Hi,

You asked,
1) If there is no hell like what has been pounded into my brain all my life, then what are people like Bill Wiese (23 Minutes In Hell) or Howard Storm (My Descent into Death) experiencing? Both very different people who claim to have experienced hell and demons, etc., then being given a second chance, seeing who they refer to as Jesus Christ, etc.

Understand that what I say about the next plane of life comes entirely from people who have crossed over to it. The messages come through physical and mental mediums whose abilities have been verified. The messages are always consistent; the same message comes through repeatedly from many people on the next plane of life through many mediums. In other words, hundreds of people from the next plane of life say the same thing. That’s how we know about the afterlife.

Those on the next planes of life refer with great reverence to Jesus. I prefer to call him by his Aramaic name that he, his family, and his followers used, Yeshua ben Yosef. There is no doubt that he is an old soul, a great celestial being, brought to the Earth plane to teach us as we grow spiritually by learning lessons in the Earth school. His soul or spirit is one with the Divine. He did appear to his followers after his death and gave us through them the key teachings to “save” ourselves from the old, Earth nature that we must all grow out of.

However, the church has made him into a god in the image they want to portray, who is greater than we are, requires allegiance, and is full of judgment and condemnation. That’s a corruption of Yeshua's’ teachings. He would have been appalled at what the church has become and done.

No one who crosses to the next plane of life sees Yeshua. He is a higher celestial being who teaches humankind through the others who are closer to the Earth plane, but he doesn’t come down to the Earth plane. However, to give messages to people who are having a near death experience and need the messages to live the rest of their lives differently, a religious figure may appear to the person near death. That figure may be what the person believes Jesus would be like, but it is just a guidance from the Higher Power for them to take back to their lives, given through a vision that seems to them to be the Jesus figure they believe in. The real Yeshua is a celestial being who doesn't come down to the Earth plane, but loves humankind and teaches us through others who are now closer to the Earth.

A small number of people who have near-death experiences describe coming back from the brink of death with a negative experience. Storm is the most widely publicized. However, what they describe isn’t consistent among them, and they sound very much like what happens to the body still on the physical plane that is being roughed up by medical personnel trying to revive them. And we do know that people who are not to die yet, who are sent back, are often sent with messages or experiences to help them turn their lives around and grow spiritually. In other words, a negative experience likely is the Higher Power’s message for that individual, not a glimpse into any hellish atmosphere on the other side. No person who has gone to the other side and has actually finished the transition to be there describes a hell, and we have many, many testimonies from them. They all assert strongly that there is no place of torment. Only people on this side of life talk about a hell.

A small number of other people who say they’ve had visions of the afterlife in dreams or trances describe a hellish atmosphere. These are just a handful of people and their experiences or visions don’t match each other, except those with a Christian background who describe what the church teaches. But they’re people on this side of life, and they're having the same visions people get from eating too much pizza before going to bed. They aren’t citizens of the afterlife. Those in the afterlife strongly affirm that there is no hell.

But there’s more. The Hebrews and Greeks in the first millennium BCE and first century CE had no word for a place of torment because it didn’t exist. Yeshua’s language, Aramaic, had no word for it. He referred to Gehenna in his teachings, a garbage dump outside Jerusalem where fires burned, but it was mistranslated into "hell" by the church. Modern Bible translations have corrected that. It wasn’t until after the first century CE that the hell myth as a place of torment evolved, and it is exactly what the pagans were believing at the time. The hell myth didn’t even come from the Jews or early Christians. It came from the pagans. The church loved it because it helped keep people in their control. Read about the hell myth on my Web site at http://30ce.com.

Don’t believe the hell myth. It’s an awful lie. And even the theologians and higher-order scholars in the churches today have completely abandoned it.

You asked,
2) How does Mary fit into all this? The Immaculate Conception, virgin birth, etc. Does anyone from the afterlife ever mention seeing Jesus or Mary, or is this all myth?

It’s mythology. I can’t explain all of the details in the short space of a forum like this, but the church has become a monstrous, controlling, negative organization that has nothing to do with the Rabbi who taught in the hills of the Galilee in the first century. Yeshua was a wonderful teacher who came to us with clear messages. By the fourth century CE, a church had evolved that existed for itself and served itself. It had nothing to do with Yeshua. Read what I’ve written at 30ce.com.

You asked,
3) Pertaining to Mary/Blessed Virgin, what are the stories I grew up with about visions of Our Lady, like the children from Fatima (I even read the memoirs of Lucia, the oldest girl), or Bernadette from Lourdes, France? And... Mary actually told these children to pray the rosary every day for the conversion of sinners. How does the rosary fit into all this?

