By Brian Foster

Abstract

For Christians the Apocalypse is a series of calamitous events. Disasters that would affect the entire planet. But according to Spiritism, the earth will change, yes, disasters will occur, but overall our planet will transform gradually. Learn how the process will work and what we are heading toward.

Introduction

To understand the coming changes to our world, one must first know where is our planet on the evolutionary scale. Where has it come from and where is it going. For we are all passengers and wouldn’t it be nice to identify our destination?

Levels of Planets

In the book, The Gospel According to Spiritism, by Allan Kardec, in Chapter 3, there is an explanation of the different worlds that Spirits will inhabit during their long trek toward purification.

1. Primitive World – Intended for the first incarnations of the human soul. The beings that inhabit them are, to a certain extent, rudimentary. They have the human form but are devoid of any beauty. Their instincts are not tempered by any sentiment of refinement or benevolence, or by any notions of right or wrong. Brute force is the only law. With no industry or inventions, they spend life in conquest of food.

2. World of Trial and Expiation – You are living on this world. There is more evil present than good. Now you know why life is not easy, because it is not supposed to be while you are reincarnated on the planet Earth. Below are the types of spirits that are your current neighbors;

a) Spirits from Primitive worlds – They are on earth for an education, a chance to develop themselves through contact with more-advanced spirits.

b) Semi-civilized spirits – Spirits that are indigenous to earth, who have evolved little by little through long centennial periods.

c) Spirits undergoing trials from other planets – These spirits have already lived on other worlds, from which they were banished because they persisted in evil, and because they were a cause of disturbance to the good inhabitants. They have been relegated to living for a time among less advanced spirits, and since they carry with them their developed intelligence and the seed of acquired knowledge, they have the mission of helping them advance. That is why punished spirits are found in the midst of the most intelligent peoples. Having more sensitivity, the miseries of life are bitterer to them because sufferings bruise them more deeply than they bruise the primitive peoples, whose moral sense is more obtuse.

3. Regenerative World – Where souls still have something to expiate (pay off the debt of a past sin) may absorb new strength by resting from the fatigue of struggle. There is still evil, but much reduced, the good outweighs the evil, consequently no motive for hatred or discord. The foresight of their future, which is intuitive in the people of these worlds, and the sense of security resulting from a conscience void of remorse, cause them to look forward to death without fear, as being simply a process of transformation, the approach of which they perceive without the slightest uneasiness.

4. Happy Worlds – Where good outweighs evil. On Happy Worlds, we still retain our human form, although the senses are more acute. The body changes, as described in The Gospel According to Spiritism, “The specific lightness of the body enables rapid and easy locomotion; instead of dragging itself laboriously over the ground, it glides – so to speak – over the surface or sails through the air with no other effort than that of the will, in the way in which angels are portrayed.”[1] With the improvement in our bodies, the years of infancy and adolescent are shorter, while the average lifespan is much longer than on earth today.

Politically on such worlds, “relationships between nations are always friendly and are never disturbed by the ambition of dominating their neighbor, or by war, which is its consequence. There are no masters, slaves or privileges of birth; only moral and intellectual ascendancy establish the differences of conditions and confer supremacy. Authority is always respected, for it is conferred only on those who have merit and it is always exercised with justice.”[2]

Hatred, jealousies and selfishness are not present. All feel a sense of fraternity and love, where the strong assist the weak. Possessions are in keeping with a person’s intelligence and no one lacks their basic needs for living. From here, the next transition is to a purified spirit, who lives on a heavenly world.

5. Heavenly or Divine Worlds – Where good reigns completely, all inhabitants are purified spirits. There is no evil.

The New Testament Apocalypse

Given that the earth is a planet of expiation or atonement, the spirit realm is actively involved in moving us to a better spiritual plane. The spirit Emmanuel, who was the spirit guide for Francisco C. Xavier, and who inspired many books psychographed by Francisco, wrote in his book, On the Way to the Light, about the reasons for the spirit world to send the revelations to John;

“A few years before the end of the first century after the coming of the new doctrine, the powers of the spirit world made an analysis of the dreadful situation of the world in view of the future.

The Divine Master called to the higher spheres the spirit John, who was still being held prisoner by the bonds of the earth, and the astonished, afflicted Apostle read the symbolic language of the invisible world.

The Lord told him to deliver his knowledge to the planet as a warning to all the nations and peoples of the earth, and the old Apostle of Patmos transmitted the extraordinary warnings of the Apocalypse to his disciples.

