The Deceased speak out. Dieter Scharnhorst

meet and talk to each other. The bond of solidarity that had held them together for so long also continued.

      Then the time came again when they were told that it was time for a new life on earth, for only in a new life on earth could one prove whether one was able to come closer to God, for life on earth offers the opportunity to express the virtues and to work for God and his world. But then the two had expressed the wish to come together again in the next life on earth. Yes, their wish was even to be allowed to live together as husband and wife. This wish was fulfilled for them. The God's Mother watched over the fact that both of them were born in the same village after their transformation and grew up with each other. So they had found the way to each other easily and entered into marriage, as the spiritual world had done, because it was in their life plan that it should be fulfilled, because they had also determined a task for the two of them. They were to go through joy and sorrow with each other in their lives.

      But now I have to come back to the fact that when they had expressed this wish in the world of God, it had been explained to them:

      "When you enter the new life, it will not be easy for you, for wars will come with much sorrow, need and hunger.

      This was also told to all the other spirits who were prepared for the new human life at that time.

      They were told that they would not find the earthly world in peace, but they just had to pass through these stepping stones for their spiritual development and were therefore destined to be born into this time.

      That is how they had later married together. He had become a journeyman with a blacksmith in the village, and she occasionally did washing work, and that gave them a reasonable income. In spite of their modest circumstances they lived happily and contentedly with each other, for here the spiritual connection, their soul friendship, which had existed for many centuries, was evident. Now they should be able to live together as man and wife, but this happiness did not last long. The First World War came and the man was drafted and had to go to war. The woman stayed behind and had to suffer hunger. She heard little from her husband. But the war ended and he could return home. But he was not the same man as before. He had become a different man, neglected inside and out. In the depths of his soul the war had badly affected him, especially since he had become ill, and so living together was soon clouded. This Marta still tried to understand her husband. She was so sorry to see Willy depraved and addicted to drink. He found no work, she had to pay for her daily bread, but it was very meagre. Her husband always tried to drink the last of the money. He had lost his way, and he felt that he was ill and nobody could help him, because he was lung sick.

      So they lived there and a great death came. The woman also became ill and died in the great dying of that time. Now the man was alone in his misery and degenerated completely. But he was so ill that he would not live much longer.

      When Marta had returned to the spiritual world, she had expressed to the angels her wish that they might take her husband home as well. During the first time of her spiritual return she had not become aware again of what had brought her together with her husband and what an intimate bond had embraced her. She could not let go of her thoughts of her husband, she always remembered the events of the war and the misery, and so she could not find her way in the new world at first. She had fallen into a state of mental distress over all that she had gone through in life.

      But the spirits of God took care of her, as they did of all her brothers and sisters who came home at that time. Many of them had arrived in despair. There were young mothers who were torn away from their children, young fathers were also there, and their spiritual need was also expressed in the spiritual realm. But the world of God had summoned its missionary spirits to comfort these returning home, those who had been snatched away from life. There were many soldiers who could not find their way, who needed to be comforted. Many still clung to the earth and to some object. They had remained on the battlefields and did not want to leave them, because they thought they were still alive.

      The missionary spirits had a lot to do in those days. They had to convince the fallen that they had died for this world and that they would be taken care of in another world.

      Separate spheres had been prepared for them, where they were brought together, and there was an active activity of these Missions and helping spirits, who gave much comfort there, so that these souls could come to rest themselves and until they were ready to take over a task themselves. First they had to familiarize themselves with the new world, into which they had been led. Also many spirits who were themselves still in the ascent, but willingly lived in the order of God, had agreed to lead these suffering brothers and sisters. They were taken to their relatives who had been left behind to show them that good-hearted people had taken care of them, that their children were being cared for and helped as much as possible. They were to be allowed to see for themselves and for some it was a great comfort, and so they were able to fit better into their new life.

      It was similar with Marta, who had returned home. She had also immediately agreed to stand up for her husband Willy. But now an angel of God stepped in and said:

      "After this life, you two will not be on the same level. This war has brought so much disaster upon mankind, and so we must be concerned that something will be created out of this disaster for progress after all."

      All this had now been examined in the world of God, and brothers and sisters had been called to service in the spiritual realm. They were to descend to men to support them and to lead them out of trouble. The good spirits did it as best they could under the guidance of a higher being. But the good spirits were not alone who had come to relieve the trouble, to give comfort, to create better things. There were also spirits from the kingdom of hell coming in great numbers and they took possession of those people who were living in discontent. For after this war had ended there had been no peace. The powers of darkness found the opportunity to use those insecure, desperate and weak people as tools, and they had already drawn their plans.

      So these wretches busily went to work and chose their tools from among these souls, and they inspired them in their own way that the spiritual ascent would not take place as quickly as it would have been according to the spirit world of God. For those dark powers knew what right was due to them, and they made full use of their right. They wanted to rule and prove that men would not yet be so far in their spiritual development because they cannot overcome so much evil. They also wanted to prove how weak men were and how quickly they could be persuaded. The art of persuasion comes first with these lower beings.

      They are great artists at deception and persuasion. So they went to work, and they also knew how to do it, to build up new misery, new worries.

      But that is not what we are talking about, but how Marta and Willy fared. Marta could rise, because she had not burdened herself much in her last life. Her life had also ended early in this great dying. But she wanted to put herself into the service of her neighbor, and especially when she learned about the bond that bound her to her former life companion.

      But all this was only revealed to her when she had been prepared to work according to the aims and wishes of the high spiritual world. For there was much to accomplish. Those who so desperately entered the spiritual world had to be looked after. The angels of God asked them and the other willing ones and explained to them

      "You can now earn merit in a higher degree if you take care of these desperate people. For Martha and her willing helpers had even better empathy and understanding for these unfortunates who only entered the world of God, for they themselves had experienced misery and misery on earth not long ago as human beings. So they could tell the desperate new arrivals that they had also gone through these difficult times and as a result they listened more to these comforting brothers and sisters.

      Now this Martha had fulfilled her task to her satisfaction, so that an angel of God revealed to her which bond of soul she had connected with Willy, and she now wanted to pray for him and help him on his way of ascent. For in the life before last, when he had been her brother, he had asked the high spirit world for her, that she might repay her for what she had done to him. Now it was the other way round. Now she begged God to be merciful to him and not to give him as much credit for his guilt as he deserved, for many would have been dragged into the abyss in those terrible times and would have lost themselves