These are all inventions of the church. Anyone might have a vision of guides or angels from the other side speaking to them individually. Their messages aren't meant to become doctrine for all of humankind. They're personal messages that should remain personal. If you want to be closer to the Higher Power and more spiritual, you must go within yourself and commune with the Higher Power. Yeshua said that repeatedly. “Knock and it shall be opened to you.” He never once said that if you want to know about the Higher Power, go to a priest or go to a church or read a collection of books that people will write after he was gone. Never once. But he often said you must become open like a little child, grow spiritually from within, and commune with God directly. Unfortunately, people who run the church don’t want those who attend the churches to go directly to the Higher Power by themselves; that would mean the church wasn’t necessary and they wouldn’t have the power, influence, and wealth they have. So they ignore what Yeshua taught and focus on obedience to the church.

Just read about what Yeshua taught. That’s all you have to do. Ignore the church entirely.

You wrote,
4) How do Adam and Eve fit into all this? I've struggled with this subject/concept all my life.
I've also struggled with the fact that there are so many religions out there and every one thinks they are "right." I always wondered "why" so many? It just never made sense to me.

It’s mythology. The creation mythologies were widespread among the ancient peoples of the Middle East. The Jews just adopted them. They’re myths. As you say, there are 2,600 religions, and within Christianity, 38,000 separate groups. They all are certain they’re right! That should be a clue that no religion has the truth. The Higher Power has the truth, and as Yeshua said, you must go directly to the Higher Power, knock on the door, and listen to the answers when the door opens. How much clearer could he have been?

The Bible is a collection of writings by ordinary people that has been changed repeatedly. It isn't God speaking. It's men writing. The writers never claimed they were channeling God. The idea of the writings being somehow written by God didn't come about until long after they were written, and it was the church that promoted that.

You wrote,
One thing I do know is that since my Mom passed away last year, I started doing some reading... James Van Praagh, George Anderson, Echo Bodine, etc. and things are starting to make much more sense to me. I listened to you on Coast to Coast radio with George Noory and found the show to be fascinating, and now I've just ordered Your Eternal Self and Induced After-Death Communication!

Good. Here's what’s happening. You’re listening to God. You’re receiving direct messages from the Higher Power. God is with you, teaching you about yourself, the universe, and God's nature. You’ll continue to learn, and as you do, you’ll drop off the old mythologies. They were created by men, not God. God and you have a special relationship that no one else on Earth has. You are learning from the only teacher you need. All of the notions from the Earth are things that will help God teach you, but the teaching comes when you take the stories, notions, and books and sit down with them and God. God will guide you through guides or angels and those who love you like your mother on the next plane of life. They will speak to you directly about what you’re reading and learning. Trust them, not a church that demands you believe its myths and give money to allow it to build huge buildings and give ministers and priests lavish lifestyles. God is teaching you. Open your heart and you’ll learn.

You wrote,
One more question... what is your opinion of Ouija boards? My brothers and I used one right after Mom passed and, without a doubt, she spoke to us. She said things that validated we were speaking to her and I know that my brother and my daughter (who were moving the planchette) could NOT have planned ahead of time the answers to the questions.

Wonderful. Your mother was speaking to you and still is. If you sit quietly and close your eyes and think about her, she’ll communicate with you directly. Just open yourself and be quiet. Let the words flow. You’ll fear they’re imagination, but that’s an unnecessary fear. Messages from the next plane of life come through the same window through which imagination comes. You will know which are actual messages when they’re full of love and hope and they move you. They’ll have meaning for you and give you peace. Don’t try to figure out whether they’re imagination or a direct contact. You’ll get the messages when you allow the messages to flow freely, regardless of where they come from. Your mother will use your imagination as the window, but the messages will be hers. When you open your eyes after you speak to her, you’ll feel warm and loving, as though you had just been with her. That’s the sign that she has been speaking to you. Cherish that. Speak to her often and just listen quietly to the responses. They’ll be warming and uplifting. And you’ll feel they’re from her, even though you may still have doubts. The doubts are normal because we weren’t taught how to communicate with our deceased loved ones. Just don’t let them overshadow the reality of her presence.

And now you’re on the path to real spiritual understanding. Your questions all show that. Be open to the Higher Power, your guides or angels, and your mother. You’ll grow in wonderful ways you can’t anticipate now.

Love and peace, Craig