All of the events posterior to John’s life are foreseen therein. Certainly, the Apostle’s description frequently enters the obscurest terrain. One can plainly see that his human language could not faithfully replicate the divine expression of his visions of remarkable interest for the history of mankind: the wars, the ideological struggles of western civilization are all foreseen in minute detail. And its most dreadful image, which even today is still offered to the eyes of the modern world, is that of the deviant Church of Rome, symbolized as the beast clothed in purple and drunk on the blood of the saints.”[3]

Let’s look at a summary of part of the New Testament Apocalypse, Chapter 13, and then analyze it through the eyes of the spirit Emmanuel;

“Chapter 13: A Beast comes out of the sea. It has ten horns, seven heads containing diadems and blasphemous names. Like a leopard, but paws like a bear and mouth like a lion. It is given power, throne and authority by the Dragon. One head was mortally wounded and healed. In wonderment, the whole world followed after the Beast. People worshiped Beast and Dragon. Their authority to last only forty-two months. Granted authority over all people, nation and race. Worshiped by all those who do not have their names in book of life.

Let him who has ears heed these words: If one is destined for captivity, into captivity he goes! If one is destined to be slain by the sword, by the sword he will be slain! Such is the faithful endurance that distinguishes God’s holy people. A Second Beast comes up out of the Earth. It used the authority of the first Beast to promote its interests by making the world worship the first beast whose mortal wound had been healed. Performs great miracles, leads astray Earth’s inhabitants by telling them to make an idol of first Beast. Life is given to the image of the Beast, and the power of speech and the ability to put to death anyone who refuses to worship it. Forces all men, rich and poor to accept a stamped image on right hand or forehead. No one allowed to buy or sell anything unless first marked with the name of the beast or the number that stood for its name. A certain wisdom is needed here; with a little ingenuity anyone can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a certain man. The man’s number is six hundred sixty-six.”[4]

First we are told the authority of the beast will last forty-two months, according to Emmanuel, the correct interpretation is;

“The Apocalypse states that the beast would stay great and blasphemous for 42 months, adding that his number would be 666 (Rev. 18:5,18). By examining the importance of symbols at that time and following a certain course of interpretation, we can take each month as being 30 years instead of 30 days; hence, there is a period of 1,260 years, which is precisely the period 610-1870 of our era, when the Papacy was consolidated from the time of its appearance with the emperor Phocus in 607 to the decree of papal infallibility by Pius IX in 1870, which marked the decadence and absence of Vatican’ authority in light of humankind’s scientific, philosophic and religious evolution.”[5]

Therefore the beast is the Catholic Church, which became corrupted over time, forgetting that it is the church who is to serve, not the populace to serve the church. Emmanuel tells us of many occasions when the spirit world attempted to bring the church back to its beginnings. One such effort is when one of Jesus’ apostles reincarnated as Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis tried to demonstrate, by example, that the church was meant to go out and help people, not to just collect money or to stay locked up in monasteries.

What about the famous number 666? If the Catholic Church was the beast, what does the number 666 signify? Again, Emmanuel has the answer;

“As for the number 666, without referring to the interpretations using Greek numerals, but rather using the Roman numerals because they were the most widespread and well-known, we must keep in mind that the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Church uses the titles “VICARIVS GENERALIS DEI IN TERRIS”, “VICARIVS FILII DEI” and “DVX CLERI”, which mean, respectively, “God’s Chief Vicar on Earth”, “Vicar of the Son of God” and “Captain of the Clergy.” All one needs is a little game of patience, adding up the Roman numerals found in each papal title, and one will find the same results of 666 in each one of them.”[6]

Hence, the beast were the Popes who contributed to the churches journey from simple gathering places, where people congregated to discuss the teaching of Jesus and to assist those in need, to the builder of wealth for the religious class at the top, by siphoning the hard-earned money of millions of peasants. To the present day Catholic Church’s benefit, they have reformed themselves into a more benevolent organization, performing many good services for their flock.

The Spiritist’s Apocalypse

So, how will the Apocalypse, according to Spiritism, occur? The end will come, but it will come for those low spirits who did not care to learn from their successive lives on this planet. As more spirits understand what it means to be selfless, charitable, and honorable in all circumstances, thereby shedding the constant striving for material goods, they will remain within the earth’s sphere, whether in spiritual or physical form. The good spirits will vie for the honor of assisting the transformation of the planet.

