The End of the World and the Coming Bestowal Son
A Study Guide to the Future, by Joe
Pope, Vancouver, B.C., August 1986
“Knowledge is possessed only by sharing; it is safeguarded by wisdom and socialized by love.” (Mortal philosophic equivalent of morontia mota: 557:25-26)
PREFACE
This paper is speculation. It contains some error.
The only superhuman assistance which I, the author claim in preparing this work is my own indwelling Spirit of Truth. And I submit all to the validation or rejection by this same Spirit of Truth living inside you, for “he will even show you things to come.” (1951:47-48)
There is error herein because “it is impossible...to predict with certainty as to just how the primordials of force, concept, or spirit will respond to demands made in a complex reality situation involving supreme adjustments and ultimate values.” (56:3-6)
Still, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets,” (Amos 3:7) and “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Most of the analyses and references provided herein are from The Urantia Book, copyright 1955, URANTIA Foundation, Chicago, Illinois, and the Bible. I am preparing a more comprehensive book on this subject which will encompass the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Apocalyptic writings, which are rich in the visionary and detailed description of the imminent Messianic Age, as well as other sources from the main- stream of visionary prophetism.
I refer readers wishing to expand their understanding of the end of the world and the new age to Charlesworth, James H., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol l, Doubleday and Co. Inc,, New York, 1983, and to Woldben, A., After Nostradamus, Granada, (paperback) Toronto, New York, 1975. Both of these works, and others on this subject however, must be read with the discerning eye of Spirit truth rejecting, for example, any notion of a fed-up God who strikes down a delinquent earth with the fury of his wrath! Such a God does not exist.
All quotations herein from the URANTIA Papers use a line-count system like so: (1915:47-48) means page 1915, lines 47 and 48. (Page numbering lines do not count, all other lines including titles and section headings do.) All biblical quotations are from the Revised Standard Version, with one or two exceptions where another translation provided a clearer meaning.
I thank Duane Faw of Malibu, California for having had the presence of mind and the wisdom to produce his Paramony, cross-referencing the Papers and the Bible, and for most graciously having provided me with an early and free copy of his first draft. It has been an absolutely essential tool in producing this paper.
Man engineers the end of the world, not God. It is this beautiful and farseeing God who picks up the cosmic pieces and glues them back together again, something which “all the king’s horses, and all the king’s men” could never accomplish! And, thanks to the fact that the Gods do all things well, the freshly repaired earth will be far more glorious and fantastic to live on than the old one could ever be!
Even now, it is possible to prevent the end of the world! But mankind won’t. It’s as simple as that. So don’t shoot the messenger!
Joe Pope, Vancouver, B.C., August, 1986
WISDOM
“He who has an ear, let him hear...” (Revelation 2:7)
“And when you see all this come to pass, be not dismayed, but rather believe, inasmuch as you knew it all beforehand.” (Jesus–1954:15-16) (cf. 1951:15-33)
“But I cannot do it! I cannot convey to the human mind the breadth and depth of these realities of another world!” (An Archangel of Nebadon–504:3-4)
“The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision...” (Ezekiel 12:23)
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.” (Ezekiel 30:2- 3)
“When this comes–and come it will:–then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 33: 33)
“He said ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall de wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand.” (Daniel 12:9-10)
“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them;” (Hosea 14:9)
“...for of a truth the Lord has sent me to speak all these words in your ears.” (1709:47-48, quoting Jeremiah 26:15)
“To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, they cannot listen.” (Jeremiah 6:10)
“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them but they will not answer you.” (Jeremiah 7:27)
“Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” (Revelation 10:9)
“...he that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse.” (Ezekiel 3:27)
“An end has come, the end has come.” (Ezekiel 7:5)
THE END OF THE WORLD AND THE COMING BESTOWAL SON
The URANTIA Papers deal obscurely, yet quite extensively, with the idea of the “end of the world.” We are to expect some kind of temporary cessation of life on earth, to be followed by a “new earth” with a heavenly government, and that all this is COMING SOON, very probably in this generation.
The authors of the various Papers mention the subject of the “end” directly or indirectly at least 18 times, including several times by the Master himself! Several other ominous and end-like observations by the revelators get dropped here and there as well, leaving little doubt that they’re deadly serious about this topic, that it IS going to happen. No kidding!
THE CLUE IS IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL!
The clearest picture of the soon-to-be end of the world in the URANTIA Papers is to be found in the revelators’ masterful handling of the writings of the Old Testament prophet, Daniel.
Modern scholars differ on the period in which Daniel lived, even whether he was merely a legendary figure in whose name others presented their writings.
The Papers, however, confirm for us that he was a real person and that he was already, at the time of the appearance of the “apocalyptists,” approximately 107-ish B.C., a revered prophet who influenced their approach to the end of the world and the Messianic Age which follows it. (1500, 10-27)
Dr. Sadler, himself a superior scholar of the Bible, dated Daniel’s Book at approximately 165 BC Daniel certainly lived around the era of the Maccabees, 16o-134 B.C.
The Papers also confirm that Daniel’s prophecies indeed deal with “the end of the age and, in a certain sense, with the end of the world...creation was about to pass into its final stage; the kingdoms of this world were about to become the kingdom of God...an absolutely righteous state in which God (the Messiah) would rule the nations of earth in perfection of power Just as he ruled in heaven.” (1500: 19-27)
Now, as you read on, remember that we are told that Machiventa Melchizedek whispered in the ears of all the Old Testament prophets, like Daniel. (1024:44-45) Even the Master himself threw us a clue to the reliability of Daniel-as-truth, across twenty centuries of time, when he told Nathaniel, concerning these prophets: “As a revelation of truth, the last are more dependable than the first” (1767:37-38), and we know that Daniel was the last, or certainly near to last.
They further reveal the meaning and significance of this cautionary remark by Jesus, when they talk about “the human concept of the Messiah as the son of David, as presented by the earlier prophets,” and then go on to discuss the Messiah as “the Son of Man, the superhuman idea of Daniel and some of the later prophets.” (1390:13-37)
Now this is a big help to us in understanding ancient scripture, because not only have they told us that Daniel has a better and more truthful idea of the coming Messiah, they have also now revealed and explained that there are two different “Sons of Man” in the flow of religious scripture and history. We have Jesus as Enoch’s “Son of Man,” and the future yet-to-come end-times Messiah, whom I will later prove to you is Machiventa Melchizedek, (I call him “Lord Machiventa,” and will explain that too) in the role of Daniel’s “Son of Man” (1390:13-37, 1501:1-6, 22-26)
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We are to realize that when we read about the exploits of the Son of Man as described in Daniel, that we are reading about the “end of the world,” and the doings of the second, or end-days Messiah.
THE END DISGUISED AS THE SMITING OF THE GREAT IMAGE
They focus our attention specifically on Daniel’s second chapter, an elaborate allegory loaded with symbolism.
The king has a dream about a “great image,” a sort of composite, conglomerate beast, “mighty and of exceeding brightness.., its appearance was frightening.” (Vs. 31)
It had a golden head, silver breast and arms, bronze belly and thighs, iron legs and feet partly of iron, partly of clay. (Vs. 34) And remember, the king is utterly amazed through this transaction because Daniel is telling the king not only the meaning, but also the content of the king’s dream. In other words, even Daniel’s knowledge of the scenario of the dream- is miraculous or at least mysterious, since Daniel could not possibly know this detail by ordinary means.
Daniel describes the allegorical symbolism for the king:
“As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it smote the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces; then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (Vs. 34-35)
To interpret the vision for the king, Daniel first qualifies it, and then sets it down in time. He tells the king that the dream is a gift to him from God, “who reveals mysteries,” and that it concerns “what will be in the latter days” (Vs. 28) And lest there be any doubt about what “latter days” means, he later clarifies that he is talking about the “end” of all the world’s empires. (Vs. 44)(cf. 1498:21-22)
Now you must also remember that most of the Book of Daniel deals with the political overcontrol which the Most Highs of Edentia exercise over the Urantia nations, setting up and removing kings and presidents. And recall that in Paper 43 Malavatia Melchizedek told us that Daniel had a pretty good grasp of these things, that he “fully understood these matters. He said ‘The Most High rules in the kingdoms of men and gives it to whomsoever he will,’” quoting Daniel 4:17, 25. (488:40-42)
Daniel then explains to the king that the image represents four great empires, beginning with the king’s own, Babylon. But Daniel doesn’t specify by name what the other three empires are.
Incidentally, John the Baptist was Just about transfixed by this second chapter of Daniel which he “read a thousand times.” (1498:13) And the Midwayer authors seem to be confirming his father Zacharias’ interpretation that these other three successive empires of the king’s dream were “Persia, Greece and finally Rome.” (1498.14-16)
But wait a second: Rome is long gone: And the end of the world hasn’t occurred yet: Still, Daniel insists, “The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (Vs. 45)
Furthermore, the fourth kingdom, Rome, certainly fits the description of “strong as iron” (Vs. 40), but not the idea of a “divided kingdom” with “some of the firmness of iron...in it, Just am you saw iron mixed with the miry clay. And
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as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, Just as iron does not mix with clay.” (Vs. 41-43)
GEEING ROME INTO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Isn’t this perplexing? The authors of the Papers clearly tell us to put a lot of faith in Daniel, but this seems to be a dead end. What is this divided kingdom? With Rome long gone and the end of the world apparently long deferred, how do we fit this fourth empire, a “modern Rome” into our present day?
Obviously, we must first conclude that this iron-clay dual empire is either around now, or else hasn’t come to exist yet.
Could the vision be talking symbolically about leagues of nations, the United Nations, a polyglot mixture of weak and strong? Hardly. The U.N. is not a kingdom, and has far more than two member nations.
Could the vision be dealing with the superpower era, the current period of détente between the U.S and the USSR? I don’t think so. “Détente” is not a kingdom, and while both of these nations could be described as iron-like with their military strength, neither could be said to have the brittleness of clay.
Reaching to solve this dilemma, I poured over other prophecies, especially those that deal with the so-called Antichrist, for he too appears to be some kind of end-times antagonist. I looked at Daniel 7:7-8, the entire Book of Revelation, and the fate of nations as depicted by the 16th century French seer, Nostradamus.
Without going into a lot of detail, suffice it to say that the geo-political depiction which best fits this iron-clay divided kingdom scenario, would be the future conquering of the remainder of Free Europe by the USSR, and the imposing on this newly conquered territory of communist governments, not unlike those of the former and present European victims of this ruthless superpower, the Warsaw Pact countries. We could then say it must be this conglomerate, the iron (USSR), and the clay (the defeated nations), that is salted by the great stone in the king’s dream. We are told this stone represents, symbolically, the Messianic kingdom “which shall never be destroyed,” and which the “God of heaven will set up.” (Vs. 44)
“IMPENDING” MEANS “COMING SOON TO A PLANET NEAR YOU”
If this is the scenario, when will all this happen? The author of Paper 97, who incidentally, I am inclined to believe is Lord Machiventa himself, (the author identifies himself only as a “Melchizedek of Nebadon”–1076), knew that we would be asking this question, so he gave us the answer: “Soon”!
The word he chose, and remember this reference point in time is as of 1935, was “impending.” This means “to be near at hand, overhanging, about to happen, imminent or threatening, etc.” So, this means 51 years ago this event was already at the door, was “impending”: The Midwayers chimed in: “Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment.” (2082: 34-36)
This cosmic-timing-mechanism word “impending” appears on page 1071:14, and I think many readers of the Book miss its significance.
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This Melchizedek writes:
“Then Daniel presented the drama of the impending “crisis” -the smiting of the great image and the immediate establishment of the everlasting reign of righteousness, the Messianic kingdom” (1071 14-16)
Many readers miss the significance of this one sentence loaded with an incredible amount of revelation, because of this very word “impending.” At least I did for years.
Some readers think the author means “impending, or about to happen soon” relative to Daniel’s own days, i.e. around 165 B.C. But read Daniel chapter two again -nothing that Daniel tells the king is impending then! The smiting of the image is set off far into the then future, “in the latter days,” toward the “end.” Daniel doesn’t tell the king that something is going to happen soon to Babylon. He simply remarks that as the consequences of the flow of time, “After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, etc” (Vs. 39)
That can only mean one thing: this Melchizedek means that he is saying “impending” relative to cur day, to the twentieth century, to 1935-0n.
So then, what’s this “crisis”? And why did he put it in quotes? Words in quotes means they’re being taken from somewhere else, or from someone else’s lips.
There is only one other use of the word “crisis” in the Papers which could apply. They spend a whole Paper, 170, explaining to us that the term “Kingdom of Heaven” is fraught with multiple meanings, from the subjective idea of God-within you, to the objective reality of God’s eventual worldwide rule over a righteous kingdom, the future Messianic Age.
In Paper 170, Section 4, they tell us that Jesus “noted no less than five phases, or epochs, of the kingdom.”(1862:43-44)
The phrase “phases, or epochs” means they are talking about sociological developments over stretches of time (phases), or settled dispensational ages (epochs).
This means the five are successive, one after the other. And since the Jesusonian kingdom idea has been around now for nearly twenty centuries, we must ask ourselves as we read these five successive phases, “Where are we now”? Where does the latter part of the twentieth century fit in?”
Well, the first phase is the subjective God-within-you- consciousness one, the introductory evangelistic stage of the Master’s mission, and it obviously applies to his and the Apostles’ own days, or times.
Then comes the “enlarging brotherhood of gospel believers, the social aspects,” (1863:1) which results from this individual God-consciousness. That certainly reads like the Christian church era. We are still living in that now.
Then comes phase “3” The supermortal brotherhood of invisible spiritual beings which prevails on earth and in heaven, the superhuman kingdom of God” (1863:4-5).
But wait a second! Invisible beings are not “phases, or epochs,” and they’ve been here since the Life Carriers first arrived. They didn’t just arrive after the Christian church era. And they’re still all invisible to us, which is why we are called “Agondonters,” beings “who can believe without seeing.” (579:3)
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If we are to fit them in somewhere in a succession of five kingdom phases, it means that this will have to be an “event-in- time.” And to be an “event” to us, we must see it, know of a certainty that it occurred. In some manner, then, they would have to be made visible to us, all or most of them, on at least one occasion, so that this becomes an “event.” Could this event be the “sudden and unexpected periodical changes in the material and the spiritual worlds” they talk about just below? (1863:28-29) I think so.
What an absolutely exciting and fantastic prospect!
And we know it hasn’t happened yet, so now we’ve been able to locate our present day in the flow of the five successive kingdom phases: we are still in Phase 2, awaiting this spectacular and miraculous apparition, Phase 3.
Then we read that Phase 4 of the kingdom will involve “the dawn of a new social order in connection with improved spiritual living–the next age of man” (1863:7-8)
The “next” age–that means Phase 3 must occur in this age, the Dispensation of the Spirit of Truth. Before this age ends, we must “see” our unseen friends! Blink! Blink!
Then, they give us phase 5, “The kingdom in its fullness, the future spiritual age of light and life on earth.” (1863:9-10)
Now they get even more mysterious farther down the page. They say: “Jesus referred one phase of the kingdom to the future. (1863:33) They can’t be talking about the future relative to the time of his speaking, 30 A.D., because back then, as we’ve already noted, the latter four phases of the kingdom were all in the future. They have to be talking abut “our” future, the now future.
Then they tantalize our curiosities by adding that Jesus repeatedly intimated “that such an event might appear as part of a world crisis.” (1863:34-35)
An “event”–that has to be Phase 3: And it doesn’t stand alone. It’s a “part” of some happening which is going to cause a worldwide “crisis.” What could this be?
BACK TO DANIEL:
Back to Daniel, and to page 1071 in the Papers. This Jesusonian-announced “crisis” must be the “crisis” Melchizedek is referring to! And that’s why he put it in quotes! He was sort of saying: “This crisis is referred to elsewhere, herein.”
So now we know what the “crisis” is: it’s the end of the world–”the smiting of the great image and the immediate establishment of the everlasting reign of righteousness, the Messianic kingdom.” (1071:14-16)
“Immediate establishment”? That means Phase 4 of the kingdom will follow right on the very heels of Phase 3, the “event.”
And now, if we go back to Paper 170, we can extract an even clearer picture of these prognostications.
We are told the prophets taught that the kingdom was “A present reality,” and “A future hope–when the kingdom would be realized in fullness upon the appearance of the Messiah,” (1858:26-28). They add: “From the very first Jesus and the apostles taught both of these concepts.” (1858:25- 30)
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This means that the Master himself is confirming that there IS a future Messiah who inaugurates this Phase 4 new age, the objective divine kingdom all over the earth. There are two Messiahs: I’ll have more to say about the two Messiahs later herein.
SETTING UP STRAW MEN TO COVER REVEALED SECRETS
Then, the Midwayers just casually remark that “There were two other ideas of the kingdom which should be borne in mind.” (1858:31)
Next, they proceed to do what these brilliant minds do so well, they “pretend” to explain some “problem,” in the process setting up a “straw man,” which they then can knock over with a shot of revelation. But in the process of describing all the problematic circumstances surrounding this straw man, they reveal a whole bunch of “stuff,” obscurely, which they otherwise would not be permitted to reveal, because of the limitations of their revelation mandates from more superior authorities.
They can get away with this straw man monkey business in the reach of God’s Justice and love, because they have “disguised” the revealed information. There’s a red herring guaranteed to be somewhere, masking the real intent of the comments, which is to “reveal” something to us, otherwise verboten.
