Introduction
When a human life is completed, the soul enters a new reality – one permeated by God’s infinite love. Here there is no distant and cold courtroom, but an experience of being completely filled with God’s presence. In this light you see your life played back, not only from your own standpoint but also from God’s and from others’ perspectives. This experience is often called a life review, and it is part of the spiritual journey every soul goes through.
When this happens, we understand that the life review is not about God as a judge, but about the truth revealed in our own conscience. Everything we have done, said, and thought becomes clear, and we see the ripple effects in ways we could never have seen during earthly life.
God’s Love as the Frame
When the soul enters this state, the first thing it encounters is overwhelming love. God does not judge you. As John writes: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In God’s presence there is no condemnation, only pure and unconditional love. Yet in the light of this love, nothing can be hidden. We see everything clearly, both the good and the bad we have done.
This means that it is not God who holds us accountable in this experience, but our own soul awakened to truth. Love illuminates our entire existence, and therefore we become our own judge. For the first time we experience everything without illusions, without masks, and without excuses.
Seeing Life from Multiple Perspectives
The unique aspect of the life review is that we see our actions, thoughts, and words from multiple angles. Not only do we relive our own feelings, but we also sense how our actions affected others. As Jesus reminds us: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matt 7:12). In the life review this golden rule is no longer just words, but a concrete experience.
We hear others’ thoughts, feel their pain and joy, and we see the ripple effects our choices created in the world. This insight is so deep that we do not only experience one person’s reaction, but entire networks of emotions and consequences. Small words and deeds we hardly thought about can be revealed as having enormous significance for others.
The Barriers of the Psyche Disappear
While living on earth, we can be bound by psychological struggles, traumas, or distorted perceptions. In the presence of God’s love, these barriers vanish. The soul becomes free to experience everything in truth. Nothing stands in the way of fully understanding what our actions meant for others. This can be both beautiful and painful.
There are no filters to protect us here. Everything is experienced with a clarity we could never contain as humans. When the pain is strong, it may feel as though time itself stands still. In God’s kingdom time does not exist as we know it, but in the face of our own negativity and shame the experience can stretch out as though it lasts for eternity. Many describe this as hell, but in reality it is our own conscience that creates the feeling.
The True Judgment and the Purifying Fire
Jesus said: “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). God’s judgment is not like human judgment. The true judgment lies in our own conscience, when we see our lives in the light of love. We become our own judge.
Here we encounter what is often called the purifying fire of the soul – not an eternal torment imposed by God, but the inner pain of seeing and feeling the consequences of our own wrongdoing. This can feel like hell, but it is not God’s punishment; it is our own conscience meeting the truth. God is still love, but we must process everything ourselves before moving on.
Ripples and Consequences
One of the most striking parts of the life review is the insight into the ripple effects of our choices. When we see how an action affected not only the directly involved, but also their loved ones and further into society, we understand how deeply our lives are woven together. Great actions can have consequences that extend across generations.
In the eternal perspective of time, these experiences can feel like an eternity. Negative actions create a heaviness that must be processed, while loving actions shine brightly and bring hope. When we feel the pain, it is because we see its full consequence, and in God’s presence nothing can be hidden or avoided.
Free Will and Learning
Many ask why God allows us to experience this pain. The answer lies in our free will. God has given us one of the greatest gifts – the freedom to choose. Without it we could never learn genuine love. God wants us to find our way home, not because we are forced, but because we choose it. We are like children in God’s school, where we learn through experience, both good and bad.
Earthly life is part of this journey of learning. We choose lives that have already unfolded in order to experience and learn. But because we have free will, we can make choices that are not rooted in love. These choices lead us into situations we must later process in the life review.
When We Choose Wrong and Must Face Consequences
Because we have free will, we can also make choices that are not based in love. When this happens, we must face the consequences. Not as punishment from God, but as the natural outcome of our own actions. On earth we are subject to ego and desire, and we can be driven by these. In the life review we see clearly how this has affected others, and we must work through it before moving on.
Even the most horrific actions are seen in this light. People who have committed unforgivable acts in history will also meet their own truth. And even they will eventually be able to enter heaven, but only once they have forgiven themselves and processed all the consequences of their choices.
The Mystery of Forgiveness
One of the most difficult steps in the life review is to forgive ourselves. Forgiving others is often easier, because we see their perspective and understand why they acted as they did. But toward ourselves we can be far harsher. Many souls may hold themselves back for long periods, trapped in guilt and shame.
Only when we manage to forgive ourselves can we move fully into God’s kingdom. This is the true key to redemption. Jesus taught us to pray: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12). Forgiveness is not only a gift to others, but also a path to free ourselves.
The Ultimate Goal
The greatest goal is not to postpone forgiveness until after death, but to learn it here on earth. Choosing love and forgiveness here and now is the way to freedom. Yet this often requires several lives, because the soul needs time and experience to grow. The spiritual journey is about constantly moving closer to God, and ultimately living in His love without hindrance.
When we learn forgiveness in this life, we avoid the long path through shame and pain after death. We can begin the process now, in love, and thereby bring more light into the world.
Conclusion
The life review is a gift, not a punishment. It is a mirror where we see ourselves in truth, and a tool God uses to help us grow. Hell is not God’s prison, but our own conscience when it meets truth. Paradise is not a place far away, but the state of being one with God’s love.
And the key to all this is forgiveness – to forgive others, and to forgive ourselves. Then we find the way home, and we experience that time no longer stands still, but flows in eternal peace in God’s love.
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