Martinus: Livets Bog, vol. 4, sect. 1499

1499. Indeed, it is of course true that terrestrial mankind is not as yet in a position to be able to maintain justice or the mutual protection of the beings save by means of the "principle of punishment", which in reality is nothing but a "principle of revenge" authorised by the state or society. But why should this form of existence not be a mere temporary step in terrestrial mankind's evolution, a transitional stage, just like all the other previous stages and epochs in the living being's mental growth or emergence on the physical plane? Is it not conceivable that the intention of Providence is to perfect the terrestrial human being, just as it has perfected everything else? Since the Godhead, throughout great, vast epochs of evolution and periods lasting millions of years, has transformed a glowing ocean of fire into such a brilliantly adapted colourful world, which our planet with its wealth of prerequisites for a paradisiacal existence is, is it not then conceivable that the intention is that terrestrial human beings will similarly be transformed so as to come into contact with this wealth of possibilities for a divine life that has been bestowed on them, instead of, as is now the case, sabotaging these possibilities, thereby turning this beautiful world into a collection of prisons, hospitals and piles of rubble, and to a great extent turning terrestrial mankind into a group of disabled, psychopathic and mentally retarded people? Is it not obvious that the terrestrial human being in its present state is absolutely not a finished or completed being, and is therefore not yet ready to avail itself of all the abundant possibilities for a perfect existence revealed by the planet itself? Beings who sabotage the very prerequisites for the creation of their own absolute wellbeing, and thereby turn life or existence into a vale of tears, into a "hell" instead of into a "kingdom of heaven", cannot possibly be justly acknowledged as perfect beings. They can at the very most be described as embryos in the paradisiacal state that the planet has long since been ready to bestow on them. And since the sole prerequisite for this granting is "neighbourly love", it will thus be evident that the terrestrial human being is unfinished and incomplete to the extent that it shows a lack of this kind of love. To the extent that beings lack "neighbourly love", they will live in imperfection and murderous states with prisons and prison sentences, with accidents and sufferings, with gluttony and poverty, with anger and hatred, with disablements, torture and executions.