The last question of the one thousand and nineteen questions in The Spirits Book, tells us exactly how the Apocalypse rolls out;

1019. Will the reign of goodness ever be established upon the earth?

“Goodness will reign upon the earth, when, among the spirits who come to dwell in it, the good shall be more numerous than the bad; for they will then bring in the reign of love and justice, which are the source of good and happiness.”[7]

Hence, as more people are truly good, the weight of the culture will influence others to follow their example. Those living will have some time to improve themselves, to turn away from the pursuit of coinage by any means. Others will not be so lucky; The Spirits Book tells us their fate;

“The spirits of the wicked people who are mowed down each day by death, and of all who endeavor to arrest the onward movement, will be excluded from the earth, and compelled to incarnate themselves elsewhere; for they would be out of place among those nobler races of human beings, whose felicity would be impaired by their presence among them. They will be sent into never worlds, less advanced than the earth, and will then fulfill hard and laborious missions, which will furnish them with the means of advancing, while contributing also to the advancement of their brethren of those younger worlds, less advanced than themselves.”[8]

The people who continue to behave badly will have a surprise waiting for them when they expire. Waking up in the spirit world and then expecting to return to spread more chaos, they shall instead be whisked away to another, less advanced planet, to live among those who are on a lower level. Imagine dying after residing in a beautiful mansion by the sea, bought by systematically stealing the wealth of others, then landing into the midst of a sewer smelling city, no modern technology, where luxury is having hot water boiled for you once a week. This is the punishment awaiting all who resist modifying their behavior and attitudes that celebrate robbing innocents, violence and feeling superior to those that don’t stoop to their level. Even then, under God’s benevolence, they too, shall have a chance to redeem themselves and re-ascend to a better planet.

The weeding out of the reluctant spirits and the populating of the planet with good spirits will be a gradual conversion. We are being groomed to attain the state required for us to inhabit a non-expiratory world. In Genesis, the Apocalypse will not occur in a big bang but will be; “According to the Spirits the earth will not be transformed by a cataclysm that will suddenly wipe out an entire generation. The current generation will disappear gradually and the new one will follow it in the same way, without there have been any change in the natural order of things.”[9]

So what happens to us who remain? The Spirit of Truth, as promised in the New Testament John 14:15-17, as the Consoler sent to Allan Kardec to reveal the Doctrine of Spiritism, tells us in The Gospel According to Spiritism, what will be;

“The time is near for the fulfillment of those things proclaimed for the transformation of humankind. Blessed will be those who have worked in the Lord’s field selflessly and with no other motive than charity! Their workdays will be paid a hundredfold more than what they expected. Blessed will be those who said to their fellow men and women, “Brothers and sisters, let us work together and combine our efforts so that the Master may find the work accomplished at his coming”; for the Master will say to them; “Come unto me, you who have been good servants, you who have known how to silence your jealousies and discords so that no harm will come to the work!”[10]

Our hundredfold reward will be life on a Regenerative planet. Where there is more good than evil and we can thrive in an environment relatively free of discord. With no fear of war or other violent ends. A place, a safe haven, to continue learning how we can progress to become a pure spirit.

To learn more about how the spirit realm will guide us to a higher level of existence please read my book, Explore Your Destiny – Since Your Life’s Path is (mostly) Predetermined.

Author:

Brian Foster has a BSCS degree and a MBA. He has worked in R&D for medical device corporations and in IT for large financial institutions. Brian Foster has a blog at http://www.nwspiritism.com.

Works Cited

Goldennuggets. (2014, September 7). Golden Nuggets Web/ revelation. Retrieved from GoldenNuggetswebs: http://www.goldnuggetwebs.com/revelation/revelation-p2.html

Kardec, A. (2008). The Gospel According to Spiritism. Brasilia (DF): International Spiritist Council.

Kardec, A. (2009). Genesis – Miracles and Predictions according to Spiritism. Brasilia (DF), Brasil: International Spiritist Council.

Kardec, A. (2010). The Spirits Book. Guildford, UK: White Crow Books.

Xavier, F. C. (2011). On the Way to the Light. Brasilia (DF), Brazil: International Spiritist Council.

[1] Kardec, A., The Gospel According to Spiritism, EDICEI, p. 72

[2] Kardec, A., The Gospel According to Spiritism, EDICEI, p. 73

[3] Xavier, F. C., On the Way to the Light, EDICEI, pp. 123-124

[4] Goldennuggetswebs, “Revelation”, n.d., http://www.goldnuggetwebs.com/revelation/revelation-p2.html, (accessed September 7, 2014)

[5] Xavier, F. C., On the Way to the Light, EDICEI, pp. 124-125

[6] Xavier, F. C., On the Way to the Light, EDICEI, p. 125

[7] Kardec, A., The Spirits Book, White Crow Books, Ques. 1019, p. 522

[8] Kardec, A., The Spirits Book, White Crow Books, Ques. 1019, p. 523

[9] Kardec, Allan. Genesis, EDICEI Cap. 18, item 27

[10] Kardec, A., The Gospel According to Spiritism, EDICEI, p. 327