Incidentally, this goes on throughout the URANTIA Book: It’s one of the stylistic features of their communication of ideas. And it’s a lot of fun discovering these gems of ingenious mentation, and then laughing out loud when you suddenly realize that they were “Jerking you around” mentally. But in a most affectionate way:
We see this straw man approach done most humorously and ingeniously by one of our 14 resident Life Carrier Sons here who wrote Paper 63. He tells us that Andon and Fonta wanted “to send greetings to Urantia in connection with these revelations” (the “stuff,” the “revelation”), “but this request was wisely denied them” (the “straw man,” the sine qua non without which the “revelation” would not be permitted.) (717:23-24)
THE STRAW MEN OF PAPER 170
Getting back now to Paper 170 we can see that the Midwayers set up and then knock down three related straw men, and in the “revelation” detritus that is left, we make some very exciting discoveries.
These red herring straw men are found in the passages from the bottom of page 1858 to the top of 1859,
The first straw man is the new age described as “the age of the Jewish triumph” (1859:1) (such a “triumph” never-to-be). The second is “all mankind would worship Yahweh,” (1859:2-3) (the anachronistic Sinaitic concept of deity, “one of the hundreds and thousands of nature gods which held the attention and claimed the worship of the Semitic tribes and peoples” 1053:8-9). The final straw man is the reference to “the composite and confused” Christian concepts (1859:12- 13) (today’s Christian church as the socialized shadow of this future kingdom, with the result that, the kingdom- within-you, as well as the objective kingdom-without, are “set ....off into the future.”–1865:25-26)
Having now disposed of the three straw men, let’s see what they concomitantly “revealed” to us, the “other ideas of the kingdom which should be borne in mind,” the good “stuff.”
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The first is “The later Jewish concept of a world-wide and transcendental kingdom of supernatural origin and miraculous inauguration.”(1858:32-33)
Wow. Fantastic! Far out! Transcendental! Supernatural origin! Miraculous inauguration! What in the name of God will this glorious destiny for us be? No wonder the Apostles “believed that the coming of the kingdom in the racial or world sense would be both sudden and spectacular.”(1860:38-39, cf. page 64, para 1 herein: “spectacular episodes etc.”
The second of the two “other ideas of the kingdom which should be borne in mind” in the Midwayers little straw men revelation is “4. The Persian teachings portraying the achievement of the triumph of good over evil at the end of the world.” (1858:34-35). The end of the world?
Then they tell us that Jesus synchretized “the most vital and culminating heritage of both the Jewish and Persian religions,” thus indicating to us where his stamp of approval rests. (1859:4-5)
“The triumph of good over evil at the end of the world.”
That makes it all so much clearer. The smiting of Daniel’s image IS this triumph. It will be a war so devastating as to cause the cessation of life on Urantia, a spectacular apparition of superhuman beings; yet somehow, miraculously, life gets started again in this “transcendental kingdom of supernatural origin and miraculous inauguration.”
They further note: “And when this kingdom of spiritual pre-eminence does come upon the earth, it will not be manifested in mere improved social and material conditions, but rather in the glories of those enhanced and enriched spiritual values which are characteristic of the approaching era of improved human relations and advanced spiritual attainments.” (1862: 34- 38)
Gosh!
WHO’S COMING FOR THE SECOND COMING?
I wonder, could the Master himself be coming for this grand spectacle and miraculous rescue? He tells us on page 1915 that his future itinerary is not known to time-beings, it’s “known only in the councils of Paradise,” “concerning the times of the coming again of the Son of Man, no one in heaven or on earth may presume to speak.” (1915:5-14)
But wait. Our Midwayer brethren earlier in the Papers told us Jesus “definitely stated that at some future state of kingdom development he would revisit this world in spiritual power and divine glory.”(1603:31- 33) So, it won’t be just a casual visit. It happens at some “state of kingdom development.”
“At some future stage of kingdom development.” There’s only three stages left, Phase 3, followed immediately by 4, and then probably about a thousand years later, by 5, are the only possible “stages” at which this could occur. The Midwayers add their observations to this exciting speculation by saying that his next visit will not necessarily be at the time of the crisis. How about right after, at the beginning of Phase 4, the inauguration of the Messiah and the Messianic Age? The Chief of Seraphim tells us that a number of our celestial friends have this opinion ‘that the vicegerent Prince may not come, as such, until Michael sometime returns. (1251:27
Given all we know about him, and Urantia, does it seem possible that he won’t come for the bitter end, or the sweet new beginning?
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In Paper 176, Section 4, the Midwayers themselves seem to express this Phase 4 opinion in a roundabout way.
In the first paragraph they give us the cheerful speculation that there’s no question that he’s coming back “not only once but even many times.” (1918:30) Then they move on to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and remark that when he didn’t show up for “these catastrophic events ....his followers began the formulation of that belief which eventually associated the Second coming of Christ with the end of the age even With the end of the world.” (1918:41-43)
Still, no one may speak with authority. It’s all speculation. It’s delirious to hopefully contemplate though, like a child who counts the days to Christmas!
Further on in this section the Midwayers try to throw us off with a “you wouldn’t be able to see him with your eyes anyway” argument, and conclude “then must his advent be long deferred.” (1919:20) They note: “whereas the eye of flesh had beheld him when he lived here in the flesh, on his return (at least on one of his possible visits) he would be discerned only by the eye of spiritual faith.” (1919:2-4)
Then they conclude: “when he does return, all the world will likely know about it, for he must come as the supreme ruler of a universe... But if every eye is to behold him, and if only spiritual eyes are to discern his presence, then must his advent be long deferred.” (1919:17-20)
I think there’s a straw man here, accompanied by a revelation. The straw man is this “long deferred” conclusion. The revelation is that our “spiritual eyes” will be “anointed, our vision range extended permanently in the direction of the ultraviolet where “they” live and have their being. And that this has to be accomplished before he comes!
Such an event is inherent in the very fact of this Phase 3 of the kingdom we’ve already discussed if the powers of heaven can make all, or nearly all our “friends” visible for this eschatological or end of the world event, Phase 3, then they can certainly make the Master visible too! And if this event is to be a flash in the pan occurrence, a one-time-only grand spectacle, that’s fine. If it’s a permanent thing, then they are going to have to extend our range of vision permanently, “anoint our spiritual eyes,” for indeed, “The children of light are all destined to see him” (1919:33). Ancient prophetic writings both in the Bible and in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha support such a view, and I’ll have more to say about this later.
Can you imagine? A whole new stunning universe of previously unperceived transcendental reality, amazing beings, undreamed of things, glorious beauty, ad infinitum! Are you ready for this?
The last straw man I want to note on this page is their warning that we should “disassociate the Master’s personal return to earth from any and all set events or settled epochs.” (1919:21-22) They’ve already told us he’s coming at some “future stage of kingdom development.” (1603:32)!
HOW DO THEY GET THE NEW HUMANS FOR THE NEW EARTH?
Let’s go back to the idea of the end of the world–new earth. Do we all perish? Of course not. There has to be some humans here, or they won’t have anyone to enjoy the “New Age” (1860:20), to populate the regenerated earth for the Messianic Age. But if the world is to “end,” there can’t be anything left living here! What a conundrum!
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Elsewhere in the Papers they’re pretty specific about the totality and circumstances of this “end”: “this godless philosophy of human society will lead only to unrest, animosity, unhappiness, war, and world-wide disaster.” (2081:31-32) Note the highly qualified verbal phrase “will lead only,” as opposed to something like “may lead.”
There are ominous and foreboding warnings throughout the Papers: “wars are going to become more and more devastating until they become almost racially suicidal” (1490:13), “catastrophic physical events, appalling accidents, horrific disaster, painful illnesses, and world-wide scourges” (115:39-40), “the ravages and devastations of world wars” (1491:8-9),”This secularistic human society, notwithstanding its unparalleled materialistic achievement, is slowly disintegrating” (2082: 8-10), “still more terrible destruction is yet to come” (2082:21-22), “man’s many blunders have thus far failed to stop or destroy human civilization” (764:11), “War...sometimes kills the patient, destroys the society”(785:31-32), “as never before in the world’s history they need...sound religion”(1090:11-14), “such times of great testing and threatened defeat” (2082:40), “impending world emergency situations” (1257:30), “Modern society is enduring the strain of one of its most dangerous phases” (765:16-17) “the devious strivings of a vainglorious generation threaten to swamp...civilization... unbridled self-gratification unfailingly destroys civilization”(766:4-10), “Civilizations come and go...crash” (196: 7-9), “certain economic adjustments and social changes are imperative if cultural disaster is to be avoided” (1086:23-27), “All were agreed that some drastic purging or purifying discipline would of necessity precede the establishment of the new kingdom on earth...a world-wide war would ensue which would destroy all unbelievers” ( 1500:46-48), “some physical catastrophe” (582:24), “if all things earthly crash...the flood tides of human adversity, selfishness, cruelty, hate, malice, and jealousy” (1096:20), au finally “temporal upheavals... terrestrial cataclysms...all things visible crash.” (1916:16-19)!
And if there is any doubt in your mind that we are talking about a totally devastated and uninhabited earth, a death star in the place of the beautiful blue sphere, we need only to turn to page 1003, “as long as this planet remains an inhabited sphere” (1003:25-26). Why would they write “as long as” unless they foresaw that at some definite future date, Urantia would be uninhabited, at least for a time? And again in the Paper dealing with the career of Machiventa Melchizedek they say “as long as Urantia remains an inhabited planet” (1025:6). Note the masterful way they have revealed to us that he is the second Messiah, and the skillful manner of revealing the timing of his reappearance as vicegerent Prince, namely, at the end of the world, when Urantia is no longer “inhabited.”
Whew: Stop the world, I want to get off!
THE MASTER’S MYSTERIOUS STONE
Let’s go back to the Book of Daniel, and in the URANTIA Papers, to the Master’s words describing the end of the world in cosmic parables.
You’ll recall that the Jerusalem Sanhedrin had sent out spies to follow along with Jesus and keep track of what he was up to, and Pharisees “to entangle Jesus with t heir questions.” (1893: 31-32)
While the Pharisees “withdrew to take further counsel...the Master...told another parable.” (1893:32-34)
This parable is about Urantia’s colored history and stunning future destiny. Read it now, please, the entire section, page 1893, Section 4.
The “tenants” are Caligastia and the rebels. The first rent-collecting servants
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are Van and the loyalists to whom Caligastia refuses to surrender the “fruits due their master.” The householder, of course, is God. The “other and more trusted servants” are Adam and Eve, whose default was really the work of Caligastia. Then comes Lord Machiventa Melchizedek in his emergency mission here 4000 years ago, as the “favorite servant, his steward.”
Then we have the Machiventa-inspired prophets, the “many other servants” who were not received.
The majestic, moving, most touchingly beautiful love of our Father is then presented in the gracious words and trusting attitude of his Son: “They may mistreat my servants, but they will surely show respect for my beloved son.” Notice that the mean tenants’ motives in rejecting this “heir” are materialistic greed: “the inheritance will be ours.”
Then the multitude provides the Master with the concept for the end of the parable, in fact, a description of the end of the world: “He will destroy those miserable men and let out his vineyard to other and honest farmers who will render to him the fruits in their season.” Note the ominous realization that comes over the crowd: “they said in sorrow, ‘God forbid that we should go on doing these things.’”
Now the Master gradually takes us back to Daniel. But first, in a parallel parable, asks the spies if they recall the words of the 118th Psalm, about the ‘stone which the builders rejected...which...was made into the cornerstone?”
When you have a moment, read this Psalm. It is momentous! It is the last “song” the Master ever sang on earth. It was the very last thing he and the Apostles did at the Last Supper (1943:12-14). He obviously picked it.
It’s very Messianic. It’s about God’s unfailing love and redemption in the face of the enemy, but not without testing: “The Lord has chastened me sorely, but he has not given me over to death” (Vs. 18). There is some kind of symbolic deliverance: “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it” (Vs. 20) God has rendered a salvific response to prayer “thou hast answered me and hast become my salvation.” (Vs. 21)
Next comes the ironical rejected-stone-cornerstone verse, followed by words that seem to describe this deliverance as somewhat miraculous, amazing: “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Vs. 23-24)
Then there’s talk of a “festal procession with branches” which parallels Jesus own entry, triumphant, into Jerusalem, when the crowds “brought branches from the near-by trees in order to make a carpet of honor” (1882:8-10). And you’ll recall that When Jesus planned his own entry into Jerusalem, he based the donkey ride on Zechariah’s vision of the second Messiah’s own future entry. (1881:8918)
The Psalm concludes by again praising the steadfastness of God’s love.
Then Jesus turns to Daniel 2:34-35, and puts a new twist on the Danielic words, alters them into a new parable involving himself and his followers. Daniel merely says the pieces of the salted “image” blew away like wheat chaff in the wind and the smiting stone “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”
Jesus renders this into a paradox: “And there is a mystery about this stone, seeing that whoso falls upon it, while he is thereby broken in pieces, shall be saved; (“whosoever shall lose his life for the sake of this kingdom, shall find it”–1134:29, Luke 17:33) but on whomsoever this stone falls, he will be ground to dust and his ashes scattered to the four winds.” This stone is the Messianic kingdom.
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Now remember, these verses from Daniel have to do with the smiting of the great image, the world ‘crisis,” which is the end of the world,
You will notice that Luke the physician also used this same Jesusonian paradoxical idea of saving one’s life by losing it. Let us now examine the context in which this appears in Luke’s gospel.
It appears in one of the so-called apocalyptic parts of his gospel, which runs from chapter 17:20-37. You’ll recall that the Midwayers tell us that an apocalyptic vision about the eschaton (fancy word for “end of the world”) and the Messiah was written by a guy called Selta, and was added in toto to Matthew’s gospel, “and subsequently added (in part) to the Mark and Luke records” (1915:35-43). The result was that the details of this Seltaic prophecy about the end-times Messiah got mixed in together with the Master’s prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem. (1913:26-38)
You’ll also notice that in the ensuing discussion of the effect of the Seltaic prophecy on the Jesusonian prophecy, the Midwayers do not devalue nor dismiss Selta’s writings, they merely report that his visions clouded the Master’s prognostications. You’ll also notice that they tell us that this inclusion of the Seltaic prophecy into the New Testament writings occurred “very early in the second century,” yet Selta “was attached to the court of the Emperor Caligula,” who ruled only four years, from 37 to 41 A.D.!
That means they preserved Selta’s writings for at least something on the order of sixty to seventy years. He was obviously no ordinary visionary seer, two- bit fortune teller. He was highly regarded. They saved his writings. Furthermore, both a Melchizedek and the Chief of Seraphim on Urantia quote directly from Selta’s apocalypse, adding their implied stamp of approval to his words. (568:45, 569:01, and 1247:32-33, quoting Matthew 24:31 and Mark 13:27)
So now, all we have to do to figure out what was in Selta’s apocalypse is to temporarily disregard everything that the Master has to say about the destruction of Jerusalem.
When we do this in the Book of Luke, we quickly discover that the Jesusonian verse dealing with this life-saved-by-losing-it idea, is there (Vs. 33), but we also read the following words, obviously from Selta’s writings, since they also appear in Matthew 24:40-41, and are not included in anything the Master had to say about the then impending destruction of Jerusalem.
“I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them ‘Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Luke 17:34-35)
Most biblical translators through history, trying to make sense of this jargon in its original Greek, have confused the meaning of this last verse and have usually rendered it as a vultures-looking-for- dead-bodies feature of the destruction at the end of the world. It isn’t at all: It would be absurd to take living human beings on a selected basis from beds, only to dump them outside dead, so that eagles or vultures can have a feast!
In fact, this verse is a clue which you can better understand if we re-arrange the words, without really changing the meaning.
Let’s suppose we make it say: “Where the eagles are, there will the bodies be gathered together,” i.e. that the missing people of Vs 34 have been taken to some lofty place where only “eagles” can soar.
Now, if this is still a little obscure to you, let me cast some more light on the missing-bodies-taken-to-eagles’-nests idea.
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Did you know that some scholars among the ancient Jews believed that the end-times Messiah was a pre-existent being who dwelled in some far distant and mysterious place they called “The Bird’s Nest”?
To get to the rest of this mystery, we go back to Paper 170, to some more Midwayer straw men used to disguise a little extra “revelation.”
Incidentally, they have several different kinds of straw men: The one I’m about to show you is the wrong-facts-lean-to-wrong- conclusion straw man which is used to disguise the fact that this identical conclusion is correct, true, (revelation) when it is supported by a different set of leading facts.
On page 1863 they tell us the Christians lost sight of the kingdom-within, so they socialized the kingdom into a church. Then, realizing that this church was hardly the promised Messianic kingdom, “they proceeded to set the kingdom off into the future” (1865:18-28). This is the straw man.
The conclusion?
“In this manner the kingdom became the concept of an age (revelation–really true), the idea of a future visitation (true: eventual second coming), and the ideal of the final redemption of the saints of the Most High.” (Revelation!) (1865:29-31)
Why is this last phrase a big revelation? What does it mean, other than figuratively, our own resurrection from the grave?
BACK TO DANIEL
Back to Daniel.
This expression “the saints of the Most High” first appears in the Bible in the Book of Daniel. It’s really unique to Daniel.
