A voyage with an angel through the heavenly world 

Margarete van den Brink

In his book 'The holy year' Friedrich Rittelmeyer describes waking up one morning and hearing a soft voice speaking to him. The voice asked: 'Would you like to see heaven?'

Behind him he saw an angel. Rittelmeyer wrote:

'He appeared to be bigger than me and made completely of light. It was as though he assimilated my whole being in himself. I can only describe the essence of this being as light and peace'.

Rittelmeyer then describes in detail how there was contact between him and the angel. When the angel spoke, Rittelmeyer at first only noticed that he wanted to say something, and that he, Rittelmeyer, needed to become very quiet inwardly to listen to him. He found that if the angel told you something, you would have to absorb this with your whole being, not only with your thoughts, and help to create what he said in words yourself, with your inner self. It was only when your soul had become a quiet mirror that these words were clearly expressed, like the image of the sun on the smooth surface of a lake.

When the angel asked him whether he wanted to see heaven, Rittelmeyer surrendered himself with his whole being. He wrote:

'My soul slowly filled up with a fine spirituality. The spirit awakened in the world of the soul in a deeper and deeper sense. It was as though the space of the soul filled with invisible light which was full of love and life…'

It seemed to him as though the light shone through the angel. It was only bearable because he constantly responded to it with an inner 'yes'.

He felt that he had to ask questions, such as: 'Where are the people who have died?' As soon as he had spoken these words in the spirit he found himself in the world of the dead. He did not see anyone, but heard voices and a shifting, dynamic fullness of different sorts of human feeling. Once again he felt that he had to ask: 'Where is my mother?' - and there she was, very close as though she had been waiting for a long time. When Rittelmeyer focused on her being and listened, she said:

'I have been by your side more than you know. Why haven't you thought about me more? My warm love was a piece of heaven which was there for you.'

He felt the warmth of the love with which she surrounded him. Apart from his mother, he also met other people he knew on earth who had died. He also asked to see people who had died and who were not yet present in the light.

Then he asked: 'Is this the world of the angels?' At that very moment worlds opened up, infinite throngs. It was only then that he understood why it is always said that angels sing. He discovered that they do not sing, but their essence resounds:

'Their soul incessantly sounds with gratitude to the Creator. So this is the eternal song of praise of the angels. It is the jubilation of more than a thousand voices, constantly changing and always present. Unheard by ears on earth, and yet filling all the heavens.

Looking up at God's eternal works, they see immeasurable things which are still concealed from us people, while there are constantly new revelations opening up to them out of the divine world in their inner being'.

Rittelmeyer asked: 'What aspect of Christ can I see?'

'When the word 'Christ' sounded, it was as though the whole of heaven sang. Everything shone and sparkled with joy for the acts which he performed on earth'.

The joy about this became so tangible to Rittelmeyer that it was as though the angels were jubilant within him.

Then he felt a healing force flowing from somewhere – from some hidden source. A healing force which was so strong and so pure that he felt his very body being cleansed. At the same time, he felt a divine goodness which filled him with heavenly bliss. It was such a divine force that he thought:

'People cannot understand or tolerate this yet. They will have to be educated with the words of Christ for centuries and millennia before this wonderful goodness can live in people. But then Christ will live in them too'.

On his journey through the heavenly world, Rittelmeyer not only met beings who were well-disposed towards people, he also saw the spiritual opponents of Christ: the great Tempter and the Devil. He wrote:

'The great Tempter himself stood before me as a powerful figure …saying: 'I will give you all this if you fall down and worship me.'…He really does speak like this when you see him. He spoke like this not only to Christ, but …already to Adam'.

Then another realm arose from the depths, with a being full of omnipresent intellect. An intellect which contained all earthly thinking but which excluded heaven. The Devil? Yes, but very different from how we conceive him on earth.

A prince, a ruler, who is convinced that he already owns people. Rittelmeyer looked up at the angel and saw how he suffered. In his heart the name 'Christ' rose up. At the same moment that he thought this, the world crumpled all around him and disappeared. The name 'Christ' cannot be endured in these dark regions.

As he returned to his body, Rittelmeyer understood his task on earth. He sent a question up to heaven:

'Can I talk about my experiences?'

The angel answered:

'What is given to one person is not given to him alone.'

Then the doors to the heavenly worlds slowly closed and Rittelmeyer was back on earth again.

This article is derived from the book A Christian Book of the Dead by Margarete van den Brink and Hans Stolp. Hawthorn Press, UK. See the section Books on this website.

 
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