What is the state of the soul after death?

TALKING WITH THE SPIRITS—OR COMMUNION WITH SAINTS

Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.

—The Higher Pantheism, Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809—1892)

SPIRITUAL REALITIES

What happens at death?

Gifted with spiritual sight, Sadhu Sundar Singh was able to see within the heavens, walk in the glory of the heavenly sphere with Christ Jesus, and hold converse with saints and angels.

In his visions, Sadhu Sunhar Singh saw vividly and clearly every detail of the glory of the spiritual world and the uplifting experience of very real fellowship with the saints, amid the inconceivably bright and beautiful surroundings of a spiritual world made visible.

Sadhu Sunhar Singh draws a distinction between Spirits, Saints and Angels.

By the world of Spirits, Sadhu Sunhar Singh means that intermediate state into which Spirits enter after leaving the body.

By the spiritual world is meant all spiritual beings that progress through the stages between the darkness of the bottomless pit and the throne of the Lord in Light.

Spirits are both good and bad―after death, they exist in a state intermediate between heaven and hell.

Saints are those who have passed on through this stage into the higher spheres of the spiritual world and have had special services allotted to them.

Angels are those glorious beings to whom all kinds of superior service have been allotted―among them are included many saints from other worlds who all live together as one family. They serve one another in love and in the effulgence of God’s glory are eternally happy.

Visional Experiences

In a visional experience, Sadhu Sundar Singh finds himself surrounded by a great concourse of spiritual beings. As they converse together, he receives answers to his questions, relating to his difficulties about many problems that puzzle him. His first inquiry is about what happens at the time of dying and about the state of the soul after death.

What happens at the time of death?

What is the state of the soul after death?

Death is like sleep. There is no pain in the passing over except in the case of a few bodily diseases and mental conditions.

As an exhausted man is overcome by deep sleep, so comes the sleep of death to the departed soul.

Death comes so suddenly to many that it is only with great difficulty that they realise that they have left the material world and entered this world of Spirits.

Bewildered by the many new and beautiful things that they see around them, they imagine that they are visiting some country―or city of the physical world that they have not seen before.

It is only when they have been more fully instructed, and realise that their spiritual body is different from their former material body, that they allow that they have been transferred from the material world to the realm of Spirits.

Usually, at the time of death, the body gradually loses its power of feeling. It has no pain, but is simply overcome by a sense of drowsiness. Sometimes, in cases of great weakness―or after an accident, the spirit departs while the body is still unconscious. Then, the Spirits of those who have lived without thought of―or preparation, for entering the spiritual world, being thus suddenly transferred into the world of Spirits, are extremely bewildered and in a state of great distress at their fate―so, for a considerable period, they have to remain in the lower and darker planes of the intermediate state. The Spirits of these lower spheres often greatly harass people in the world. But the only ones that they can injure are those who are like in mind to themselves―who of their own free will open their hearts to entertain them.

These evil spirits, by allying themselves with other evil spirits, would do immense harm in the world were it not that God has appointed innumerable angels everywhere for the protection of His People and of His Creation so that His People are always safe in His Keeping.

Evil Spirits can injure only those in the world who are like in nature to themselves, and then, they can do it only to a limited extent.

They can indeed trouble the righteous, but not without God's permission. God sometimes does give Satan and his angels permission to tempt and persecute His people so that they may emerge from the trial stronger and better, as when He allowed Satan to persecute His servant Job.

But from such a trial, there is gain, rather than loss to the believer.

Many whose lives have not been yielded to God, when about to die seem to become unconscious, but what actually happens is that when they see the hideous and devilish faces of the evil spirits that have come about them, they become speechless and paralysed by fear. On the other hand, the dying of a believer is frequently the very opposite of this. He is often extremely happy, for he sees Angels and saintly Spirits coming to welcome him. Then, too, his loved ones who have died before are permitted to attend his deathbed and conduct his soul to the spiritual world. On entering the world of spirits, he at once feels at home, for not only are his friends about him, but while in the world, he had long been preparing himself for that Home by his trust in God and fellowship with Him.

To conduct the souls of (wo)men from the world is the work of Angels.

Usually, Christ reveals Himself in the spiritual world to each one in degrees of glory, differing in intensity, according to the state of each soul's spiritual development. But in some cases, He Himself comes to a deathbed to welcome His servant and in love dries his tears and leads him into Paradise.

As a child born into the world finds everything provided for its wants, so does the soul on entering the spiritual world find all its wants supplied.

The World of Spirits

After death, the soul of every human being will enter the world of Spirits, and everyone, according to the stage of his spiritual growth will dwell with Spirits like in mind and in nature to himself, either in the darkness―or in the light of glory. No one in the physical body has entered into the spiritual world except Christ and a few saints whose bodies were transformed into glorious bodies―yet to some, it has been granted that while still dwelling in the world, they can see the world of Spirits and Heaven itself, as in 1 Cor. xii. 2, though they themselves cannot tell whether they enter Paradise in the body―or in the Spirit.

I saw that from all sides, thousands upon thousands of souls were constantly arriving in the world of Spirits, and that all were attended by angels. The souls of the good had with them only angels and good spirits who had conducted them from their deathbeds.

Evil spirits were not allowed to come near to them, but stood far off and watched.

I saw also that there were no good spirits with the souls of the really wicked, but about them were evil spirits who had come with them from their deathbeds―angels, too, stood by and prevented the evil spirits from giving free play to the spite of their malicious natures in harassing them.

The evil spirits almost immediately led these souls away towards the darkness, for when in the flesh, they had consistently allowed evil spirits to influence them for evil and had willingly permitted themselves to be enticed to all kinds of wickedness.

For the Angels in no way interfere with the free will of any soul.

I saw there also many souls who had lately come into the world of Spirits who were attended by both good and evil spirits, as well as by angels. But before long, the radical difference in their lives began to assert itself and they separated themselves—the good in character towards the good, and the evil towards the evil.

Sons of Light

When the souls of (wo)men arrive in the world of spirits, the good at once separate from the evil―In the world, all are mixed together, but it is not so in the spiritual world.

I have many times seen that when the Spirits of the good—the Sons of Light—enter into the world of Spirits, they, first of all, bathe in the impalpable airlike waters of a crystal clear ocean, and in this, they find an intense and exhilarating refreshment. Within these miraculous waters, they move about as if in the open air, neither are they drown beneath them, nor do the waters wet them, but wonderfully cleansed and refreshed and fully purified, they enter into the World of Glory and Light where they will ever remain in the presence of their dear Lord and in the fellowship of innumerable saints and angels.

Sons of Darkness

Ill at ease in the company of the Sons of Light and tormented by the All-revealing Light of Glory, they struggle to hide in places where their impure and sin-stained natures will not be seen. From the lowest and darkest part of the world of Spirits, a black and evil-smelling smoke arises, and in their effort to hide from the light, these sons of darkness rush down and cast themselves headlong into it, their bitter wails of remorse and anguish are heard constantly to arise. But Heaven is so arranged that the smoke is not seen, nor are the wails of anguish heard by the Spirits in Heaven unless any of them, for some special reason should wish to see the evil plight of those souls In darkness.