Daniel chapter 7 deals with the same four kingdoms of chapter 2, but expands a little bit on the prophetic detail about the impending end-times empire, the Antichrist’s rule. (Daniel 7:1-8, 23-25)
Herein Daniel has a vision of the dispensational “last judgment” that accompanies the end-new-age. (Daniel 7: 9-10, 26, compare 314:37-47)
We learn about Daniel’s vision of his Son of Man, which, you will recall, I proved to you earlier was NOT the Master. (Daniel 7:13-14)
There is little doubt that this Son of Man is Lord Machiventa as the Messiah. The Ancients of Days had to be involved in his appointment to the title of Vicegerent Planetary Prince of Urantia, because Michael in doing this, even as a Sovereign Master Son with unlimited power, is varying the normal scheme of things: Melchizedeks don’t rule planets, Lanonandeks do. Melchizedeks teach planetary administration. (386:3-4, 571:4, 1025:13-14) And, of course, the Most Highs had to be consulted or involved (1025:12-13) in the appointment of a new world ruler because they control national political life on Urantia. The several parts, hence the whole.
Now, let’s get back to this dispensational Judgment. Daniel 7:11 says the beast is destroyed. Daniel 7:26 says “his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.” But not everything is destroyed. Daniel 7:12 says that some of the “beasts,” other kingdoms on earth, lose their dominion (i.e. they surrender a measure of sovereignty to Lord Machiventa as world ruler), “but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.”
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So, we have this idea of prolonging life for some, and we must conclude that this “some” is “the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:22), or “the people of the Saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:27) who eventually inherit the kingdom.
We’re talking about “people”–living human beings, not bodies.
Therefore, when the Midwayers talk about the “redemption Of the Saints of the Most high” (1865:30) (and notice, Daniel himself doesn’t use this word “redemption”) they can’t be talking about resurrection! And the reference to prolonged life clearly means they are talking about redemption from DEATH!
Well, well, well!
The world is going to end, some people will be saved, redeemed from death, and this appears to involve Phase 3, our then-visible unseen friends, and then there’ll be a new earth, a new kingdom with a heavenly world rule and worldwide peace.
Now let’s jump to Daniel chapter 12, and see how this scenario develops. This chapter begins:
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. (Second coming? No one may speak!) And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book” (Vs. 1)
So now it should be getting obvious to you. Whatever this unprecedented “time of trouble” is, it is severe enough to end the world, except for a selected group, “everyone whose name shall be found written in the book,” who will somehow be “delivered,” redeemed, saved, disappearing from among the living in ones-and- twos here and there, and then popping up alive in some eagle’s-nest-like place!
It’s like they “evacuate” these selected people from off the earth!
God, this is getting heavy!
Can they do that? Evacuate a whole bunch of people? Ail things are possible with God, but where would they take us? We have to eat. What’s this eagle’s nest?
Well, believe it or not, they just happen to remark in an “Oh, by the way, in case you didn’t know” fashion, that they can do this mass evacuation, even if “the entire planet is to be emptied.” (582:22)
They uncover this gem in Paper 51 where they tell us that to get Adam and Eve onto a planet, they have to dematerialize- rematerialize them. Then they drop this oh-by-the-way bombshell:
“If some physical catastrophe should doom the planetary residence of an evolving race, the Melchizedeks and the Life Carriers would install the technique of dematerialization for all survivors, and by seraphic transport these beings would be carried away to the new world prepared for their continuing existence.” (582: 25-28)
Also, did it ever occur to you that telling us they can evacuate a planet is utterly useless and pointless information to put in a revelation like this unless they foresaw that they would someday have to do that very thing for planet Urantia?
So, that’s how, in Luke 17:34-35 (Selta), we have these selected people, one by one, Just disappearing off the street, and then popping up in the “eagle’s nest,” this evacuation “world prepared for their continuing existence.”
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Well, that’s at least a partial relief. Whew: If you or I get to be one of the “selected” ones, we won’t have to do anything. They’ll just come, dematerialize us and take us away!
At this point a million questions run through the mind. How do you get “selected” and put on the list? Where is this emergency evacuation world? What will life be like there? I am going to try to answer the questions for you, but first I want to deal with the most important single question in all of our minds: WHEN?
The only problem with “When?” is that it’s a minefield! Throughout the last two thousand years more people’s evangelistic careers and reputations have been shattered on the anvil of having predicted a precise date for the end of the world, when the hammer of that day came down.
To use another metaphor, I intend to do nothing but just barely touch my toes into this troubled water of picking a date for the eschaton.
Based on all the prophecy I’ve ever read, and I’ve made an exhaustive study of the subject, and based on certain statements in the URANTIA Book, and circumstances surrounding its presentation to earth, I am going to say I look for all these events on the order of ten to 35 years from this writing. (1986)
THE BOOK, THE SON, AND THE EPOCH
It is evident that something big is about to happen on Urantia because they call the URANTIA Book, these million-and-a-quarter words, nearly 2100 pages, the Fifth Epochal Revelation. Yet, we continue at this moment to live in the Fourth Epoch, the Dispensation of the Spirit of truth.
They have inaugurated every epoch so far with a Son, and this is indicated as the common practice throughout the time universes.
1956 years ago the Master promised us “an enlarged revelation of truth” (1914:33) and we’ve received it, thank you, (The URANTIA Book). But he also promised “an enhanced demonstration of righteousness” (1914:34). A “demonstration” requires a “demonstrator.” That means a Son! Incidentally, did you know that in Hebrew the word “Melchizedek” means “King of Righteousness”? Interesting.
Now, since these two (the “Book,” and the “Son”) are linked in the Master’s own phraseology, we have to conclude that this Son is coming too, and very soon, since we’ve already had the Book for over thirty years.
In his prophetic promises the Master allowed for this 30- plus-years-of-Book-minus-Son. He said, when “you discern the coming of the spiritual springtime of a new dispensation, (the Book) should you know that the summertime of a new visitation (the Son) draws near. (1915:18-19)
One of our longtime URANTIA Book students, and brother in the Netherlands, Henry Begemann, contributes astutely to this discussion.
Henry notes that there are two conditions that must be fulfilled for us to have received both the Book and the Son. These are:
A. “the kingdom aunt have come to its full fruition” (1914:32) and
B. “the world (must have) passed through the long winter of material-mindedness” (1915:17-18)
(Note: I am quoting from Henry’s recent paper “SPRINGTIME–A Study of the Future”)
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Concerning the first condition, Henry reasons that since we have already received the revelation (the Book) “about all that reasonably could be expected to be attained by the fourth epochal revelation, given time and circumstances, has been attained.”
He thus concludes because: “Has all the world become Jesusonian or even Christian? Surely not; the meaning must be different.” So Henry deduces that the Master’s gospel has indeed “been proclaimed to all the world for the salvation of all peoples” (1915:8), the real meaning of the “full fruition” condition in A.
Turning to the second condition, Henry takes us to the Midwayer commentary later on in the Papers to the effect that “At the time of this writing (1935) the worst of the materialistic age is over.” (2076:40) That means the world has indeed “passed through the long winter of material- mindedness,” as far as Henry’s concerned.
So Henry concludes: “Therefore the spiritual springtime is now.”
Henry’s case is a good one, right on the money, but I differ with him on this last point. Look at the context in which the Midwayers make this observation sounding the death knell for materialism. In their very next sentence they make it clear that they are speaking in a narrow sense about scientists, and acknowledge that the public at large has a long way to go in this regard: ‘The higher minds of the scientific world are no longer wholly materialistic in their philosophy, but the rank and file of the people still lean in that direction as a result of former teachings.”
I think the Master’s words “the long winter of material-mindedness” are far more formidable and horrible. Awful to contemplate. I think he is referring to a so-called “nuclear winter” as the vehicle that will bring down the curtain on this age in just about as dramatic a fashion as you could ever envision. Remember, if everything and everyone, except the evacuees, is going to perish at the end, there has to be a plausible cause for such a denouement.
You’ll recall that nuclear winter is the theoretical outcome all over the world of too many nuclear bombs set off in some future war, the smoke of the burning cities and forests as well as the mega-tonnage of fallout rises into the atmosphere, blocking out the sun, and plunging the earth into a horrible and endless winter, thus breaking the food chain.
SO WHAT’S A HUNDRED YEARS AMONG FRIENDS?
There is another factor which affects the timing of these events, and to discuss that I must turn to what I call the “Divine Letters Latent.” In transmitting the URANTIA revelation to the six contact commissioners on earth, a number of additional “communications” were included. These were intended for the contact commissioners’ eyes only. They were like “letters,” not intended for wide distribution or publication but rather for the personal edification and guidance of these unique mortals selected for the task. “Letters patent” are the governing instructions which a sovereign might issue to some sort of governor-general before sending him off to rule some distant territory within the sovereignty. But these letters weren’t patent. They were latent. They were to be destroyed upon the occasion of the death of the last living contact commissioner, and I have good reason to believe that that was carried out at 533 the day Christy died.
Divine love being what it is, however, a few fragments of these communications were shared and have become today a part of what we might call Urantia “lore.” If anything, they disclose the ambience of the epochal contact between heaven and earth.
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Among these few preserved words and phrases are those which go something to this effect:
“The Book has been given to the world one hundred years ahead of its time,” and
“The Religious Guardians among the Master Seraphim of Planetary Supervision have been given custody of the revelation for its first one hundred years, after which it shall be turned over to the Progress Angels for a more accelerated social metamorphosis.”
This is entirely reasonable. We read on page 1255 that the Religious Guardians are tasked with “the safe transit of moral values from One epoch to another” (1255:26-27), and that the Progress Angels “are intrusted with the task of initiating the evolutionary progress of the successive social ages.” (1255:19-20).
It’s too easy to jump then to the logical conclusion which thus presents itself. We have discovered now that we are going to go through a cataclysmic transition from the present age, the Fourth Epoch, the Age of the Dispensation of the Spirit of Truth, to the Fifth Epoch, the Messianic Age and Dispensation. The mind wants to think, “Fine. 1935 plus a hundred years is 2035. The world will end in 2035, so let’s eat, drink and make merry until 2034!” (1 Corinthians 15:32)
Remember, the Religious Guardians are responsible for a transition, “from one epoch to another.” This means they have to function, for at least a brief time in the new epoch. So ail this has to come to pass well before 2035:
Besides, this ‘one hundred years” business is too cut and dried for me. I think it is probably a rounded-up figure.
Pretend you’re one of the revelators. And let’s just say that you know the world is going to end in, pick a date, say 1997. Now you subtract 1935, and you write to the contact commissioners: “The Book has been given to the world 62 years ahead of its time.” You would then say: wait a minute, if I do that I’m giving them the nearly precise date of the eschaton, and I know that “when ignorance is essential to success, it would be a colossal blunder for the Creature to know the future” (438:7-8) in such precise detail. So you say, I’ll round it up to 70 years. No, that still sounds too specific; let’s just go for a century. That’s a nice round number.”
Nonetheless, it is clear from certain other facts that they want us, the Children of Light, to know what is about to happen and roughly when.
The Master clearly wanted his followers to know the circumstances immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. He wanted them to know specifically about certain religio-political events, so that they did not get involved, and so that they would know when to get out of town and not “perish in the downfall of Jerusalem” (1913:23)
He gave them rough timing: “even this generation will not pass away until my words are fulfilled” (1915:12) Scholars differ about the meaning of a “generation,” but it’s generally taken to be about thirty years. In fact, the Master was speaking in 30 A.D.; the destruction took place in 70 A.D., forty years later. But then, he didn’t say “within this generation,” in effect, he said “this generation shall not have died.”
He also gave them a lot of detailed predictions: many false prophets claiming to be the Messiah, “wars and rumors of wars,” “famines or earthquakes,” civil and religious persecution and imprisonment of his followers, “the revolt of the false prophets” (for details of this see 1988:46–1989:3), followed by the surrounding of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, and finally that the end would come suddenly,
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“Let none who are in the city and around about tarry to save ought, neither let those who are outside dare to enter therein.” (1913:30- 31) (1912:25–1913:38)
Concerning the end of the world, we too are similarly given a very detailed prophetic picture of the events which immediately precede the end, however these are revealed to us for a different reason. The Master did not want his followers to perish in the fall of Jerusalem, he wanted them to know when to escape. Secondly, he did not want them to be misled by the many religious screwballs who he knew were coming down the road of time, “but you should not be deceived, for I told you all this beforehand.” (1913137-38)
At the end of the world, our escape will be arranged for us by our unseen friends. We are being told the details of these things, so that we don’t despair in the horrible confusion and suffering of the end, and lose our faith in God.
“When it comes, every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water.” Ezekiel 21:7
Wherefore on that day will the Master’s words echo through our minds: “And when you see all this come to pass, be not dismayed, but rather believe, inasmuch as you knew it all beforehand.” (1954:15-16)
Furthermore we know that we are all indwelt by the Master’s spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who will “even show you things to come.”(1951:48)
There are other trigger words in the Papers which clearly indicate to us these events are not far off in time: “in the near future” (1251:18), “any day or hour” (1251:29), “the next thousand years” (330:15), and “quivering on the very brink.” (2082: 34-35)
We can also look among the whispered tales and hushed stories that surround this great revelation to mankind for yet another clue to timing. Christy used to say: “In about 40 years time a John the Baptist will come along and that’s when this revelation will really get going.” Forty years from 1955 is 1995. On the other hand, those who heard her say this can’t definitely pin down the date when she was speaking in their memory. If she was speaking circa 1950, we are looking at 1990, barely four years from now. You will know this latter day “another and greater John the Baptist” by three characteristics of his ministry:
A. He will emphasize the indwelling Spirit of the Father which makes you a relative of God’s, one of His Sons or Daughters;
B. He will have no criticism of existing religions, “the visible church on earth”; and
C. When asked about the second coming, he will say “No comment.” (1866: 7-12)
I’ll have more to say about this John the Baptist in a moment. But first, let’s go back to the Book of Daniel for some more clues on the timing mechanism for the eschaton.
SET YOUR OVEN TIMERS AT SEVEN YEARS:
Daniel sets the stage for the last seven years before the end in his ninth chapter. He presents a “seventy weeks of years” i.e. 490 year (70 X 7) grand prophetic scheme for the Jewish people. (The Jews loved the number seven, held it in superstitious regard, for that was the day God “rested” in Genesis) This grand prophecy is set in four specific time periods:
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A. Seven weeks;
B. 62 weeks;
C. Last week before “the decreed end”; (seven years) and
D. Last half week before “the decreed end.” (three-and-one- half years)
Let’s focus on C and D, the events of the final seven years before the end.
At this point John the Revelator picks up the prophecy and reveals more about the detailed happenings of these last seven years, especially the first three and one-half years. John explains that the first three and one-half years will be characterized by the worldwide work of two remarkable prophets, witnesses who we know by inference are Elijah and Enoch. This spectacular ministry ends in their assassination, public exposure of their bodies for several days, miraculous resurrection, and ascension. You can read about them in the Book of Revelation, chapter 11, verses 1- 13.
Then, in chapter 13 in Revelation, John fills in the details for the final three and one-half years (forty-two months) before the end of the world, the horrible era of the Antichrist and his rule.
At this point we should note that the Midwayer authors just about blow the Book of Revelation to smithereens on page 1555. They tell us it’s “greatly abridged and distorted,” that it “contains the surviving fragments of a great revelation, large portions of which were lost, other portions of which were removed, subsequent to John’s writing. It is preserved in only fragmentary and adulterated form.” (1555:44-48)
I think they must have had second thoughts about this sweeping dismissal of the Book of Revelation, because later they change their minds on one point.
You’ll recall our discussion about the Caligulan prophet Selta whose apocalyptic visions about the end of the world and the Messiah got copied into the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, (1915:30-43) thereby confusing the Jesusonian prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem.
But then you’ll note they add, almost in passing: “But the Apostle John never became thus confused.” (1915:42-43) That’s very interesting. The Gospel of John has nothing to say either about the impending destruction of Jerusalem, nor the end-times Messiah, except the occasional reference to resurrection on “the last day.” So the Midwayers cannot be referring to the Gospel of John in saying he got the story right, they must be referring to the Book of Revelation. But the Book of Revelation does not touch upon the destruction of Jerusalem either, so they are telling us that John has the end-of-the- world-coming-Messiah story pretty accurately portrayed in the Book of Revelation! So, the Book of Revelation may be “greatly abridged and distorted... fragmentary and adulterated,” but it got the end of the world story straight! That’s nice to know.
THE MINISTRY OF THE TWO WITNESSES
Now at this point, it’s obvious that if we are to expect a Urantian John the Baptist prophet very shortly, he and Elijah have to be one and the same person. And if we carry this equation even further, it means that he is also the 12th Imam of Islam, (Khomeni eat your heart out!) and the “prophet of the latter days–Teacher of Righteousness” of the ancient Essene Dead Sea sect, but I’m not going to get into these right now.
