(July 21st, 1915 | Received by James Padgett)
(SAMUEL, PROPHET OF THE OLD TESTAMENT)
Samuel Recounts His Teaching and Experience When on Earth. He Explains That He Did Not Get the Divine Love Until Jesus Came to Earth.
I AM HERE. Samuel, the prophet of God of the Old Testament.
I am the same Samuel whom the woman of Endor called from the spirit
world to show Saul his doom. I come to you tonight as I came to her at that
time. Only my purpose is not the same, and I am not the same spirit in my
qualifications.
I am now a Christian and know what the Divine Love of the Father means, while then I did not. I was a spirit living in comparative happiness, existing in the consciousness that I had done my work on earth and was then enjoying the repose of the righteous; for, as we understood that word then, in both the mortal and spirit worlds, I was a righteous man.
I come to you tonight because I see that you have been chosen to do the great work of the Master, in his efforts to redeem mankind from their lives of sin and error, and to show them the Way by which they may partake of the Divine Nature of the Father and obtain immortality.
HOW MUCH MORE MANKIND ARE BLESSED NOW, AND
SPIRITS TOO, THAN THEY WERE WHEN I WAS A MORTAL, AND
FOR A LONG TIME AFTER I BECAME A SPIRIT. MY GOD THEN AND
YOUR GOD NOW ARE THE SAME, BUT HIS GREAT GIFT OF
DIVINE LOVE WAS NOT IN EXISTENCE THEN, AS IT IS NOW. SO,
YOU AND ALL OTHER MORTALS SHOULD REALIZE THE GREAT
PRIVILEGE YOU HAVE BECAUSE OF THIS GIFT AND THE GIFT OF
JESUS TO EXPLAIN AND SHOW THE WAY BY WHICH THAT LOVE
MAY BE OBTAINED—FREELY AND WITHOUT MENTAL EXERCISE
OF A HIGH ORDER, BUT BY MERELY THE LONGINGS AND
ASPIRATIONS OF THE SOUL IN ITS DESIRES TO BECOME A PART
OF THE FATHER’S DIVINITY.
I TELL YOU THAT THE WAYS OF GOD ARE WONDERFUL AND
MYSTERIOUS. WHILE HIS PLANS MAY SEEM TO BE WORKING
SLOWLY TO US, YET, THEY ARE WORKING SURELY AND WILL BE
ACCOMPLISHED IN HIS OWN FULLNESS OF TIME.
I never knew that God was such a God of Love and Mercy while I was
on earth. He was our Jehovah and Ruler. He was a God of “anger” and
“wrath,” and a “jealous” God, as I thought, ever ready to “punish” those
whom He thought to be His “enemies” with massacre and death. I obeyed
Him and performed His Work, as I understood I should, more through fear
than through love. In fact, to me, love was never a “weapon” or instrument
to be used in bringing the disobedient Jew to a compliance with what we
thought was the Will of God.
In such a method of procuring obedience, the soul was never developed
and love was a minor factor in making the Jews obedient to the Father's Requirements.
Our principal desires were for the success of our earthly undertakings.
And, when these were accomplished, we had no further use for our God,
except to keep Him in reserve for occasions that might arise when, as we
thought, we might need His Assistance.
I know that Moses commanded the Jews to love God with all their souls
and minds and strength, and many of them thought that they were doing so.
But, in reality, their love was limited by the extent of their desires for worldly
gain, and this I know; for, when they had succeeded in obtaining what they
wanted, they forgot to love God. Hence, we prophets were required so often
to instruct them, and we did call them so frequently to a recollection of God
and the danger they ran in forgetting Him and His Laws. But we seldom
attempted to have them recall Him through love, but nearly always through
threatenings and the portrayals of dire punishments that would be inflicted
upon them, should they continue to forget Him.
And thus it was that Saul sought my help and advice. He thought that not
only had God forsaken him but also that he had forsaken God. And he
expected the punishment that he thought would result from such neglect to
serve and obey God. And, as I was in the spirit world and probably very close
to God, he thought that I would exercise some influence and have the great
“threatened calamity” arrested. But he did not seek me through love of God,
but through fear of his enemies and dread that God would direct His “wrath”
upon him.
So, you see, fear was the ruling sentiment that actuated the Jews in my
time in their dealings with God. And when that fear was allayed or forgotten,
God was forgotten, and only remembered again when danger appeared. Of
course, there were many exceptions to this class of Jews, for there were some
who really loved God; and no fear of “wrath” or “anger” from Him formed
a part of their love.
So, you will see that the laws of Moses were not so much intended to
regulate the spiritual or soul part of the Jews, but to control them in their
dealings with one another in the practical affairs of life, and in their dealings
with the heathens and strangers.
The moral laws thus taught were taught for the purpose of making them
righteous between themselves. Then, as a consequence, so they thought, they
would be righteous towards God. But the great essential to make them one
with God, by obtaining the Divine Love, was missing, and never sought for.
It could not then be found because it did not exist then for mankind.
I AM NOW A CHRISTIAN AND KNOW THAT THE DIVINE LOVE IS A REALITY, AND THAT ALL MEN MAY HAVE IT, IF THEY WILL ONLY SEEK FOR IT.
(Mr. Padgett asked a question.)
Well, the woman of Endor was not a witch and did not practice the black art. She was a good woman possessed of powers to call up the “dead,” as they were called. She did not engage in practices of doing harm to mortals, such as putting spells upon them or using charms, but she was a true medium.
And, while not possessed of much spirituality, yet, she was a woman of good
morals who had around her many spirits of the higher order, whose only desires were to do good to mortals. She was the one who was careful to have no evil spirits come and communicate, and her powers with the higher ones were very great. Had she been of what you call the lower class of mediums,I never would have responded to her call. But she was in rapport with me and other spirits whose thoughts were turned to the higher things of the spirit world. Hence, she had no difficulty in having us appear for the consolation of help to mortals when she desired it.
I had instructed and advised Saul when he was alive. And after I became a spirit and he needed help, naturally, he would seek my advice. In those days, mediums were more numerous than most people suppose. And because of their being so common and of such different kinds, and the most of them engaging in necromancy and evil arts, strict laws were passed against their pursuing their calling or engaging in the practice of consulting spirits.
But not all were bad, and many of them did good in the world. And
among these latter was the woman of Endor, notwithstanding that she has
been so vilified and abused by the churches and preachers. You may be
surprised when I tell you that she is now living high up in the Celestial
Heavens, and is a redeemed spirit enjoying the Divine Love of God.
Your friend and brother, SAMUEL
