more beautiful. Nature is like you feel yourself. There is life here, but there is no spiritual love and consciousness. That’s why everything is grey and misty and you are like them, inwardly sick.’

I trembled.

The brother continued: ‘It is not going to rain here, as you thought, but it will remain like this for thousands of years to come until this sphere will change into one of light. There is no light here and there is no light in you.

To have light on this side, dear friend, is knowledge. To possess light means happiness, pure happiness, and that is to love life which is in everthing. That is to accept the cross that God has given us to bear. That is to feel love for others and to have a sincere understanding of life. Then you do not speak of a sorry lot, you always respect life.’

I thought I would sink through the floor, he knew everything I had been thinking.

‘These other thoughts are far from you’, the brother continued quietly looking deeply into my soul. ‘We bow our heads and pray from the deepest of our soul and beg God for forgiveness. Then we reflect and need not be told a dozen times. We become respectful and honour life and learn to be able to love. I hope you will become serious for you do not yet realize your poor condition. You were thinking, but in what way?’

It gave me a terrible shock.

‘Life in nature’, the brother continued, ‘will be able to bloom only when another source of warmth shines on it. Here is no sun, no light, so everything remains dismal and sad. Also those you met and including you will meanwhile remain in that condition. You’ll have to stay here for some time, which is up to you as well as to those you met. Don’t get alarmed, it was necessary to show you the seriousness of life. Don’t be afraid of your condition for a change is taking place in you and not everything I told you has been lost. You will learn to think deeper and follow the way we have covered step by step.

Those who are walking around here are thinking of their lives on earth and of the life they are now living. They relive all their experiences they have had in this life. They compare both conditions of life and they try to acquire spiritual wisdom. They meditate, they think everything over again and try to attain an other but higher condition. They concentrate intensely on what the brothers and sisters explained and showed them. What they experience on this side becomes their property. They gradually learn to think spiritually, passing over into this life. They concentrate on freeing themselves from earthly life and nobody will disturb them. They felt and knew that you passed by but they are too much concentrated on their own lives to give you any attention. They don’t want to be disturbed and we respect one who works on himself. There are however thousands of people here who don’t want this and they have been here for years. I’ll show them to you later; you have seen some. Those who seek themselves consider everything, they separate the good from the bad qualities until they have discarded all their material feelings and transcended them to the spiritual. Are you beginning to feel the meaning of this life?’

I felt repentance and it grieved me that I had thought so indifferently about these people.

The brother went on: ‘That is why those who arrive here find this life so difficult. Yet it is simple once you put aside your earthly feelings. You’ll experience this yourself which is development in this sphere. When you begin to understand the incredible aspect of this life it will become knowledge which is spiritual wisdom. When you feel yourself thawing inside, you will feel warmth, the warmth of the spirit. When you lose your earthly feeling your spiritual eyes will open and you’ll see the beauty of our life. You must try to discard all fantasy and illusion for we don’t know fantasy in this life. Everything is reality and he who does not want to be real and natural will have to learn it the hard way. He will remain asleep for a long time, spiritually asleep, to start again. Then earthly life will pass into that of the spirit and he can then put to use what he learned on earth. But only when he is sent to the earth to work for mankind. For this work strong spirits are needed, spirits who know to cope with situations. You have to discard what you learned on earth. Everything you acquired on earth is only useful on this side if you have love.’

Difficult, I thought, and the brother had already read my thoughts and said: ‘Everything is difficult, but with some effort you’ll succeed.’

‘Would I become like you and be able to read other people’s thoughts?’

‘Yes, you will indeed, it is the spiritual language, we speak no other. In order to speak spiritually and to connect you must have much love.’

I began to feel tired again and asked: ‘Why is it that I become tired and sleepy all the time, brother? I’m overcome by it again and again and quite unexpectedly.’

‘The reason is that you do not yet think spiritually. You still live between both conditions. These phenomena will reappear because they belong to your attunement. But nature will aid you. It is your divine attunement that gives you life. One day you’ll awaken to stay awake forever. You live in an unbalanced condition, your present life attracts you but you keep thinking in an earthly way and that is too much for you. Those forces of nature act on you but you cannot yet absorb everything you experience because you lack the required spiritual power. Everything you experience is strange because your feelings are earthly. You cannot avoid that for the time being. But by sleeping and resting you will achieve that. You will get free from your confused unnatural way of thinking, bringing you back to your previous natural attunement so that you can start afresh, until you spent your energy again. You will realize all this later, I can’t explain any better, you must go through it yourself. Within you there is a power, the Divine core, which is present in everybody’s life and will take you to a higher level, which makes you live even against your will. It is the great and mighty incomprehensible power, it is God, God’s holy Power.’

‘Has my life on earth had no value at all? Thousands lived a worse life than I did and murdered to enrich themselves or to acquire other things. I am aware of my shortcomings and I have done wrong, but I did my work, looked after my wife and child, I did not steal or kill, went to church and prayed and yet I’m nothing.’

The brother looked at me and said: ‘All this is to your credit, if this were not the case you would have entered at a different level where it is not misty but where total darkness prevails. All this is of value, but no divine property. All those sisters and brothers of the earth you are thinking of have sunk deeply. They too will have to free themselves from it. Don’t compare their level with yours, they’ll live, but in hell on this side.’

Hell, I thought, hell?

‘Yes, hell.’

Wasn’t I in hell? No, because in hell there is fire, I was told that on earth and I did not see fire. Would hell be nearby? I saw nothing of it. I began to feel dizzy. I still heard the brother say: ‘You will learn to know hell.’ With that I fell asleep.

Sleep, nothing but sleep, how nice to rest and to sleep, but my sleep meant weakness, spiritual weakness.