We will know that the seven year countdown to the end has begun when these
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two remarkable evangelists begin a spectacular worldwide religious crusade, probably complete with real miracles the likes of which man has not seen since Jesus walked the earth. I presume it will really be Jesus doing these miracles through them. And that’s why the Midwayers call this Elijah “another and greater John the Baptist.”(1866:7, cf. 1008:31:34)
They will call themselves Elijah and Enoch; but they are very likely not the prophets of old. They are of the “typology” of “Elijah,” i.e. simply great prophets, in the same way that the Master explained to the Apostles that the first John the Baptist was of the typology of Elijah. (1754:21-29)
Of course, it’s not impossible that it could be the original and authentic Elijah and Enoch of old, incarnated for the purpose, since a full dispensation has passed since they lived here. This means they could be, accordingly, permitted to return. (436,12-15, 1230:46-47, 2024:12-15)
And indeed, they both did return here in their morontia bodies, we can reason- ably assume, for a period of one hundred years as the centennially rotating Governor- General of Urantia. If they followed the sequence of appointment (oldest first) to governor-general, as they did to the 24 Counselors, we can deduce that Enoch presided over the government of Urantia from 1030 A.D. to 1130 A.D., and Elijah from 1230 A.D. to 1330 A.D. (513: Section 4, 1252: Section 3, 2024:12-15, 1646:18-22)
This may be unreliable speculation, however, since Lord Machiventa, who is 14th on the list, was in fact the tenth Governor-General. (514:14-23, 1025:49 - 1026:3)
On the other hand, the supervisors weren’t too keen on the idea of the first humans, Andon and Fonta, being permitted to formally send greetings here even three dispensations removed from the one in which they lived, as we have already noted. (717:23-24)
Therefore I am more inclined to the view that the end-times Elijah and Enoch are simply typological cosmic “roles” on Urantia which will be “played” by present day mortals with very different yet ordinary names. They will call themselves by these “role” names when they begin their public careers in a few years time.
John the Baptist himself had to wrestle with this same Elijah-identity- typology dilemma. He finally decided that he was “Elijah,” but still had doubts about using the name. (1499:10-48)
Elijah will proclaim the inauguration of a new-old religio-social group which I expect he will call “The Jesusonians” to set them away from Christians and Christianity. His, and Enoch’s, missions are not to the Urantia movement, per se, they are to the whole world, all mankind. They will be assisted by “Urantians,” I expect, but they will come to him.
His message will be syncretistic–he will point the way away from the narrowness of sectarianism toward universal religion–the religion of the Master. He will convince many religio-sectarianists that they have one important thing in common, the indwelling Father fragment which makes them “Sons of the Living God.”–so did Hosea describe Elijah’s message. (Hosea 1:10).
His theology will be incredibly simple. He will not say “You have to read this big blue book, 2100 pages of stentorian prose!” There will be just five points that he will emphasize, over and over. The Master put the same five points in different terms on page 1863, but they’re really one and the same thing, (1863:16-23)
A. The indwelling presence of God;
B. The Fatherhood of God;
C. The Brotherhood of Man;
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D. Justification by faith alone; and
E. Eternal life, salvation.
Now to help you to understand why the careers of these two heaven-sent messengers will be so spectacular, why the whole world’s media will be agog and astir with descriptions of their miraculous healings, why even mother nature will be at their beck and call (Revelation 11:6) we have to construct an imaginary conversation. I want to describe for you an anthropomorphized or “humanized” conversation between Michael and the Universal Father. And while I have thus made it easier for my fellow mortals to relate to, I doubt not for one minute that some transaction along these lines occurred.
Let’s journey on out through the transcendental time frames of the absonite realm, past the before-time and the after-time, on into the eternal non-time reality of the Paradise Central Shining. Michael number 611,121 is home for a visit.
Suddenly, His eyes disclosing a Father’s loving concern for his children, the Universal Father turns to Michael and says: “What are you going to do about Urantia? You know this planet is going to blow itself up, thanks to our erring delinquent Son, Caligastia?”
Michael stares off to the horizon with a faraway look in his eyes and says: “Yes, I know. And it’s one of my worlds, so I feel personally responsible. Darn! Look, Abba. (He always called Him that–1360.15-16) I still have a bestowal left. I’ll go in there. They won’t receive me, they’ll kill me. But I’ll have time to plant a few seeds of truth. And the bestowal will mean I can pour out my Truth Spirit, and You can indwell every mortal instead of just those who are ready for You. “(610: 18-21)
“In this way,” he went on “We’ll be able to salvage every possible child that we can, before the end. And I plan to use this end for your greater glorification, Abba! I will even send them two last messengers, and I will even permit these messengers to violate our normal policy of not winning believers by over- awing them. (1520:24-27) In this way, we will even be able to garner some of the weak of faith, who are responding out of shock over the “wonders.”
“Very well,” says the Father. “But if you are going to use wonder-working as an evangelistic tool, had you not better turn it off at some point, so that there has to be a final choosing, final parting of the ways?”
“Very well, Abba, so shall it be! I’ll provide an interregnum period of no wonders, of equal duration to the prophet-wonder period, right at the end. Then they’ll have time to reflect on what all these things mean, and where they fit in. Then you and I, Abba, shall make a clean harvest, and then start again with our real children, the ones who have found our love.”
“Good luck, my Son!”
Then, Elijah and Enoch will be murdered. The last martyrs ever to die for him. They’ll probably be gunned down in the streets of a large city, and be left, obviously very dead. But the infidel, or ruler of that nation where this occurs will not permit their burial. (Revelation 11:1-13)
For three days the corpses will remain in the street, photographed daily by the media and transmitted world-wide to a great hue and cry. Then, on the morning of the fourth day, Elijah and Enoch will GET UP! They will probably make some appropriate announcement to the cameras and then disappear!
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I’m not sure what becomes of Enoch. I suspect he will elect the mansion world career and we will hear nothing more of him. It appears that Elijah will be offered the opportunity to come back to the New Jerusalem as a sort of High Priest at the new Temple of the Father. And he will accept, continuing for one thousand years as one of the “elect” until he, and they, fuse and ascend at the termination of the one thousand year visit of the Trinity Teacher Sons.
I’ll get to the “elect,” the Temples of the Father, as well as the coming Trinity Teacher Sons in a minute. First, let’s follow the apparent sequence of events to the end.
I expect that Elijah and Enoch will have provided for some kind of continuity, some means of holding together as a social group the converts they win.
I think they will train and commission their own “Latter Day Apostles of Jesus,” which they will leave behind in each city or nation of their ministry to organize and build tri-concentric Temples of the Father, but more importantly to shepherd the flock, those souls drawn together by the spiritual as well as the wonder-working power of Elijah and Enoch.
I also surmise that, like the Apostles of old, this group of Latter Day Apostles will be a very tight fraternity, probably with all things in common.(1823:11-17)
THE END WILL COME SUDDENLY! “IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE:”
As we watch Elijah and Enoch “disappearing” on our six o’clock news, we glance at our seven year oven-timer and say: “Ok. That means we now have three and one-half years, roughly, to the end, to Armageddon.” But whatever you do as a child of light, don’t get complacent. It is clear from many prophecies and the URANTIA Book itself, that the end will come suddenly, amidst great peace and prosperity.
“Therefore you do well to prepare yourselves for that day when you will be visited suddenly and in an unsuspecting manner” (1824:32-33), “to an evil-minded and hypocritical generation no sign shall be given” (1745:3-4), “coming of the kingdom in the racial and world sense would be both sudden and spectacular (1860:39-40), “Yes, Teacher, we do look for the Messiah, but when he comes, we know that his appearance will be in mystery” (1791:15-16), “A sword...polished to flash like lightning” (Ezekiel 21:8-10), “On that day swift messengers shall go forth from me to terrify the unsuspecting” (Ezekiel 30:9), “Without warning he shall destroy many” (Daniel 8:25), “for a full, yea, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth” (Zephaniah 1:18), “Watch, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42 from Selta’s Apocalypse 1915:35-43), “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 24:42,50; 25:13, Mark 13:35, Luke 12:39-40), and finally “and that day shall come upon you suddenly like a snare.” (Luke 21:34)
Am I making myself perfectly clear? The day before the end of the world someone predicting it will be regarded as a screwball, even as some of you now reading this paper have difficulty believing it. “On a planet of the blind, the sighted man would be regarded as insane!”
See? “...the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape.” (1 Thess. 5:2-3, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, 16:15) Enough said!!
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THE
“END”–NUCLEAR WINTER BRINGS DOWN THE FINAL CURTAIN
FIRE AND ICE
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if I had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost
It appears the end will come as the result of a sudden nuclear exchange on earth, which will be completely unexpected and will come at a time of great material prosperity and peace, pretty much like things are now, maybe even better.
The smoke and fallout overwhelms the biosphere, leading to a worldwide winter even in mid-summer and even in the tropics, destroying the food chain and causing universal famine–the end.
There won’t be any stockpiling of food. There won’t be any food to stockpile. And no amount of wealth will save you. Ezekiel saw these days:
“All hands are feeble, and all knees weak as water. They gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror covers them; shame is upon all faces, and baldness on all their heads. (Radiation poisoning causes baldness!) They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing; their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.” (Ezekiel 7:17-19)
It’s really going to happen! The authors of the URANTIA Papers mention the end of the world directly or indirectly 18 times, including at least five by Jesus himself! I’ve already mentioned some of these, let’s go over the rest.
Jesus to Thomas: “The downfall of nations, the crash of empires, the destruction of the unbelieving Jews, the end of an age, even the end of the world, what have these things to do with one who believes this gospel...if nations overturn, the age ends, or all things visible crash”(1916:9-20, 1096:19-21).
“It was during one of these conferences at the home of Justa that the Master first (meaning he did it repeatedly’) told his disciples that ‘even though heaven and earth shall pass away, my words of truth shall not’” (1736:20-21, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33, Matthew 5:18; 24:35, 2 Peter 3:10). Heaven passing is the darkness of nuclear winter. Jesus, talking to all the Apostles minus Judas, plus “about fifty of his trusted followers,” his “farewell address,” on “his last free day on earth as a divine Son incarnated in the flesh”: (1929:1-17) “And my spirit shall be upon you, now and even to the end of the world”(1932:23-24)
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Then on the next page the Master sends a personal version of this farewell to Abner at Philadelphia: “I will not forsake you. I will be with you to the end.”– (1933:10-11)
Jesus teaching at Jotapata: “In the end it will prove true: ‘Whoso stops his ears to the cry of the poor, he also shall someday cry for help, and no one will hear him.” (1639:10- 12) Those are momentous words! Will they apply to you at the end?
The Master’s last teachings at Pella: “Take lessons from those who make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, and likewise so conduct your lives that you make eternal friendship with the forces of righteousness in order that, when all things earthly fail, you shall be joyfully received into the eternal habitations.” (1854:13-17)
Earlier in the Papers a Melchizedek sets up the end of the world as a straw man, in the process revealing it as truth: “Zoroaster, like the Egyptians, taught the ‘day of judgment’, but he connected this event with the end of the world.”– (1050:15-16) The word “but” implies error, but the error is not the “end,” it is the fact that the day of judgment is a feature of all ends of dispensations, not just the “end of the world.”
Probably the same Melchizedek uses a similar straw man in Paper 98, “at the end of the world Mithras would summon all the dead from their graves to face the last judgment.” (1082:42-44). Mithras-as- divine-judge-straw man, God does–the judging!
On pages 1500 and 1501 they spend a page and three-quarters telling us what–all the various schools among the ancient Jews thought about the end of the world,’ but you’ll notice the Midwayer authors never once express their own opinion, nor in any way evaluate the opinions they are reporting. It’s as if their revelation mandate made the “end of the world,” at least as a direct revelation, a taboo subject. I’ll have more to say about that later. But the words are clearly there: “the end of the world” (1500:19) and “the world was approaching its certain end.” (1500:41).
Martha to the Master concerning the then dead Lazarus: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day.” (1843:5) Jesus corrects her only to the degree of saying “I am the resurrection and the life” (1843:8-9)
In attempting to explain the inaccurate association of the then imminent destruction of the temple, with the end of the world, the Midwayers explain how the Master’s followers got confused. But note: they carefully choose their words. They do not devalue nor discount the eschaton: “In their minds these Jews were determined to connect the destruction of the temple with the ‘end of the world.’” They believed this New Jerusalem would fill all Palestine that the end of the world would be followed by the immediate appearance of the ‘new heavens and the new earth.’” (1913:44 – 1914:01) Also do you see the beautiful revelation and the knocked-over straw man? While the Midwayers were doing this little tirade about “those darn Jews - getting everything confused!” they revealed truth as follows:
A. The Messiah is “reappearing,” i.e. he has “appeared” before! This confirms that Lord Machiventa IS the Messiah,
B. A New Jerusalem will be enlarged to “become the world’s capital;”
C. This New Jerusalem “will fill all Palestine;” and
D. Phase 4 follows immediately after Phase 3, “the end of the world would be followed by the immediate appearance of the new heavens and the new earth.’”
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There are plenty more references to the end of the world in the Papers.
“They wanted to know more about the destruction of Jerusalem, the Master’s departure, and the end of the world.” (1915:49-50). This is an interesting phrase for the Midwayers to put in this sentence, since the Master himself in the previous context, has not yet even mentioned the end of the world!
“His followers began the formulation of that belief which eventually associated the second coming of Christ with the end of the age, even with the end of the world.” Again, note the context. The “error” they are clarifying is not that there isn’t an “end,” it’s that no one may speak concerning the second coming.(1918:41-43)
John the Baptist: “Get ready for the end; prepare yourselves for the appearance of the new and eternal order of earth affairs, the kingdom of heaven.” (1498:48)
‘The world was ripe for the end of the age of man and the dawn of the new and divine age–the kingdom of heaven.” (1498:44-45)
“Master, we know that all things will pass away when the new heavens and the new earth appear” (1914:2-3)
And finally the Master himself, while helping Ganid to pick out the truth in the world’s religions, chooses Daniel 2:22, which you’ll recall is the chapter in which Daniel reveals the smiting of the great image at the end of the world: “God reveals the deep and secret things because the light dwells with him” (1444:17-18)
And, of course, the Bible itself is shot through with ominous phrases about the end: ‘Y will make a full end of all the nations” (Jeremiah 30:11), “at the time of their final punishment” (Ezekiel 35:5), “the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all that dwell therein” (Nahum 1:5), “till no inhabitant is left” (Zephaniah 2:5), ‘all the earth shall be consumed” (Zephaniah 3:8), “the decreed end is poured out” (Daniel 9:27), “and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:13- 14), “there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be.” (Matthew 24:21) This is only a handful, you can find countless other clear references to the end in both Testaments of the Bible. And there are several books in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, the Apocalyptic writings, each of which deals almost exclusively with details of the end and the new earth.
THE TRIBULATION–THE BODY COUNT
Zechariah, one of the later prophets, and therefore whose writings are more truthful, according to the Master (1767:37-38), writes: “In the whole land, says the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third will be left alive.” (Zechariah 13:8).
If we take today’s world population of about five billion, that gives 3.3 billion people killed in the nuclear holocaust and winter, and roughly 1.7 billion evacuated to the emergency world.
If my interpretation of Daniel is correct, the time from the nuclear exchange to the death of the last surviving mortal will be only 45 days’. Isn’t that incredible? A month and a half! I think this is what Daniel means at the end of his book when he writes: “And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” (i.e. three and one-half years) “Blessed is he who waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty- five days.” (Daniel 12:11-12) (i.e. 45 days later).
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I think this is the meaning of one of the statements in Selta’s Apocalypse as it found its way into Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20: “And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
You’ll recall my telling you that I thought the Master was referring to the nuclear winter when he mentioned the “long winter of material-mindedness.” (1915:17-18) Well, look at Selta’s words as they appear in Matthew 24:20 and in Mark: “Pray that it may not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God Created until now, and never will be.” (Mark 13:18-19)
WHEN WILL THEY COME TO RESCUE US?
One of the foremost questions in our minds, even today, ham got to be “When will they come for me? The more flippant among us with senses of humor may ask: “May I pack a suitcase?” And the serious answer is, “No!”
Christian apologist and apocalyptist Hal Lindsey points out in his book “The Rapture” that this is a subject which Christian scholars have debated for ages. By the way, Christians call the end, the “tribulation” and the rescue, the “rapture,” based on t Thessalonians 4:16-17: “And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive who are left shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Lindsey reveals that there are three sharply differing points of view, those who believe the righteous will be saved:
A. Before all the suffering; (Pre-Tribulationists)
B. In the middle of the tribulation; (Mid-Tribulationists); or
C. At the final end of everything. (Post-Tribulationists)
In fact, when all this comes to pass, I think we will have seen elements of all three,
A. If your city is about to be nuked, and you have been deemed an evacuee, your name “written in the book,” they will surely have to take you before the mushroom cloud looms;
B. If they are not sure about the loyalty and sublimity of our faith, if it is half-hearted, they may well leave you to fret about things until such a moment as you form a consecrated choice, and then take you right then and there; this conceptualization allows for those weak souls who have been “shocked” into believing in God, by the wonder- working witnesses Elijah and Enoch, or by the devastating events of the end, like the Jews when taken into captivity;(1075:12);and
C. If you are a case of very doubtful faith, or one of “those in the lower circles of mortal achievement,” (1247:29-33, quoting Selta’s apocalypse via Matthew 24:21 and Mark 13:27, cf. 568:44 -569:01), or at the other extreme, of incredibly sublime faith, you may be left to the very last moment of mortal despair to harden you, or in order to “test” you, just like John the Baptist had to languish in his filthy prison. They may even wish to use your sublime faith at such an hour to motivate others to find this abiding faith, and childlike trust in God’s watchcare.
We really won’t know until the time comes, so I wouldn’t form any pre-conceived notions, if I were you.
