Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/3167

3167 The fate of the spiritually dead in the afterlife....

June 23, 1944: Book 41

To be spiritually dead is the most terrible fate, both on earth and in the beyond. On earth the human being does not feel this fate as long as he is spared the pleasures of the world, that is, as long as he forgets his soul and is therefore also unaware of its lifeless state. For only his soul is affected by it, while the body creates earthly pleasures for itself as long as it is alive and does not feel the inactivity of the soul, its powerlessness. Only when the soul enters the kingdom of the beyond, when it has shed its physical shell, does it become aware of its lack of strength and with it the dreadful fate it now has to take upon itself because it has not used its earthly life to awaken the spirit within itself to life. Now the opportunity is taken from it, it can no longer be active of its own accord but is in a state of complete powerlessness from which it cannot free itself. It lacks all knowledge, it is shrouded in complete darkness, its environment, its state of soul, is devoid of light and therefore it is also completely incapable of working with love, for this requires knowledge, and knowledge is light.... Although these souls are still cared for by the beings of light in the beyond, yet since they already rejected everything on earth which pointed towards the spiritual kingdom they are not accessible to the ideas of these beings of light either, and they often remain in utmost (renunciation) poverty, in a pitiful state, in the same darkness for eternities. And as long as they do not want to be lovingly active in the beyond the lack of strength will not leave them either, because loving activity first triggers the supply of strength and loving activity first has to be exercised again in free will and this will has often sunk to the lowest level due to the influence of God's adversary.... On earth man has the power of life at his disposal so that he can awaken his spirit to life at any time. He can end the state of death at any time, he can be active in love because the power of life is at his disposal for this. And as soon as he is active in love his spirit awakens to life, and this means receiving light and strength. The spiritually dead human being knows nothing of things of the spiritual kingdom, he knows nothing of God's reign and activity, of His love and wisdom and omnipotence, he knows nothing of his low level, of his former destiny and his apostasy from God; and this ignorance makes him a spiritually inactive creature, for it cannot work according to its destiny but is condemned to inactivity because it does not liberate itself from it. The spiritually dead human being does not allow anything that surrounds him to have an effect on him, he only sees with the eyes of the body and tries to live out his earthly life in every way, regardless of the spirit which is given to him as a companion in order to guide him correctly. And at the end of his life the human being can look back on a long, earthly enjoyed life and still be dead in spirit, and this death is far worse than the death of his body, for his soul does not pass away, it enters the kingdom of the beyond through the gate of death, It is aware of its existence and yet completely without strength and light, powerless to act and in completely dark surroundings, and it feels this unusually agonizing because it now desires the previous state of life on earth, where it could work and act according to its will, with all its senses and it is not fulfilled. It is dead and yet has the awareness of its existence, it is powerless and knows about the happiness of possessing strength; it is ignorant and therefore has no means to free itself from its state, for it can only receive something in the beyond if it gives itself.... The human being on earth cannot imagine the torments of a spiritually dead soul because he is still in the midst of life energy which he can receive for as long as he remains on earth and because he can be active according to his will. And it already means great suffering and affliction on earth if a person is partially deprived of this vitality, i.e. if he becomes incapable of working and creating due to illness.... This state, which is intensified many times over, is the fate of those who pass over into the kingdom of the beyond spiritually dead, who did not awaken the spirit within themselves to life through correctly utilized life energy, through working with love, who lived on earth without living spiritually because they valued earthly life too highly and did not think of their actual purpose, which consists of shaping themselves according to God's will so that the spirit within them will come alive and can promote their upward development....

amen

Translated by Doris Boekers