Spirit Messages X

We hear constantly of progression in Spirit-life. Is it ever the case that one who attains to a high condition goes back?

No, I never knew of one in our sphere going back. Indeed, there is no retrogression in one who has begun to rise—he never turns back. Every upward step he takes only makes him firmer in his resolve to reach the height that lies beyond. Oh no; there is no turning back. All is onward, forward, and that forever.

When you meet with the Spirits, or inhabitants, of other worlds, do the facts of history connected with these worlds ever form the subject of conversation?

We are acquainted with the facts of their history, and such form the subject of discourse on their visits to the Great Temple. At some future time I may give you, apart from our present narrative, some interesting facts in the history of these worlds.

Can you tell us anything about the Second Advent of Christ?

I have already spoken pretty clearly on that subject. I have told you he will never appear on the Earth again in the body of flesh—here, and now, he appears as our Great Prince, the Sovereign Ruler of the worlds of our system. Not again will he become a child of Earth, from which he was violently cast forth by cruel men—a martyr for the truth. But, though now ascended to his kingdom, he has still the same love for men—he still compassionates that world which murdered him, and still he visits you in spirit. When his Second Advent is spoken of in your sacred books, it refers to the grand time in your world's future history, when mankind shall be so spiritual, so holy in life, that we who have passed away from Earth will be able to commune face to face with mortal man, and also to influence him for good to a far greater extent than we can do now. Then, indeed, shall he come—then, truly, shall he walk the Earth—when his sway shall extend from sea to sea, reigning by his truth and love in the hearts of men.

Is that time near at hand?

Alas! no. There are mighty barriers in the way that must be removed before such Spirit communion as I have spoken of can be at all possible. The evils that find a lodgment in the hearts of men must be expelled. Men must become believers in the Great Spirit, and there must be no cowardly hiding of the truth—no longer the fear of the world; but with open hearts and unstammering tongues, men must proclaim the truth within them; the unholy alliance of evil and good must be denounced—in fact, the precepts of Jesus must be practically carried out before the glorious time come on, so long and so anxiously desired by holy men of all ages. Then shall men be open to the good and holy influences of the Spirit World, and the Golden Age return never more to pass away. Earth will no longer be a scene of suffering, but a school for the better life on high, even the entrance door to Heaven.

You mentioned in the course of your narrative, that the youthful Jesus when in Persia, quoted from your sacred books, to support the doctrines he taught. We are told, in the New Testament that he did the same from the Hebrew books when he addressed his own countrymen; and this is now advanced by our theologians as an argument for the Divine inspiration of these Hebrew books. Can you say anything about this?

If Jesus had taught his countrymen from the sacred books of Persia, Egypt, or other nations that surrounded Judea, would they have listened to him? No. But when he found certain writings both good and true and suitable for illustration in their own books, why should he not refer them to these? Moses, the Hebrew lawgiver and prophet, though eminently good as such, had, like the great men of other nations, his faults; but there were some more liable than Moses to make mistakes. No one, however, had come equal to Jesus in power and wisdom; and, assuredly, he showed as much reverence for the truths which he found in our Book of Sunda and others, as for those in the Books of Moses. Evil, in the course of time, will creep into the best of books in spite of all the watchfulness it is possible to give to them; but there is always enough of the original truths left to keep men virtuous. In the book I refer to there were to be found lessons of truth, wisdom, and love, intermingled with much that I might term nonsense—that is, when compared with other books of Persia. Nevertheless, the pure gold of Heaven could be easily seen amid the dross and rubbish of man's vain conceits. It was the same in the sacred writings of all the nations of my day. At first, the messages of truth and wisdom are received from the Spirit World and carefully recorded as precious in books; these are then committed in charge to pure-minded, God-fearing, and faithful men, who tenaciously hold on to good doctrine. But time rolls on, and there come those in their stead who have no heart for sacred truth; but, grovelling in corruption, or governed by selfish or other unworthy motives, they stealthily and bit-by-bit interpolate their own ideas into the sacred writings. And this is the case with theological creeds and systems the world over. It was so in my day, at least. You may be better off in this respect nowadays. I very much doubt it; for men will be men in all ages, if not enlightened by constant communion with the wise and good of the Spirit World. It was only when such intercourse existed that the truths derived from spiritual sources were respected, and kept pure as virgin gold. Oftentimes my soul was grieved and indignant when studying these sacred books. I could have torn them asunder when my eyes lighted upon the interpolations of the base and corrupt wretches who had blasphemously mingled their lies with the truth of Heaven. But my hand was stayed and my anger subdued, as, unrolling the scroll, I perceived the beautiful veins of gold, threading their shining way through that mass of blackened rock. You have seen, I do not doubt, a mass of quartz, in which might be traced veins of a pure metal; and you valued the dark, unshapely lump, not because of the amount of quartz, but on account of the good ore it contained. So is it with sacred books. Amid a heap of human rubbish, you will find the pure gold of Divine truth. O, it is sad to think of the silly but enchanting tales in these books, the offspring of man's imagination, given as the very truth of God, and foolishly accepted by the unthinking multitude, the victims of a cunning priestcraft. O how my soul burned as, scanning these records, my eye fell on a passage enforcing the duty of contributing to the support of the sacred priests. Sacred! My very blood boiled while once more, in my anger, I was tempted to draw the sword against the whole herd of these deceivers of the people—living, as foul birds of prey do, on corruption—on their poor, ignorant, and miserable dupes. O for truth and wisdom, pure as it cometh from the Most High! This, and this alone, is the true bread for the famishing spirit of man. O Great and Good Spirit, evermore give us this bread! Alas, how many of these men—who, to serve their own ends, kept the people in a state of childish ignorance—are still wandering in the darkness of their own making—for corruption deadens the light of the brightest eye. And yet it is even now our loving work to rescue those poor, lone wanderers in the Spirit World. O to be once more in the body! What would I not do—(Pardon me. I find the old fire still burning). Often had I spoken with my brethren to get that book cleared of the rubbish that defaced, that hid its beauties; but failing in this, I took care that those who were under me should only receive lessons of purity.

Hafed, Prince of Persia—His Experiences in Earth Life and Spirit Life; being spirit communications received through Mr David Duguid, the Glasgow trance-painting medium; with an appendix, containing communications from the spirit artists, Ruisdal and Steen. Illustrated by facsimiles of various drawings and writings, the direct work of the spirits; David Duguid, Hay Nisbet; James Burns, London, 1876