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The handwriting on the wall is clear. They talk about having to “shorten” the days for the elect, which doesn’t sound like an early rescue to me: “If the righteous man is scarcely saved, where will the impious and sinner appear?”(1 Peter: 4:18, Proverbs 11:31)
I think these will be times of great testing for all of us. You will get through these horrible times only if your faith can rise to sublime levels, like that of Job in his darkest hour: “Though he slay me, yet will I worship him,”(Job: 13:15) or “I know that my redeemer liveth.” (Job 19:25, 1664:27-40)
You’ll have to summon up your courage and recall the words of Ezekiel: “As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ezekiel 34:12)
You’ll surely recall Jesus’ words to Thomas: “The downfall of nations, the crash of empires, the destruction of the unbelieving Jews, the end of an age, even the end of the world, what have these to do with one who believes this gospel, and who has hid his life in the surety of the eternal kingdom?”(1916:9-12, cf. 1096:12-34)
You’ll remember well a Melchizedek’s words: “When the flood tides of human adversity, selfishness, cruelty, hate, malice, and jealousy beat about the mortal soul, you may rest in the assurance that there is one inner bastion, the citadel of the spirit, which is absolutely unassailable; at least this is true of every human being who has dedicated the keeping of his soul to the indwelling spirit of the eternal God,” (1096:22-26) for, “In the time of testing, a man’s soul is revealed; trial discloses what is really in the heart.” (1824:20-21)
Will you recall the Second Isaiah’s “preachment of divine constancy, God’s faithfulness. He declared that ‘Cod would not forget, would not forsake,” (1069:37-39t or the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...etc?”
Did you know that Daniel chapter 3 is an allegorical depiction of our deliverance by evacuation at the end of the world? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to worship the sacrilegious golden image at the expense of being thrown into the fiery furnace. Staring at that furnace, would you have said, “Ok. Stop: I’ll worship your idol! Anything but that!?” They took the furnace option, so sublime was their faith. Suddenly, there are four men “walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the Gods” (Daniel 3:25) (Lord Machiventa as rescuer). Then, we read “God...has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him...for there is no other God who is able to deliver in this way.” (3:28-29)
Will you be like Daniel in his other allegory of deliverance by trust, chapter 6, when he is thrust into the lion’s den, but “no kind of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God.”? (Daniel 6:23)
Between this very day on which you read these words, and the end of the world, will you remember why: “Jesus fully understood how men prepare themselves for the decisions of a crisis and the performance of sudden deeds of courageous choosing by the slow process of the reiterated choosing between the recurring situations of good and evil...etc.?” (1708:19-31)
And while you thus wait for the day of the Lord, are you willing to take another look at that kind, gentle, generous and good-hearted man nailed to that damned cross, and remember that sublime faith means learning “to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of
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immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable. (291:21-26) Will this vision of Jesus comfort you and give succor? (1663:41-47)
If they leave you until your head is totally bald, you have excreted your intestines from radiation poisoning, and you have running sores all over your body, will you lay there turning those words over and over in your mind, and believing, that “In liaison with God, nothing–absolutely nothing–is impossible.”? (291:26-27)
HOW DO I GET A TICKET ON AIR SERAPHIM TO EVACULAND?
“I will make you pass under the rod, and I will let you go in by number. I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me” (Ezekiel 20:37-38)
“All were agreed that some drastic purging or purifying discipline would of necessity precede the establishment of the new kingdom on earth.” (1500:46-47)
It seems obvious that if only one out of every three mortals is to be salvaged, delivered to the evacuation world, that some fairly serious criteria for selection will be in place.
I think it is also fair to say that this selection will involve racial as well as genetic considerations.
They have a lot to say about eugenics in the URANTIA Book. We come in for some pretty heavy criticism. Even 37,000 years ago our races were in abominable shape as far as Adam was concerned, “for the races, while biologically fit, had never been purged of their retarded and defective strains.” (839:24-25)
Even we who live today have our knuckles rapped for not having been “able to agree upon the biologic disfellowshipping of your more markedly unfit, defective, degenerate, and antisocial stocks.” (585:24-28)
Look at some of the expressions they use: “the presence of so many defective and degenerate individuals among the present-day Urantia races, (592:17-18) “race purification, something which the Urantia peoples have not even yet seriously undertaken” (592:22-23), “racially degenerate stocks...have tremendously retarded the progress of civilization” (1088:34-35), “cultural civilization does not flourish without an adequate background of antecedent racial progression” (905:34-36), “when fifty per cent of a nation is inferior or defective and possesses the ballot, such a nation is doomed” (818:17-18),”Civilizations of great promise have successively deteriorated and have finally been extinguished by the folly of allowing the superior freely to procreate with the inferior” (719:19-21), “defective bestial tendencies” (593:18-19), “If the present day races of Urantia could be freed from the curse of their lowest strata of deteriorated, antisocial, feeble- minded, and outcast specimens, there would be little objection to a limited race amalgamation” (920:5-9), “Religion is the mighty lever that lifts civilization from chaos, but it is powerless apart from the fulcrum of sound and normal mind resting securely on sound and normal heredity” (793:31-33) and finally “you must now work out your planetary problems of race improvement by other and largely human methods of adaptation and control.” (586: 28-30)
And only heavenly beings could have the supremely self-confident presence of mind to admonish us that, concerning eugenics, we have loved too much, and unwisely: “It is the false sentiment of your partially perfected civilizations that fosters, protects, and perpetuates the hopelessly defective strains of evolutionary human stocks.” (592:28-30) They clearly state that some of our degenerate “underprivileged and unfortunate” are the result of “overmuch false sentiment.” (1088:32-33)
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One thing’s for sure! You won’t see the traditional welfare state on the evacuation world or the new Urantia, “The weak and the inferior have always contended for equal rights, they have always insisted that the state compel the strong and superior to supply their wants and otherwise make good those deficiencies which all too often are the result of their own indifference and indolence.” (794:22-25)
The authors of the Papers even reveal to us genetic factors which our scientists have yet to truly discover–that certain types of criminality are genetic in origin and therefore can be permanently eliminated from society. They note that on our neighboring planet “Efforts to prevent the breeding of criminals and defectives” in as little as one hundred years cut the number of their insane asylums to ten percent of ours: (818:38-41)
And criminality is not all that can be scientifically measured, evaluated. We are told that for the second stage of light and life, the Life Carriers are involved in the “drastic elimination of the retarded and persisting remnants of inferior potential of an intellectual philosophic cosmic and spiritual nature.” (627:37-39) Whew How would you like to be told you are not “cosmic” enough to reproduce, whatever that means!
So it looks like they are going to effect a racial judgment, and to do that they are going to need “competent judges,” and the Lanonandek author of Paper 51 remarks about the current absence of such judges on the planet. (585:24)
But wait a second! We still have fourteen Life Carrier Sons. They picked the Andonite 100 for the Prince’s staff, and they were “the best strains of that unique race.” (742:34)
They will probably form some kind of racial and genetic selection court, just like our neighboring planet uses “parental courts ....to prevent parenthood which is denied all subnormals.” (812:30-32, 742:33-35)
These Life Carrier Courts will be interested in “the attainment of vastly higher levels of human development through the intelligent fostering of the evolutionary potentials still resident in the mortal races.” (734124-26)
And this is obviously the meaning in Daniel 12:1, and elsewhere in the scriptures of the phrase: “your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book.” The seraphim will be told: “Here’s the list. These, and these alone.!”
Then, they will have truly achieved “the further purification of the racial stocks by the restriction of reproduction among the less fit and poorly endowed individuals.” (595:3-4)
It also appears there will be certainly a fair number of North Americans among the evacuees, for “Race mixtures of the average or superior strata of various peoples greatly increase CREATIVE potential, as is shown in the resent population of the United States of North America,” (920:12-15) and “the future of that continent will be determined by the quality of the racial factors which are permitted to enter into present and future populations, as well as by the level of social culture which is maintained.” (899:19-22)
Indeed, the American black man is likely to be included in large numbers since the exposure of the African indigo blood lines by slavery to the superior civilization developing in North America has doubtlessly advanced this race considerably. (725:29-42, 1132:18-21). And this racial improvement for the black man might well have been far more extensive had the American people had the foresight and wisdom
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to follow the techniques of our neighboring planet in gradually and selectively freeing the slaves. (813:13-20)
And you will likely see more black-white marriages in this future “new earth” setting, where the xenophobia of race prejudice becomes, itself, the taboo. (920:38-42)
So, to be one the evacuees at the end, you are going to have to be deemed racially and genetically “acceptable.” But it can’t be just so cold and impersonal. We have been taught that it is your faith in Cod that guarantees your survival of ordinary death. “You are Justified by faith and fellowshipped by grace, not by fear and the self-denial of the flesh,” (1610:4-5), “by faith are you saved.” (1682:46)
That leads me to conclude that they will probably have to make a three-way judgment at the end. Either you are:
A. Deemed spiritually, racially, and genetically acceptable and evacuated to the emergency world; or
B. Deemed spiritually acceptable, but racially and/or genetically inferior, in which case they may Just let you die in the holocaust and nuclear winter, and then resurrect you in Mansonia in the morontia to begin your eternal career; or
C. Deemed unacceptable on spiritual or all three counts and left to “enjoy” the end.
WHAT WILL THE EVACUATION BE LIKE?
We’ve already noted the idea of disappearing people from Selta’s apocalypse, ‘Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.” (Matthew 24:40-41)
And we know from the description of seraphic transport that the seraphim can knock us out cold anytime they want to, i.e. the “sleep is induced by the liaison between the Adjuster and the seraphic transporters.” (431:10-11)
We also know that this emergency transit to the evacuation sphere (582:20-31) involves dematerialization-transit-rematerialization, involves transforming “material beings into a state quite like that of the morontia order of existence,” (526:16-18) which is why, incidentally, the Archangels did not dematerialize Jesus body. (2022:41-42). Apparently, whatever is dematerialized remains “integrated.” They were not interested in moving a dead body to some other location in which it would remain a still very dead body!
We also know that this transit for us, as for the Planetary Adams, will take “ten to twenty-eight days of Urantia time.” (582:34). It took them ten days to re- assemble the bodies and personalities of our Adam and Eve. (828:10-12)
I can only visualize this evacuation as going to sleep here suddenly, and then, without any sense of time having passed, waking up in this “marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
It’s really ironic that the URANTIA Book mentions this evacuation several times, but most readers probably don’t lock in on the significance of the words: “the redeemed nations” (1501:6), “they shall mount up with wings am eagles” (1069:24 quoting Isaiah 40:31), “the angel of his presence saved them” (1067:2-3 quoting Isa: 63-9), “The second Isaiah talked about salvation by sacrifice and redemption” (1071:10-11), “Ezekiel proclaimed deliverance through the service of devotion” (1071:11-12), “deliverance was deferred” (Until when? Until the end! Note the next sentence in the URANTIA Book about the “impending crisis” which I proved to you referred to
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the “end” (1071:13), “An olden seer promised that God would protect and deliver his ‘chosen people’”(1071:4-5), “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High (the evacuation world) shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (1445:45-46 quoting Psalm 91:1-2–read this entire Psalm; it is clearly one of deliverance at the end), “I will ransom you from the Stave; I will redeem you from death” (1446:12-13 quoting Hosea 13:14), “My righteousness is near: my salvation has gone forth, and my arms shall enfold my people” (1682:35-36 quoting Isaiah 51:5–all of Isaiah 51 is eschatological), “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (1444:21-22 quoting Psalm 46:1–and note the remaining verses of this Psalm, especially “we will not fear though the earth should chance...the mountains shake in the heart of the sea...desolations in the earth,”) and finally “whosoever calls upon the Lord shall be saved” (1454:40, 38:9-10, quoting Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 all of which are very eschatological).
PHASE 3 AND THE “LAST JUDGMENT”
I must confess that I am not absolutely clear on the timing and relative position of these end-times events. It seems safe to say that Phase 3, this en masse apparition of our unseen friends will occur on Urantia and not the evacuation world, but even that is up in the air. Perhaps literally “up in the air”!
There is some scripture which suggests that the dispensational resurrection will take place on the evacuation world, but just as many scriptural references that suggest the opposite. As you know, they left a divisional headquarters of Archangels here for communications. Will the judgment occur here then be sent by closed-circuit feed to the Salvington transmitters, whence relayed to the whole universe including the evacuation world, where I believe the “broadcasts” have now returned? This was how the Archangels handled the “feed” of the Master’s life here, (1316:43) i.e. a remote closed- circuit feed to Salvington for transmission from there.
One thing we do know for sure. The Age of the Spirit of Truth will end, despite its brief 2000 year duration, and the Messianic Age will begin, an age which the Midwayers call “a more spiritual dispensation” (1866:33).
We also know that this judgment of the living and the dead was seen by John and Daniel (Daniel 7:9-10,22,27, 314:41-44, 210:1-5, Revelation 20:4) and by Enoch of old (I Enoch 46,71).
OH, MY GOD! THE SILENCE
Before I pick up the events of our transit to the evacuation world and our continuing fortunes there, I want to describe an event, associated with all this which is absolutely staggering in scope. That is, if my speculation is correct.
When the last mortal left on Urantia takes his final breath; when the Universe Bestowal World, this beautiful blue sphere of Satania sits there as a black ‘death star,” an uninhabited world, something which I have named “The Silence” will occur.
“The Silence” is a visitation scheme so cosmic and far- ranging in scope as to transcend the human imagination:
“The Silence” is the ‘future concentration of other ascendant activities on the bestowal world” which they hint at on page 409:8-9, and further describe as “the more recently transplanted Salvington activities” now underway in the Michael Memorial on Jerusem, under the careful supervision of “over one million personalities.” (525:4-13)
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This universe-wide event, “The Silence” will take about 21 years–that’s what John the Revelator meant when he wrote, “There was silence in heaven for a half an hour” (Revelation 8:1) To the Paradise- Havona time system “a half an hour” is about 21 years, since the Paradise-Havona “day” is very nearly precisely 1000 Urantia years. (153:27-31). Besides, the events of “The Silence” are so ambitious, so amazing, they will take that long:
I speculate that every mansion world student and the staffs from the entire 10:000 mansion world complexes of Nebadon 70,000 worlds in all, will be brought to Urantia! They will stare silently upon this “sentimental shrine of all Nebadon, the chief of ten million inhabited worlds” (1319:1-2), reduced to a dead hulk, an uninhabited planet. (1003:25-26, 1025:6)
You might say that this will be for them, the field trip for these ascenders and their teachers in the standard mansion world course called “Sin and Evil 101,” the central premise of which is “that within every sin is concealed the seed of its own destruction,” that “the wages of sin is death,” that it is “automatically suicidal,” that “the way of the transgressor is hard,” (611:48-612:2, Proverbs 13;15, Romans 6:23, 844:41, 37:44).
This momentous event is the reason that the Associate Chief of Brilliant Evening Stars, Galantia, spends half of his time on Jerusem. (407:36-37) These superangels are concerned, although not exclusively, with the mortal ascension scheme. (407:35,40-43, 408:45-47). Galantia would have little business spending half his time on an obscure system capital like Jerusem, one of 10,000, unless something was going to transpire which would affect all the ascenders in the universe!
You will also recall that we are told that, administered and directed from Urantia, presumably by the Commanding Archangel here, are “certain archangel -activities having to do with the Paradise ascension scheme.” (409:5-10)
“The Silence” also explains why this planet has a divisional headquarters of Archangels, complete with a direct-line circuit to Salvington on which messages from Michael are received here (522.31-32)–the only planet in the universe so distinguished.
These Archangels and their circuit are required to provide the coordinating and administrative communications for so ambitious and unprecedented an undertaking as “the Silence.” They may also be somehow involved in the return of the universe broadcasts, which I’ll get to later, as well as live universe coverage of the other events of the “end.”
In fact, we can discern within this incredibly ambitious cosmic visitation of untold numbers of pilgrims to Urantia, the very reason, or at least one of the reasons why God is going to permit the destruction of Urantia.
All creatures throughout this entire universe must come to realize that the Gods are right! Man, unaided by God, cannot survive! A planet, a system or any organized body simply cannot cut itself away from the divine whole, set up its own Gods, (755:37-38, Jeremiah 18:19-20) and succeed! For sin is “immaturity dazzled by the freedom of the relatively sovereign will of personality,” minus “the supreme obligations and duties of cosmic citizenship.” (1301:4-6)
The rebels and subsequent humanity succeeded for 200,000 years, even saw Urantia reach a state of advanced technology, only to have that same technology turn tail on them, and wipe out everything.
So, you see, Urantia is a planet which God has chosen for an object lesson
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to his entire creation. In the “new earth,” we, His sons and daughters, who have been forced to endure this indignity, this horrible end, will be then amply rewarded beyond our wildest dreams, and our most ambitious and transcendent hopes.
WHERE IS THIS EVACUATION WORLD?
Let’s assume you are one of the evacuees. You’re asleep now. The seraphim carrying you has moved to the planetary pole of spiritual polarity above the High Sierra of California. They launch her at the speed of light and she streaks off into the midnight sky, a flash of celestial light eastward across the continental U.S. and on out into the interplanetary space of the Satania system of Norlatiadek. (438:23–439:9)
At this point, the seraphim carrying you sets her bearings for a point near the western edge of the constellation Orion. For her the trip is so short, she probably won’t even speed up to her normal transport velocity of three times the speed of light. (260:46) In merely a few minutes she will break through the electric air ceiling of the evacuation world and gently settle to its surface.
Now comes the work of rematerializing the sleeping you. And, as I mentioned, this will take ten to twenty-eight days.
I am of the opinion that the evacuation world is not far from here because of a remarkable discovery only three years ago by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).
Throughout the year 1983 scientists on Urantia received telemetry data coming in from IRAS, the first-ever satellite telescope that could “see” in the Infrared energy range, and which was mapping in these wavelengths over 97 percent of the night sky.
