John Heslop Received by His Savior
John Heslop led a life of quiet moderation and modesty in Scotland, dying just prior to the First World War. His widow became his medium. Heslop found himself after death in an exalted realm – the throne of Christ or the Christ Sphere – being received by his savior in exactly the way we hear it described in the Bible.
His reception confirms many passages in Revelation where Jesus says such things as the overcomer shall sit with me on my throne, him shall I make a pillar in my temple and he shall go no more out, and to him shall I give the morning star.
We begin with a description of Heslop’s character by his widow.
John, from whom these letters came, was a Scotsman and gloried in his nationality. Extremely reticent in the expression of his deeper feelings, he was a very Highlander in his genial nature and filled with love and hospitality. (1)
His character was a combination of strength and tenderness, strong in rectitude and every manly virtue, but tender and understanding toward the weaknesses of others. He had a well-balanced brain, clear, excellent judgment, and keen artistic perceptions. But the bias of his mind was toward the practical rather than the poetical, while for mysticism and all occult matters he had no toleration.
A keen sportsman, he reveled in the beauty of river and loch. Few men ever won more affection from other men than did he, and, when he passed, they told me with one voice that he was the most loveable man they had ever known. His religion was hid with “Christ in God,” and so sensitive and reticent was his nature, that even to me – his wife – he never spoke of these things and passed away with the seal of silence unbroken. His beautiful life alone revealed how closely he had walked with God and he bore bravely and without a murmur his agony of suffering. (2)
Now we move to Heslop’s arrival and welcome in the Christ Sphere
You would like me to tell you how I passed to spirit life. When I died, I simply fell into a state of unconsciousness and was taken at once into my mother’s loving care. In this condition I remained for a fortnight, by your time. Then by the help of my mother and other dear ones, I revived. Gradually, the wonders and beauty of this new world unfolded themselves. The loveliness of the trees and flowers, the grandeur of the mountains, the glint of distant lakes, seemed familiar, yet spiritualized. It was some time before I could realize what had happened and that death had really passed. (3)
To this Christ Sphere I was brought by my Guardian Spirit and clothed in glittering robes such as those that are worn by all who dwell here. As we passed through the gates, strains of wonderful music fell upon my ears; music unlike anything you have ever heard, which uplifts the soul with peace and joy. A procession of Angels greeted us, and amongst them some of my loved ones who had gone before; together we passed onward until we saw One before whom I fell in a rapture of adoration, Jesus the Christ.
He raised me and bade me welcome to His Sphere and in voiceless words poured into my soul the fulfilment of every desire of my life – a Union with Himself – of which I can never speak. Then all these Angelic Beings burst forth into songs of compelling sweetness and we were wafted to the Temple in the midst of the Sphere where Jesus imparted to us the Love of the Father. (4)
It was some time before I could realize what had happened and that death had really passed; so I rejoiced, for my sufferings on earth had been very great and I had longed to die. Then spiritual illumination came to me. I developed wonderful new powers and was literally born again. (5)
Many souls never get their heritage on your side of the grave. They have to wait for the fuller revelation till they come here. (6)
When the one to whom we are appointed realizes our presence, it naturally attracts other spirits to share in his awakening to higher experiences. They desire to be present at the birth of a soul into this Kingdom of Heaven, just as they always assist at the birth or death of anyone on the mortal plane. Then they want to guard these heavenly gifts from the pollution of earth.
So often [these heavenly gifts] are not used for God, but degraded to low and material ends. When a really spiritual nature possesses these gifts, they are employed for the comfort and raising of humanity and the instrument becomes one through which angels and glorified spirits can work. They can only work through an absolutely pure channel.
To become thus purified and selfless, there must first be the complete surrender of the soul to the divine influence, the opening of the whole nature to God, and the inflow of His grace. That is the first step and, thank God, many attain thus far.
But there are old prejudices to be abandoned, old habits of thought to surmount, and these form a barrier, and many souls never get their heritage of your side of the grave. They have to wait for the fuller revelation till they come here.
But here and there we find one who, in addition to this soul surrender, has a mind open to receive the higher revelation. To such a one the revelation comes even during the earth life. … Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, what God hath prepared for you who love Him. (7)
[My relatives] carried me to my home and every flower I loved was there to greet me. (8)
Remember, you are building your home in Paradise all the time you dwell on earth. It is the outer expression of your thought. All spiritual and beautiful thought produces beautiful surroundings so that, as you walk about here, you can guage the spiritual quality of the inhabitant by the beauty of his dwelling. There are no mysteries in Paradise, all is open, and every secret thought is known. I am very busy perfecting our home, but it cannot be completed till you join me hereafter. (9)
Later they bore me to my spirit home and I was filled with wonder and awe that anything so beautiful and so perfect could possibly belong to me. Oh, how can I tell you of the exquisite gardens with their living, speaking flowers; of the fairy-like alcoves and sparkling waters! It was perfect – no, not quite because you were not yet here to share it with me. And so the Divine Father allows me often to bear you here in your sleep, that in the joy of spiritual communion I might be comforted and your refreshed; and I am permitted to return to earth and help you until you join me here. (10)
How can I tell you of this new and beautiful life, I, who could never speak of these higher truths, even to you? But I was ever striving to live the Christ life on earth and to understand the deep things of God. My soul and mind were centred in the spiritual, below all outward activities and below my pain. … My present life is so full, so complete in Christ. How wonderful is the mystery of holiness. The soul rising from perfection to perfection, unending, age after age. But for the glories of these higher spheres I have no words. They transcend all human thought. (11)
Beyond the seventh sphere there are other celestial states, but of these I cannot speak. (12)
Footnotes
(1) F. Heslop, medium, Speaking Across the Border-Line. Being Letters from a Husband in Spirit Life to His Wife on Earth. London: Charles Taylor, 9th ed., n.d. Xix. (Hereafter SABL.)
(2) F. Heslop, SABL, xix-xx.
(3) John Heslop in SABL, 1.
(4) John Heslop through F. Heslop, medium, Further Messages Across the Border-Line. A Continuation of “Speaking Across the Border-Line.” London: Charles Taylor, n.d. , 12-3. (Hereafter FMABL.)
(5) SABL, 1.
(6) SABL, 44.
(7) SABL, 43-4.
(8) SABL, 1-2.
(9) SABL, 3.
(10) FMABL, 13.
(11) SABL, 2.
(12) FMABL, 10.