From Teaching 36

47. When the spirit of a great sinner departs from this material existence to enter the spiritual realm, he is surprised to discover that hell, as he had imagined, does not exist, and the fire, of which he was told in times past, is no more than the essence of his deeds when he finds himself before the inexorable judge, which is his conscience.

48. That eternal judgment, that clarity which is evident amidst the darkness which involves that sinner, burns more intensely than the most scorching fire you could conceive. But it is not a previously prepared torture as a punishment for whoever offended Me, no, instead, that torment comes from the knowledge of the faults he has committed; of the sorrow for having offended the One who gave him life, and of having put to bad use the time and the many benefits he received from his Father.

49. Do you believe that I should punish who offended Me because of his sin, when I know that sin is more harmful to whoever commits it? Do you not see that the sinner causes harm to his own self, and that I shall not augment, with his punishment, the misery he has brought upon himself? I only allow that he examine himself and to pay heed to the voice of his conscience; that he questions and answers within himself; that he recovers his spiritual memory that through the flesh he had lost, and that he remembers his beginning, his destiny, and his promises. And there, within that judgment, he has to experience the effect of fire that will exterminate his iniquity, that will fuse him anew like gold in a crucible, in order to remove from him that which is harmful, superfluous, and all that is not spiritual.

50. When a spirit pauses to hear the voice of his conscience, truly I say to you, at that moment he is before My presence.

51. That moment of quietness, serenity, and clarity does not always reach all spirits at the same time. Some promptly submit to their self-examination, thereby avoiding much bitterness, because the moment they awaken to reality and acknowledge their faults, they prepare themselves, and are disposed to amend, up to the last, their unrighteous deeds.

Others take long in coming out of their confusion, be it because of their vice, for some rancor or from having lived a life of sin. Others, the more unsatisfied, and believing to have been taken from Earth before their time, when life smiled upon them, swear and curse, thus retarding their being able to free themselves from their confusion; and like these, there are a great number of cases which only My wisdom perceives.

52. Neither are there specific places conceived by Me exclusively for expiation of faults committed by My children. I say to you that no mansion exists where I have not deposited My wonders and blessings.

53. Have you not said that the world in which you live is a valley of tears; that is, a valley of restitution? And who made it a valley of tears, God or man? I created it in the image of a celestial paradise, endowing it with wonders and pleasures, even thinking of the smallest and most insignificant things in order to assure your happiness. Nevertheless, in a world created in such a manner, for its well-being and progress, for the enjoyment and spiritual elevation of mankind, men still suffer, weep, become desperate, and become strayed.

54. But I repeat to you again, that I did not create this world for the suffering of man. The worlds are what their inhabitants make of them. Behold how man has concealed the truth with his misleading interpretations, and how different he has interpreted the figurative meaning of what the spiritual life has revealed to him.

55. No darkness, nor fire, nor chains exist within the immense spiritual valley.

56. Remorse and torments, which result from the need for knowledge, and suffering due to the lack of spirituality to enjoy that existence; this, and more, exists in the expiation of the spirits who reach the threshold of the spiritual life unprepared and blemished. Behold that I cannot regard as offensive, the imperfections and perversity of man, knowing full well that they only harm themselves.

57. Neither has the Earth been tarnished. She is as noble and clean as when she emerged from the Creator. For that reason, I do not ask that you give back her former purity, since she has not deviated from her destiny of being a mother, a refuge, and a home for humanity. Instead, I will ask humanity to repent, to regenerate and purify themselves in body and spirit; in other words, that they return to their original purity by manifesting in their spirit the light gained through their evolution, struggles, and practice of virtue.