You can the better ,understand such a super-heat-sensitive telescope if you imagine a camera with film that could take a picture of one of your kitchen stove burners turned on only “simmer,” in a totally dark kitchen, and have that merely “warm” burner show up clearly as a bright object in the photograph.
In this way, scientists could discover any super-cool planets or other astronomical objects in the universe, which might be very real, but so cool that we could not see them with the naked eye, nor with telescopes, because they don’t “radiate” in the visible light range.
The astronomers logged what they called “nine unidentified point sources.” These were universe objects “seen” by IRAS, but which were so cool as to be invisible to telescopes.
They explained away eight of these sources as far distant galaxies which, for some reason, were putting out some heat, but no light.
The ninth object was more mysterious. They could only estimate its distance and approximate size, but it appeared to be a Jupiter-sized object, i.e. about a thousand times the size of Urantia, and located abut 570 Astronomical Units (A.U.s) from earth. An A.U. is the distance from the earth to the sun. The farthest known planet, Pluto, is 40 A.U.s from earth. Our nearest neighboring star system, the twin stilts Alpha Proxima and Alpha Centauri, are at 271,000 A.U.s from earth.
So, this planetary object appeared to be moving along with our solar system, but was a relatively long ways off, over 14 times farther away than our farthest known planet Pluto, which can’t be seen with the naked eye, so small is it in the night sky. Even more mysterious was that its surface temperature appeared to be
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20 degrees Kelvin, or about 253 degrees below zero Celsius.
A year later, the scientists, not being able to make sense of such a cool body just sitting out there all by itself, revised their opinion. They decided that, instead of being a planet, the object must be simply a clump or cluster of dust in a larger cloud of dust which they had discovered, visible only in the infrared, and which seems to sit above and below our galaxy like a halo. Because these clouds resembled the thin, wispy cirrus clouds high in our atmosphere, they called them ‘infrared Cirrus.” And in their minds, our mystery object was written off as just one of the little wispy clumps. (See Scientific American Dec. ’84, p. 54, Col. 1, and p. 56, Col. 1)
I think they should have stuck with their original opinion, for I believe they saw the evacuation world!
I remain convinced because all this data fits an architectural world, as these worlds are described in the Papers.
Edentia and Jerusem are both 100 times the size of Urantia (485:14, 509:5-6). Now that means their estimate of the size of this mystery world, 1000 times the size of Urantia, is off by at least a factor of ten. But the scientists noted that they were only estimating, that beyond distances of 30 A.U.s, object size and distance is only guesswork. They had to cope with a vision problem called parallax error, in which the object could have been larger or farther away, or conversely, smaller and closer to us. So, being off by a factor of ten under the circumstances is not bad at all. Such a massive planet would also have oppressive gravity, were we not told that the gravity on such large architectural worlds “is a trifle less” than Urantia’s, as if they had hollow centers. (509:6)
They describe the lighting and heating of these worlds in Paper 46.
Such spheres have an “electric ceiling” encircling them which produces beneath it a ‘gentle, sifting and even light” when “rarefied energies are projected upward through the planetary atmosphere.” The heating system seems to be surface-based as well and is not unlike your electric stove which produces heat because of “the natural resistance to the passage of energies… through the physical channels of conduction.” (519:25-520:27)
Then they tell us these architectural worlds do not radiate off into space in the visible light range, even to the degree that “if Jerusem were very near Urantia, it would not be visible’. (520:8) It appears there are two reasons for this: the light produced to light the planet contains very little heat, (520:6-7) and the electric air ceiling is so efficient in reflecting energy back down to the planet’s surface, that next to no heat is lost to space by radiation. It is not unlike the operation of your freezer, whose walls so efficiently keep the heat out, and the cold in, so that the outside surface of the freezer is not even cool to the touch.
And, given that these worlds are “constructed” by heavenly “personalities,” and that the Gods and their agents, the Master Physical Controllers, “do all things well,” it is quite reasonable to assume that this insulating ceiling is nearly 100 percent efficient, so that only a miniscule amount of heat escapes to space. Indeed, the amount could be so tiny that from space, the outer surface temperature of such a world could be 253 degrees Celsius below zero, or only 20 degrees above absolute zero, just like our mystery object. And that’s why they tell us “if Jerusem were very near Urantia, it would not be visible”
WAKING UP IN “HEAVEN”! “WHERE AM I?”
There you were, walking down the street, and suddenly, lost consciousness; or you were shivering in your little hovel against the bitter cold of the nuclear winter and you just “dozed off.” ZZZZ!
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Then you open your eyes to an ambience so glorious as to transcend the human imagination. ‘Is this heaven?” you ask yourself. “No, it can’t be,” you reason, “This is no morontia body. It’s my mortal body. Morontia bodies are asexual, and I still have my genitalia!”
The first thing you notice is this “gentle, sifting and even light of about the intensity of Urantia sunlight when the sun is shining overhead at ten o’clock in the morning:’ Peter called it “this marvelous light.” (600:8-10, 1 Peter 2:9) The sky seems so bright, all over, as if lit from underneath. It’s like “the light rays do not seem to come from one place; they just sift out of the sky, emanating equally from all space directions...very similar to natural sunlight except it contains very much less heat.” (520:1-7)
Your eyes adjusting to this diffused light, you sit up, and glance around at this fantastic and intriguing environment around you. You sit there in a wide-eyed, slack- jawed trance!
Suddenly, you notice that there’s something strange about your eyesight. You seem to have a range or scope of vision which you have never before experienced. You can see stunningly beautiful beings, like you have never seen before, and growing plants that are absolutely weird-looking. Both the beings and the vegetation “have a violet or orchid tinge of varying hue and reflection” (492:37-38)
Then it dawns on you that when they rematerialized you, they widened your vision range in the direction of the ultraviolet, your “light reaction...extended”–(436:36-37), so that it is not unlike the vision range of Adam and Eve.(587:24-26) One being explains to you that you are seeing Midway creatures from Urantia, probably Cherubim, and certainly the Secrets of Seraphington creatures, whom, he tells you, will be coming back to Urantia with us eventually, in large numbers. More about them in a minute.
At this point you realize that when this being spoke to you, he didn’t open his mouth! You just heard his words inside your head! Then he says to you: “Yes, I know,” as if he read your thoughts about this mouthless communication, obviously your rematerialization also included the bestowal on you of a capacity for mental telepathy, not unlike the one with which Adam and Eve and their immediate offspring were equipped. (834:45-835:3). The celestial artisans called the Mind-energy Manipulators will probably assist us in learning how to use this telepathy capacity, which apparently already exists on Urantia, probably as a remnant of the Adamic blood we gained, albeit “practically non-existent.”(504:42-505:5)
As you sit there adjusting to this new “heavy scene,” you become aware that your hearing has changed! In the distance you hear strange new sounds, melodious and gladsome, musical strains that defy description and seem so rapturous. Could this be the “material range of beautiful sound unrecognized by the human sense of hearing” they tell us about in the Papers, and which we can now hear? Must be: (499:22-23, 630: 37-38, 564:23-24)
If you were a para-, or quadriplegic on Urantia, lame in some fashion, blind, deaf, suffering from one or more lifelong ailments, or even just a wearer of glasses, you will also realize that you have now been healed of every mortal infirmity Even the scars, minor skin imperfections from childhood injuries are gone! You can now all the better comprehend the Master’s miraculous healings of two thousand years ago. They were mere previews in time of the spectacular promise of the future.
One of your new “friends” hands you a mirror, and your eyes just about pop when you stare into it. You have the appearance of youth! Maybe 25 years of age! And you think, “My God! I was 63 on Urantia!. How did they do this?” As you run your fingers down your face in utter astonishment, you see that the crows feet are gone,
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that the skin seems so supple, yet taut, and youthful, very elastic. You smile, and notice that all the tooth fillings are gone! The false-teethed of Urantia have a new set of chompers, white and glistening withal.
You ask one of your new creature friends, “Why have I become young again? What’s the meaning of this?”
He explains that there are two groups of Urantians here in “Evaculand.”
The first group is called the “elect.” They are the teachers. There are 144,000 of them. (Revelation 14:1-5) If you are one of these, when they rematerialized you they will have given you the complements of the system life circuits. (742:25-26, 744:29-33) By this means, they will have “immortalized” you for 1000 years: When they eventually transfer you back to Urantia, the fruit of the Trees of Life, which will also be returning to Urantia in great numbers, will sustain you through this long haul of service to your fellow inhabitants of the Universe Bestowal World, as an assistant to the superhuman “Residentials.” More about them in a minute. “For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) In the Messianic kingdom, “the citizens of the new kingdom were to become immortal in their enjoyment of this endless bliss.” (1500:44-45) They “shall shine like the brightness of the firmament...for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)
The second group is called the “righteous.” They are all the rest of the 1.7 billion estimated survivors of the Urantia eschaton. They receive also the youthful appearance, but not quite the longevity of the “elect.” Still, they have nothing to complain about, for when they return to Urantia they will age to somewhere between 300 and 500 years before natural death overtakes them! (597:3-4, 599:6) “Old men and old women shall again dwell in Jerusalem and sit cut in the streets, every man with his staff in his hand for very advanced age.” (Zechariah 8:4)
Regardless of whether you are numbered among the long-lived righteous, or the millenially undying elect, the presence of the Trinity Teacher Sons, whom I’ll tell you about in a minute, will likely result over time in translation-fusion as the more common way of departing Urantia. Improved spiritual living will also contribute to the gravitation by all mortals to the “primary modified order of ascension.” (570:28–571: 3; 598’45–599:3)
“Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 25:51-52)
“I’m hungry:”
“You’re what?”
“I’m hungry. How do you get food around here? I don’t have any money.”
“You don’t need any, dummy! We’ll show you the vegetation you can eat. It’s quite tasteful. You can top it off with the beautiful giant golden fruit of the Trees of Life!”
“Well that’s just great. But I wouldn’t mind a thick steak, dripping with mushrooms and onions, French fries, a nice garden salad, and apple pie a-la-mode for dessert. Does that grow on trees around here too?”
“No, of course not. If you want that traditional Urantia food, you’ll have to go to the free marketeria in your national sector.”
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“Free marketeria?”
“Yes. You don’t have to pay for it. You just take whatever you can eat. You need take only enough for today. There’s no need to store food here. When you get settled in, they’ll be asking you to contribute a little bit of labor to the production and processing of the food. You won’t find this burdensome. A few hours a week, that’s all.”
“What’s this ‘national sector?’”
“Oh. We’ve laid out this world geographically very much like Urantia to make it easy for you all. There are no oceans, of course, but the national sectors are arranged pretty much in the same juxtaposition as you find them on Urantia. The United States sector is over there.”
“You mean that beautiful range of white buildings surrounded with trees on the horizon?”
“Yes. That’s Charleston, South Carolina. If you look over there to the south you can just see Savannah, Georgia. Of course, the states are much smaller here. Not as many people, you know. You’re from Dayton, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, we had better get going. They’re expecting you in Dayton. They have a house for you. It’s roofless. You’ll find it quite comfortable, and you can rearrange the interior if you don’t like the way we’ve set it up for you.”
“Roofless?”
“Of course. We don’t have any rain here. And the dew during the light recession at night doesn’t accumulate. You’ll find it quite refreshing while you sleep.”(547:2-6)
“How am I going to get to Dayton, Ohio?”
“Well, you can take your pick. We can call up one of the transport birds that we brought here from Jerusem. You’ll find that a nice leisurely trip through the sky, with the wind in your hair. Or, if you’re in a hurry, we can get you one of the “air mechanisms of the Material Sons.” They’re closed-in, but they make good time–five hundred miles an hour. (521:1- 9, 486:6-9). Or, there’s a Midway Creature here from Urantia who has volunteered to transport you, also through the air. (832:30-31) He says he was associated with you a number of times on Urantia and wants to meet you in the flesh. I recommend the Midwayer. He can give you a guided tour en route. The birds are very bright, but they can’t speak.”
“I’ll take the Midwayer.”
“Very well. He’ll be here momentarily. He’s over the electric power station charging up (563:17, 862:38) Take care. Hope to see you again soon! Oh. By the way, welcome!”
As the Midwayer places his hands on your hips and lifts you skyward, he remarks, “It is not necessary to put your arms up.” And you retort: “Look! This is the first time I’ve ever been able to perform like superman, and I want to make the most of it. Give me a break!”
Below you, in the summer-like air, you behold a quiet untrammeled land. The botanic grandeur is an explosion of peacock color, delicious fragrances, and variform garden shapes. Splendiferous, yet stately constructions go by, so familiar,
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yet strangely different. Magnificent, ready-to-be occupied, and unpolluted cites and towns dot the landscape. Beautiful blue meandering rivers, are crossed ever and anon by irrigation canals, so contrastingly precise in their geometric patterns. Lush green fields roll away from the canals, and occasionally you spot farmers with weird-looking contrivances working the fields, but somehow at three times the speed of a normal tractor. (527:39-40) Somehow the vegetation seems outsized, giant.
Your heart gladsome; your spirit wistful, you think: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard such glories as this! Is this a movie? Are these George Lucas’ special effects? Talk about a cup runneth over! I mean this is a heck of a lot more than “green pastures and still waters”! And I’m a young man again! With hundreds of years to live! This is paradise! And I have the funny feeling I “ain’t seen nuthin yet!”
And this is what I get for just happening to live in this generation on Urantia! Luck of the draw, I guess.
AND TO
THINK: THEY WERE GETTING ALL THIS READY
WHILE URANTIA WAS FALLING APART:
No wonder certain grand tragedies seem to have such a fascination for man, and archetypal significance to boot. The Titanic: hundreds lost, a handful rescued. It was “unsinkable.” Or the Noah story: “let the whole world drown in its wickedness!” (874:44) Some saved on the ark, a fresh start. Or God’s promises to the Jews: no matter what happens to them, he will preserve a “remnant.”
On the other hand, the association with the Noah legend is not so far fetched at all, for a similar transfer of animals “two-by- two” as well as all the living species, fauna and flora, insect life and birds, both for the preservation of types and as traditional foods for flesh-eating man, will have to be accomplished long before the end of the world.
I suspect that this is the reason we have experienced so much UFO activity on Urantia this century, particularly since the 1950s. It also explains the UFO association with animal genital mutilations. (for sperm and eggs –this “two-by-two” stuff must be old fashioned now!)
Remember, there are 570 loyal worlds in our system of Satania, most far more advanced than we, whose peoples and spacecraft could be pressed into service to pitch in and help with Urantia’s “ark” problem. One of these inhabited worlds, presumably, is the world of the non-breathers described in Paper 49, as being “in close proximity to Urantia.” (564:10-12) Clyde Bedell insisted to me (from Dr Sadler) that this world was located in our solar system. We simply haven’t discovered it yet! And if they can build planetary “meteor shunts,” they must be pretty advanced. (563:22–564:12)
In addition, something extraordinary will occur to these transferred animals: the more vicious ones will be “pacified.” They’ll still be happy and adventuresome, but they’ll seem as if they had been “zapped.” Their brains will be altered during the rematerialization process to enable the first five Adjutant Mind Spirits to communicate more effectively with them, to control them. (401 :Section 6, 401: Section 5)
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The suckling child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.” Isaiah 11:6-9 (cf. Isaiah 65:25, Hosea 2:18, Ezekiel 34:25)
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THE “MANNA”
The idea of free food should not seem too strange to us, even though we are inclined to rebuke a child who has not finished his plate: “Do you think food grows on trees around here!”
As we labor to earn money wherewith to buy the food we eat, we forget that it is really God who provides this food, as we note when we say grace. The Master said, “When you are tempted to doubt the sureness of your bread, consider the ravens; they sow not neither reap, they have no storehouses or barns, and yet the Father provides food for every one of them that seeks it.” (1823:t8-21). We are also taught that the creation of natural food in some manner involves the conscious or unconscious volition of the universe Creator Son: “Michael multiplied food elements as he always does except for the elimination of the time factor and the visible life channel.”(1702:4-6) And the Papers further hint at the “living supervision” of nature. (1107:4)
The idea that the end-times Messiah will hand out free food is deeply rooted in the prophetic tradition. We see it for example, in the parable of the ten virgins which is very Messianic, and is found in Selta’s Apocalypse. (1915:40-41, Matthew 25:1-13) The Master himself further clarifies this provider-of-”manna” idea, when he makes reference to this parable of the ten virgins: “Then will the master make his servants sit down while he himself serves them.” (1824:7-8, Luke 12:37) And it was to such a prophecy concerning the Messiah that the Master referred when he rebuked the crowd at Bethsaida-Julius for attempting to make him king following the miraculous feeding episode. (1702:15-20,30-43). He also made “THE SECOND DECISION” in the wilderness not to transcend natural law, conscious that he was not the end-times Messiah whom we now await.(1515:42, 1518:33–1519:4)
GETTING THE EVACUATION WORLD READY
I think we have to be realistic about this provision of manna idea, however. I don’t see the Messiah on the evacuation world waving his hands over an empty basket which fills with “loaves and fishes” forthwith. As I indicated, I believe food will be produced by natural means involving some type of economy in which we must eventually labor for our food. It will just be a more pleasant and far less ruthless and greed- based economy than we have here.
In this same vein, I don’t think they have angels hammering houses together for us in Evaculand. We are now a civilized peoples. They can hardly transfer us there to camp out under trees in a garden environment!
In fact I think that is what the mysterious “Cosmic Reserve Corps of Destiny” is now doing, building houses, installing Services like plumbing and electricity, building administrative centers and paving streets. The Chief of Seraphim mentions this group as a sort of bracketed “aside” in Paper 114.
If you think disappearing people at the end of the world is going to be odd, I think we are already being treated to this phenomenon right now in order to man this Reserve Corps.
If you’re a plumber or an electrician and they need your skills to get the evacuation world ready, I think you just disappear while you’re asleep some night and they take you there. They tell you where you are and that your planet is about to destroy itself and you are needed to build houses for the other evacuees. I think they tell you you’re not obliged to stay, that they’ll take you back if you want, and that you will have no memory of this unusual occurrence in your life. Few ask to return to Urantia.
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I think this is what the Chief of Seraphim means when she says these mortals’ “insight of cosmic citizenship far transcends the sphere of their terrestrial abode.” (1258: 35-36) And the reference to them as “universe-conscious citizens” (1258:34) may well refer to the return of the broadcasts.
ANDOVONTIA PLUG US IN AGAIN!
You will recall that these broadcasts were available to at least the superhumans on Urantia until the Lucifer rebellion 200,000 years ago. And then: “Upon the actual outbreak of the insurrection the entire system of Satania was isolated in both the constellation and the universe circuits.” (607:34- 36)
The Universe Circuit Supervisor Andovontia just pulled a plug or threw a switch and that was the end of our “news” from all over creation.(413:30-36)
Adam and Eve missed them: “it was so lonely.” They “became painfully awake of their planetary isolation. Silent were the familiar broadcasts, and absent were all the circuits of extraplanetary communication.” (830:24- 39)
We who have never seen broadcasts can hardly miss them. Still, the Chief of Seraphim commiserates with us, “Urantia mortals should not allow the comparative spiritual isolation of their world from certain of the local universe circuits to produce a feeling of cosmic desertion or planetary orphanage.” (1258:38-40)
And she’s right in a way. The absence of these communications has made us cosmically neurotic. We still look askance at anyone who believes that UFOs involve beings from other worlds. What other worlds?
They showed these broadcasts to John the Apostle who was forced to describe them in first century terms with which he was familiar: “But it was of Salvington that John wrote: ‘And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices’–the universe broadcasts to the local systems.” (378:35-37, Revelation 4:5)
I think it was the return of these broadcasts to Urantia that this same John the Revelator referred when he wrote about “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1, 599:45-47)
I struggled to grasp the meaning of this for years. What could they mean by “a new heaven?” Were they going to re-locate Urantia to another solar system after the evacuation so that our entire night sky was different? That didn’t make sense.
And this term “new heavens and a new earth” is mentioned frequently in the Papers, and in scripture. “...the end of the world would be followed by the immediate appearance of the ‘new heavens and the new earth’ “...Master, we know that all things will pass away when the new heavens and the new earth appear, but how shall we know when you will return to bring all this about?” (1913:50-1914:4) ‘...the world was approaching its certain end and that a new heaven and a new earth were to usher in the establishment of the kingdom of God.” (1500:41- 43) “For, as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, so shall you and your children survive.” (600:2-4 quoting Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22) “All the worlds of Satania can join in the hope of the one who wrote: ‘Nevertheless we, according to His promise look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” (600:17-19 quoting 2 Peter 3:13-14). If it affects “all the worlds of Satania,” it has to be the broadcasts!
We are told that on Post-Teacher Son worlds, “The planet is in close touch with universe affairs, and its people scan the latest broadcasts with the same keen interest you now manifest in the latest editions of your daily newspapers.”(599:18-21) And remember, when they wrote those words in 1935, television news had not yet evolved
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on Urantia!
The return of these broadcasts to our little corner of far-out space is also obviously tied to the execution of the rebels. (611:35-36) I believe that they were executed just before the URANTIA Book was published in 1955. I will explain to you later why I believe this, and why they could not make a last minute amendment to the Papers to reflect this fact.
If that is the case, we can assume that the broadcasts are available now on the evacuation world to these 1000-plus mortals who are abuilding. And I think it was in anticipation of this fact that the Chief of Seraphim calls them “universe-conscious citizens.” (1258:34)
In fact, I think these broadcasts are essential on these architectural worlds to prevent a sense, of isolation and closed-in- ness. You see, with its insulating ceiling and 24 hours of continuous light, albeit lessened to a full-moon level for a quarter of the day (5t9:25-520:20), an architectural world is blind to the universe around it! You can’t see the starry realms through the electric ceiling because that is where the light is coming from. This may explain why the boy Jesus had such a fascination with the Urantia night sky (1360:46-48), for he too–as Michael–lives on an architectural world.
If you thought the faces were weird in the cantina on Mos Eisley in the movie Star Wars, wait until you see the universe broadcasts! Although, I think the merely mystical beauty of an “E.T.” with a face that only a mother could love, or the dude in Star Wars with an elephant proboscis for a nose, will be replaced by beings strangely beautiful in the more classic sense, for “All the worlds of a local system disclose unmistakable physical relationship.” (560:9) They will all be upright bipeds, most a little taller than us, with some varying from two-and-a-half feet tall to a basketball-natural ten feet. (562:22-29)
And if parents have difficulty now ungluing children’s eyes from glittering TV screens, wait until you get to the evacuation sphere where it will be the parents who are thus mesmerized! (522:10-12, 16-19)
And since we are accustomed to TV sets in our homes, we may even encounter here the “‘harp of God’ a morontia contrivance compensating for the inability to directly adjust the immature morontia sensory mechanism to the reception of space communications.” (539:31-35)
Has it ever occurred to you that by giving us the URANTIA Book now, with its unique variform descriptions of multiform events from one end of creation to the other, by pre-revealing to us all the amazing things and strange beings we are going to suddenly encounter when we wake up in Evaculand, they are easing the attendant culture shock? I mean, look at the stir the arrival of Adam and Eve caused! (832;13-15)
Are you really ready for this?
“LIVE FROM SALVINGTON! THIS IS UNIVERSE EYEWITNESS NEWS...” (371:42-46)
“LIVE FROM EDERTIA! YOUR CONSTELLATION FATHER WITH HIS DALLY WORD... (372: 3-4, 522:21-22)
GREETINGS! THIS IS SALVINGTON. THIS TRANSLATED BROADCAST IS BEING RELAYED TO YOU FROM THE UVERSA BROADCASTING SYSTEM...” (504:5-16, 522:23)
“LIVE FROM THE CENTRAL UNIVERSE...GOOD EVENING, I AM GRANDFANDA...SOME OF YOU ,MAY NOT KNOW ME...” (270:32-40)
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GREETINGS! THIS BROADCAST IS ORIGINATING FROM PLANET 70 IN THE OUTER CIRCUIT OF THE CENTRAL UNIVERSE. WE’VE JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT A DEITY PHENOMENON HAS OCCURRED. THE PARADISE CENTRAL SHINING...” (288:38-43)
“IT’S CENTRAL UNIVERSE NEWS, LIVE FROM HAVONA! NOW HERE IS OUR LIVING NEWSPAPER ANCHOR-PERSON, TERTIARY SUPERNAPHIM INTELLIGENCE COORDINATOR, WALTER CRANKASE! GOOD EVENING...WELL THERE’S LOTS OF NEWS FROM MY HAVONA GRAPH TONIGHT: WE BEGIN WITH...” (289:3-13)
“GREETINGS! I AM MAJESTON. THIS SPECIAL BRROADCAST IS COMING TO YOU FROM PARADISE. WE HAVE A LARGE CROWD TONIGHT FOR A SPECIAL TREAT...” (206:4-6, 522:23-26)
“GREETINGS JERUSEM, AND THROUGH RELAY, ALL NEBADON! THIS SPECIAL NEWS BROADCAST IS COMING TO YOU FROM THE UNIVERSE BESTOWAL WORLD EVACUATION SPHERE. ONLY A FEW URANTIA MORTALS REMAIN; IN NOW DESPERATELY CLINGING TO LIFE IN THE NUCLEAR WINTER THAT HAS ENGULFED SIN-DARKENED URANTIA...THE SENTIMENTAL SHRINE OF ALL NEBADON...AS YOU SAW A FEW MOMENENTS AGO, LIVE FROM SALVINCTON, GABRIEL HAS DISAPPEARED FROM THE DISPATCH FIELD EN ROUTE HERE... STILL NO WORD YET, HOWEVER, ON THE PLANS OF THE SOVEREIGN, MICHAEL. AS WE SAW HE REMAINS CLOSETED IN THE THREEFOLD MANSION OF LIGHT. AIDES SAY HE IS OVERCOME WITH GRIEF AND HAS BEEN COMMUNING MAINLY WITH THE FATHER. IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS HERE, LORD MACHIVENTA...” (522: 7)
One final note: are their receiving antennas tri-concentric? (522:5-8)
THE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS: LEARNING YOUR ABCs ALL OVER AGAIN!
So now, you can all the better comprehend that we were given the URANTIA Book, with revelations about beings, places and things we would not ordinarily see in person until millions and millions of years into the future of our ascension, so that we could comprehend and correlate what we will be seeing in the universe broadcasts. The URANTIA Book-as-primer, like a TV Guide: “You can’t tell the players without a program!” This is why the Chief Revelator tells us on page 1 (lines I3-14) that the Papers were written for us “to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception.”
But while our TV guide is in English, the broadcasts won’t be. They will be in Nebadonese, the universe language, which is why we will be spending much of our time on the evacuation world attending language schools to learn the Satania dialect of this tongue. (503:9-15, 631:20-23 , 537:12-18, 446:47-49)
Our teachers will be the Morontia Companions we would not ordinarily encounter until Number 5 Mansonia, and I am rather convinced that they will be visible to us. (546:28-38) You’d feel kind of stupid talking with an invisible teacher!
Thus, every surviving Urantian will acquire a second language, and of course, this will doubtless be the new universal language of earth when we come back–the language in which the Planetary Government of Urantia will conduct its business. (594:10-12, 746:45-747:2, 908:27-909:2, 1491:27) “Yea, at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord.” (Zephaniah 3:9) “And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” (1498:22-24 quoting Daniel 7:14)
Furthermore, I don’t think it is far-fetched speculation at all that we will also learn the superuniverse language and become multi- lingual, like our cherubim- Sanobim associates here on Urantia. (422:29-35). One the other hand, you could argue
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that we won’t need this language, as the superuniverse broadcasts are translated into Nebadonese. (504:7-10) In any case, we’ll be bilingual eventually, on Jerusem. (537:15-16)
Finally, we will see “The conquests of dialects–the triumph of a universal language.” (807:12) Note the ironic adjective “universal,” for the tongue we learn is truly universe-wide. No longer will our friends complain that “The Caligastia defection destroyed the hope of the world for a universal language, at least for untold ages.” (747:1-2)
An Archangel notes: “Language differences have ever been the great barrier to the extension of peace. The conquest of dialects must precede the spread of a culture throughout a race, over a continent, or to a whole world. A universal language promotes peace, insures culture, and augments happiness.” (908:40-43)
Remember also that language barriers prevent the inter-marriage and concomitant race betterment of the different genetic strains. They note in Paper 80 that even today, “the barrier of language prevented the full reciprocation of the various occidental nations.” (899:16-17)
The Chief of Seraphim here says: “Interbreeding between the highest types of the white, red, and yellow races would immediately bring into existence many new and biologically effective characteristics.” (920:35-37) She adds: ‘the real jeopardy of the human species is to be found in the unrestrained multiplication of the inferior and degenerate strains of the various civilized peoples rather than any supposed danger of their racial interbreeding.” (921:1-3)
They tell us “Homogeneity of the human race is not desirable until the peoples of an evolving world attain comparatively high levels of spiritual, development.”–(726:25-26). And we who have endured the end, and have been racially selected as the children of light, will be well along the road to this spiritual development; which we clearly do not now have, for “The attempt to execute such an experiment on Urantia under present racial conditions would be highly disastrous.”(726:19-21)
I think we may even get a head start on figuring out this language well before the end of the world! I think it’s “hidden” in the URANTIA Book. They tell us it has 48 characters in its alphabet. (503:28-29) They give us the occasional translation, like the meaning of “Andon” and “Fonts.” (711:12-14) And they give us a ton of words which are clearly from the universe tongue, like “morontia” and “frandalank.” It remains only for a bright linguist to get to work on the project!
RENOVATING URANTIA
While we continue to bask in this “marvelous light” of Evaculand, munching our free food, attending language school, watching the broadcasts and getting used to our new friends, something unique will be happening to Urantia.
The Master Physical Controllers will rejuvenate planet earth, which will by then have been restored to the universe spirit circuits. Bathed now in spiritual “light” this is going to be a very lush and different planet we come back to. For one thing, something I call “super-agriculture” will be possible. I’ll have more to say about that later, but you can grasp the “why” of it by reading Section 2 of Paper 4. (56:21 -57:35)
They try to explain what I’m talking about when they say: “the phenomenon of nature is the superimposition of the imperfections of progressive evolution and, sometimes, the consequences of insurrectionary, rebellion.”(57:11-12) And below that the Divine Counselor Chief of the superuniverse revelatory commission adds: “And nature is marred, her beautiful face is scarred, her features are seared, by the rebellion,
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the misconduct, the misthinking of the myriads of creatures who are a part of nature, but who have contributed to her disfigurement in time.” (57:32-34)
This is, of course, the “new earth” of the “new heaven and a new earth” we spoke about already, “the earth made new.” (1501:26) And you may see “great and relatively sudden climatic modifications!” (892:12)
How long will it take? I don’t know. I’ve indicated that it looks like “The Silence” will take about 21 years. Regions that have taken direct nuclear hits on Urantia may have to remain uninhabited for decades, unless the Master Physical Controllers artificially clean up the radiated soil. Nature has to come back from scratch. On the other hand, if you are going to live 300, 500, maybe 1000 years, if you are one of the elect, what does it matter if we don’t come back for a hundred years?
I mentioned already that I feel the revelators from heaven were proscribed in their mandates from directly revealing the impending fate of Urantia. And it’s rather intriguing how the mighty messenger of Paper 52 got around this proscription, while discussing the “new heaven and a new earth.”
At the bottom of page 599 she mentions this subject, and then tries to disguise it as an anticipated feature far far into our future, at “the conclusion of the terminal mission of the Teacher Sons.” Then she sticks in the bracketed phrase “at least that would be the chronology on a normal world” to excuse the fact that the first “new earth” comes after the end. She puts another giveaway atop page 600 when she says, “This is the same renovated earth.” Same as what? Same as the one fixed-up right after the end of the world? Obviously. She can get away with this little linguistic trick, because of the archetypal nature of prophecy. Often, prophetic phrases in the bible describe a succession of well-nigh identical events, because “he who does not learn from the past is condemned to repeat it.” So John’s vision provides dual service: he “saw” the renovated earth right after the end of the world, and he saw the spiritually “renovated earth” after the terminal mission of the Teacher Sons. His words describe both circumstances.
These revelators are a “gillion” times smarter than us, and they well know how to obfuscate and reveal at the same time!
The seers of old describe the rejuvenated earth in transcendent terms: “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing. And I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land...I will provide for them prosperous plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land.” (Ezekiel 34:25-29)
LORD MACHIVENTA AND THE NEW PLANETARY GOVERNMENT
I think our elected representatives who survive the end will still function on the evacuation sphere as national governments. But they will discover that the United Nations is replaced by Lord Machiventa as world “president,” acting Planetary Prince of Urantia, complete with a new cabinet of 12 completion seraphim who will not be visible to us, and probably with Van back here again in the role of Chief of Staff or Chancellor of the World Government.
Lord Machiventa first came to us 4000 years ago somewhat as an emergency religious figure–a trainer of evangelists in his Melchizedek school at Salem. On the evacuation world, we meet him as a monarch, a governor, the righteous king Messiah of Jewish tradition, minus the Jewish nationalism, the very Messiah that Jesus
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said he was not.
FIGURING OUT THE TWO MESSIAHS
No one problem caused Jesus greater difficulty in his career than the Jewish concept of the expected Messiah, and this was one of the factors in the Jews’ eventual rejection and murder of him.
Just as I mentioned to you that there are two “Sons of Man,” Jesus as Enoch’s Son of Man, and Lord Machiventa as Daniel’s Son of Man (1390:3-40), there are also two Messiahs: Jesus as the “suffering Messiah–Son of Joseph’, and Lord Machiventa as the righteous-king end-times Messiah. (1881:6- 22, 1884:47-1885:6, 1952:38-42)
Further confusing the issue is that they are both pre-existent divine personalities, (1347:9-10), both come in a salvific role to Urantia two thousand years apart, and the “second” is the “deputy” of the first, despite the apparent role reversal in this “suffering” business!
I mean, if the universe sovereign was a mortal like some mortals I know, he would have been more inclined to send his deputy to do the suffering, and save the glorified end-times rescuer role for himself! But the Gods seem to be more gracious and selfless–they do the dirty work in time, and give away the positions of material glory to their deputies.
Further confusing all this is that throughout scripture, many references to the Messiah could refer to either, and in many cases both Messiahs. Micah 5:2-4 describes the Messiah as coming forth from Bethlehem, however his reference to the “ruler in Israel” and the feeder of “his flock” idea clearly refers to the second Messiah. On the other hand, you can argue that it’s really Cod (Michael) who makes the food, and is the real Planetary Prince of Urantia. You simply can’t avoid this continuous ‘blurring” of the two Messianic roles.
Thus, separating the two Messiahs throughout scripture is very difficult, not as easy a time as Jesus had separating the two Sons of Man.
Further complicating these things is that “Jesus had been accepted by these believers as the Messiah, and the Jews knew little or nothing about a suffering Messiah. They did not understand that Jesus was to accomplish many things by his death which could never have been achieved by his life.”(1872:44 47)
Also compounding this dual-Messiah confusion was the editing and nationalizing of the Old Testament records by the Jewish priests during the captivity to make the “Messiah” a descendant of King David and, the future Jewish ruler of all the earth, neither of which is true. (1349:34, 1522:1-3, 1588:29-32, 1946:1-4)
Is it any wonder that even Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist, despaired and sent his message: “Are you truly the Messiah or shall we look for another?”! (1498:9-49, 1499:10-48, 1505:10-12, 1507:38-39)
In the face of the promise that the Messiah would stay to rule as righteous king, Jesus’ followers even refused to accept his death and departure as anything but temporary. They proclaimed him a “risen Messiah” partly because they figured he’d be back any day “soon.” (1864:22-24, 2067:27-30)
The confusion in Jesus’ own life starts with Joseph and Mary who differ on what kind of Messiah he’s to be. (1349:30-39). At 15, he begins to puzzle over the Messianic idea. (1391:2-7). Even as a boy of 16 “He knew he was not to become the expected Jewish Messiah. (1396:23-24). This culminates in THE FOURTH DECISION in the wilderness: he “would forbid that he further regard himself as the Jewish Messiah” (1521:46).
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We are told he ‘long sought to prevent his early followers alluding to him as the Messiah” (1523:22). Yet, he can’t separate his cosmic connection with the end-times Messiah, so he starts out his ministry proclaiming the kingdom of heaven as itself a dual phenomena, “A present reality,” and “A future hope”–the Messianic kingdom. (t858:26-30)
When confronted with direct questions on the subject he tries to avoid a direct answer. (1791:15-26, 1986:9-11, 1815:31-41)
Then, he gives up trying to avoid the problem. He “came clearly to comprehend that he never would be able to make his followers see him in any other light than as the Long-expected Messiah.” (1532:9-18).
He tries “to effect such a modification of their concept of the Messiah as would enable him partially to meet their expectations.” Then he realizes this “could hardly be carried through successfully,” so he goes to plan three: “openly to announce his divinity, acknowledge the truthfulness of Peter’s confession, and directly !proclaim to the 12 that he was a Son of God.” (1748: Section 5)
Further compounding the confusion is the role of Elijah as the forerunner of the end-times Messiahs “Jesus knew that, if they insisted on regarding him as the Messiah, then must John be the Elijah of the prophecy.” (1754:21-29) As I mentioned earlier he neatly deflects this issue by creating the typology of Elijah.
Finally, he gets one leg up on his Pharisaic tormenters. He makes oblique reference to there being two Messiahs, himself and the end- times Deliverer, as he turns the tables on the inquiring Pharisees, and dumps a conundrum on them based on the 110th Psalm, a “so-called Messianic Psalm.” (1901:40-1902:10) Incidentally, think the Midwayers call it thus, “so-called; because it portrays a wrathful and vengeful God who tramps his enemies under foot. It also confuses the two Messiahs by making Jesus the “deputy” of Melchizedek: “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (1017:7-10, 1024:12-20, Hebrews 5:6, 6:20, 7:17, 7:21)
Jesus notes the quotation accredited to King David: “The Lord (Michael) says to my lord: (Machiventa) ‘Sit at my right hand (Melchizedek as vicegerent Prince) till I make your enemies your footstool.’” Then Jesus blows them away by asking: “If David calls him Lord, how then can he be his son?” Incidentally, the confusion is even worse confounded by an apparent error in typing the Urantia Papers (God forbid!): In this last quote, the “L” on Lord should not have been capitalized. The Master’s question clearly refers to “lord.”
In any case, the text of this mixed-up 110th Psalm is why I call Lord Machiventa, “Lord Machiventa.” In a few years time he will indeed be the “Lord of all the earth” in Michael’s name, the Landlord.
THE
RESIDENTIALS ARE COMING!
THE RESIDENTIALS ARE COMING!
When we come back to Urantia not only can we look forward to Lord Machiventa and Van, who was himself last on the planet 37,000 years ago, I think we might also possibly see Van’s human associate Amadon back as well in some important capacity. (830:9-11, 833:13-14) Remember Van was “titular” ruler of Urantia for “over one hundred and fifty thousand years.” And we are told that on Jerusem he continues to serve “in behalf of Urantia while awaiting the order to go forward.” (760:24- 25) If my guess is correct, he still has a long wait:
But there will also be a whole galaxy of new superhuman residents on the planet with us, like in days of old, or more accurately, far transcending the days of old. As I indicated, I call them the “Residentials.”
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These will include,
A. 86 Trinity Teacher Sons! A “planetary” Son, “assisted and supported by seventy primary Sons, twelve secondary Sons, and three of the highest and most experienced of the supreme order of Daynals.” (598:31-34) These Sons “come forth from the Deities on the central Isle of Light and Life!” (223:19) We may also reasonably assume that these Trinity Teacher Sons will have a number of exalted Creature-Trinitized Sons with them as “student helpers” on the Urantia assignment. We will, of course “see” none of these classes of beings. That’s why we are going to have to have...
B. A large number of Brilliant Evening Stars! These superangels are absolutely essential to Daynal function. (408.1’8)- To communicate with mortals, the Daynals must “downstep” through two orders of beings, so exalted are these Trinity-origin Sons! The first is these Brilliant Evening Stars, who have a spirit communication capacity that is “field-like,” i.e. it extends over a field or range well away from their physical presence. The second order of being essential to Daynal function is...
C. The Secrets of Seraphington Creatures: (147:6-16) who will come in great numbers. I see these beings as having mortal appearance, yet of an almost shimmering violet or orchid hue in our newly extended vision like morontia life.(492:37-38) And we all will be on our careful guard when speaking with them (1314:9- 12), for we will never know at any given moment in a conversation with one of them, whether he/she is speaking to us in his/her own right, or whether a Trinity Teacher Son is communicating with us through the Secrets of Seraphington creature, via ,the spirit “field” of a superangel Brilliant Evening Star. A Perfector of Wisdom refers to our future interaction with these beings as their “personal experiences.” I’ll have more to say about them in a minute;
D. Vevona and the Souls of Peace! They will work behind the scenes in the invisible to teach us attunement in the place of atonement; (437:30-41)
E. Invisible Celestial Artisans! They could come here since they do eventually appear “on all spheres settled in light and life” (497:10). And we know they have been here before for the Archangel author of Paper 44 implies that our best music is due to “the celestial associates of your musicians, who left but snatches of these harmonies of morontia forces on record as the musical melodies of sound harmonics.” (500:25-27) I think we will receive one or more celestial musicians in spirit to whisper and hum in the ears and minds of our mortal composers, with their new sense of hearing, because the new earth will be a transformed world, ready for such phenomena, and “melody has a power a whole world to transform.”– (500:42). In addition to the celestial musicians, I have a hunch that we will also meet and work with, if only on the evacuation sphere, Celestial Artisan mind-energy manipulators to teach us how to use our improved mental telepathy capacity, (504:42-505:5), a better remnant of which we might well have had today had it not been for the Adamic default. (834:45-835: 3)
F. Adam and Eve as Vicegerents of the Second Adam of Urantia! Plus approximately 1236 of their offspring’, now 37,000 years old and held throughout this span of time on Edentia. (632:14-22) I suspect they will operate as couples, and reside in apartments constructed in the third or Spirit ring of the Temples of the Father in the major capitals all over the earth, which I’ll explain later. They will not reproduce, indeed, cannot.
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G. A new panel of 12 completion seraphim as Lord Machiventa’s cabinet, and which he is now busy selecting and working with. (1254: Section 6)
H. A whole bunch of distinguished visitors who will be here for the inauguration of Lord Machiventa as vicegerent Prince. The Master may or may not come as Michael, possibly accompanied by Immanuel of Salvington, Gabriel, all three Most High’s of Edentia, (599:43), Lanaforge our system sovereign who is already “a frequent visitor on Urantia” (511:16-36), the “Four and Twenty Counselors” (513: Section 4), and quite possibly Tabamantia, the inspector of experimental worlds(579:8-10) I also imagine that, possibly in connection with Phase 3, all these beings will be made visible to us, if only for a few moments;
I. Elijah, the assassinated end-times prophet and forerunner of the Messiah, back to function possibly as High Priest of the Temple at Jerusalem; and
J. Visitors from other inhabited worlds in this system. There are about 605 worlds in this system that reached man- mind status long before us. When they feel reasonably secure coming here in their UFOs and not expecting to be shot at or arrested, I expect we will see more of them. After all, we are the Universe Bestowal World, “the sentimental shrine of all Nebadon,” or as these neighboring planets call us: “the world of the cross!” (229:35)
Let’s now take a closer look at some of these future “Residentials” of Urantia.
TRINITY TEACHER SONS
We have now had incarnation visits from four of the local universe Sons and Daughters of Cod: Adam, Eve, Machiventa Melchizedek, and Michael, not to mention our two invisible and corrupt Lanonandeks, Caligastia and Daligastia. We are now about to receive from the impersonal and corporate Trinity, its “contribution to the antecedent efforts of all the divine personalities who have ministered.” (598:37-38)
They normally come “When the progress of events on an evolutionary world indicates that the time is ripe to initiate a spiritual age” (231:34-35), and/or after we “have gained comparative deliverance from the shackles of animalism and from the fetters of materialism.” (231:41)
It is very clear that they will come to Urantia “after the spiritual isolation of your planet has been terminated.”(231:32) And that will certainly be the case for the new each. In any case, their visit must be very soon, since these are extraordinarily bright beings who “even now (1934) visit your world for the purpose of formulating plans concerning their Projected sojourn on your sphere” (231:38-39) i.e. they have been planning now for 52 years! They will not likely require too many more years of “planning.” And these Trinity Teacher Son visits all the more imply the imminence of their actual arrival since “it is the practice to send forth advance groups of administrators to prepare the way for the subsequent and successive eras.” (642:38-40)
Their initial mission here will be for one millennium or longer, although John the Revelator thought in terms of just 1000 years for the first mission. (232:3-4, 598:35-36, Revelation 20:3-6) But they also appear to have a continuing association with us into the eternal future. (232:18-31) And we can certainly expect that as an eventual consequence of their visit here will be that translation-fusion will become commonplace, as Urantia is eventually “classed as of the primary modified order of mortal ascension.” (598:45-599:3)
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The fact that there will be a presiding “planetary Son” with his 85 associates leaves open the question of how this Son will relate constitutionally to Lord Machiventa in terms of sovereignty, power-sharing, etc., (he rules–they teach?) since ‘:The educational, economic and administrative systems of the planet are undergoing radical transformations” and “The function of government is chiefly directed to collective tasks of social administration and economic coordination.” (232:4-5, 598:41-42, 599:4-27)
We are told “They make real the spiritual counterparts of material knowledge and temporal wisdom.” (232:1-2) They bridge the gulf between us and the Trinity, (214:23-25) and they will supremely coordinate for us our “circumscribed” view of Universe reality: origin, history, and destiny,” and will help us with “moral enlightenment and spiritual development...spiritual awakening and moral guidance.” (215:1-37, 230:30-33)
Their ministry is “intimately related” with that of angels, and they are “closely associated” with our ascension, (230:33-35) so the Seraphim here will probably benefit as well from their imminent ministry.(231:16) Yet, strange to report, they will draw on the Spirit of Truth, for “Daynals do not possess a spiritual drawing power in and of themselves.” (230:45-49)
They don’t reveal much to us about how the Trinity Teacher Sons actually teach, but a Perfector of Wisdom says they have some kind of mysterious “circulating teachings” and they are described by the Chief of Archangels as “superteachers.” (286:41, 384:14) They appear to be of the nature of “university professors,” even including a penchant for the administration of “examinations.” (231:11-25) They are even “the tried and true teachers of the ,,Sons of God themselves.” (231:28)
As I mentioned, they will be invisible to us and will require two stages of “downstepping” just to communicate with us, Brilliant Evening Stars, and the Secrets of Seraphington Creatures. Still, they will teach us “consciously,” and they may have associated with them Inspired- Trinity Spirits who liaison with them to teach us “superconsciously,” and “creature-trinitized beings” helping them as well. (220:29-221:12, 231:18).
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to attempt to communicate with these Trinity-origin beings who are the “embodiment of service and the discretion of wisdom!” (230:41-42)
BRILLIANT EVENING STARS
As I indicated, “Evening Stars serve as liaisons between the mortals of the realm and the invisible corps of Teacher Sons.” (408:6- 7) They are an essential part of Trinity Teacher Son missions. (407:11-12, 524:22-25) They have spiritual capacity of the nature of an energy “field,” (407:30-32) and this enables the Teacher Sons to “be in two places at the same time.” (407:12-13)
It appears they can contact material reality where we live because Gabriel sent one of them, described as ‘an angel of the Lord,” to rescue the early teachers of the gospel. He “by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth.”(407:15-18, 865:25-28, Acts 5:19)
They “serve in many capacities but chiefly as liaison officers of Gabriel.”–(407:3-4).They attend a lot of meetings that he has to miss as his representative, and “one or more...function as his representatives at the capital of every constellation and system in Nebadon.” (407:5-6)
Two thousand years ago they were handed a big assignment which I mentioned in connection with “The Silence”: “Since the return of Christ Michael from his triumphant bestowal on Urantia, Gavalia has been assigned to the ascendant mortal
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ministry, and for the last nineteen hundred years his associate, Galantia, has maintained headquarters on Jerusem, where he spends about half his time”(407:35-37) directing “many ascendant activities” (408:45-47, 491:16-17)which “undoubtedly presages the future concentration of other ascendant activities on the bestowal world.” (409:8-9)
We are also told that “so many of their activities were transferred” from Salvington to seven successively elevated circles fifty Jerusem miles in diameter, with a crystal headquarters for Galantia. The word “headquarters” implies a substantial staff, yet we are not told how many are there. If over 10,000 Brilliant Evening Stars are located on system capitals, and at least another 100 on constellation capitals, this leaves only 3541 to attend all those meetings on Salvington for Gabriel, or from which group Galantia can be provided with some helpers. (407: 9-24, 525:47-48)
How ever many there are on Jerusem, there must be quite a few if they are to render the “entire world...spiritually fragrant.” (526:7- 9) There are plenty of other Universe Aids, (406:18-25) but if they are involved in this Galantia headquarters, none of their activities are mentioned.
It would appear therefore that there is very little space in this 50 mile circular structure which is being utilized. It would also appear therefore that whatever Galantia and her associates are planning will require space for a lot of beings. Could this be some kind of staging area for “The Silence”? I think so.
So these superangels still seem very mysterious. We can understand their “spiritual field” association with the Trinity Teacher Sons, but we don’t know very much more about them. Perhaps we can gain a better picture of their work by looking at their even more mysterious associates, the Secrets of Seraphington Creatures.
SECRETS OF SERAPHINGTON CREATURES
There are no things in all the Papers more interesting or fascinating than these mysterious beings that they refuse to tell us very much about. This is because the authors’ words that they are ‘near orders of existence” (147:15), “such closely related beings’, are tantalizing. They’ve revealed the existence to us of just about every being who is closely associated with us, so why all this hush-hush about another closely related being? It may well be because they don’t minister to humans directly, they minister to nature. On the other hand if they are one key link in the communication chain between Trinity Teacher Son and mortal, they have to be able to talk with us, to be recognized by us, and to be somehow involved with this “teaching” function.
I think the fact that we will “see” them in the new earth is obvious in the Perfector Of Wisdom’s words that they are “as yet not revealed,” which clearly implies that they eventually will be.
As to their nature and function we can see that what they do is “phenomena-like,” (147:16) and is further descried as “personal experiences.” (147:13) Also remember these beings seem to function in two classes, for the author tells us that “THE SECRETS OF SERAPHINGTON involve a threefold mystery, only one of which I may mention” (147:6-7). Thus, it could be that what one of the two groups does is “phenomena-like,” and what the second group does involves their “personal experiences.”
It is also clear, since Seraphington is their “destiny sphere,” that they must “minister” in some sort of fashion.
It seems likely that they are the “unrevealed Dual-origin Beings” of “The Stationary Orders,” however we cannot rule out the possibility that they are Ascenders like us, and are the “Unrevealed Ascenders” of “The Ascending Orders” of Dual-origin beings, (331:34-45) or the “Unrevealed Ascenders” of the list of Single-origin Beings (332:1-10) And, of course, if they come from Dual-origin stock, they reproduce.
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They may well be fusion candidates perhaps fusing with one of the types of Father-created “prepersonal entities” which “have not been revealed on Urantia” and as such they could well be one of the “numerous evolving types of nonmortal beings,” our “kindred-creature personality” (8:5) as the Chief Revelator calls them. (1181:43-1182:3)
It appears that these creatures can look to an ascension scheme which elevates them some day to the superangel status of their former associates in Trinity Teacher Son work, the Brilliant Evening Stars. And they are probably the “types of supermortal material beings’, which can see the Brilliant Evening Stars, (407:21-32) and may even have a conscious awareness of the “spirit field” of these superangels. As such, they probably occupy the seventh circle of the angels on Jerusem, and are also probably the “certain other forms of intelligent life” of the inhabited worlds. (565:25-26 On the other hand, they could also be the “certain co-ordinates of the Brilliant Evening Stars,” a division of which serves the Trinity Teacher Sons in the Second Jerusem Circle of the Sons of God. (524:24-26).
I want to continue to pursue this idea that there are two different groups of these creatures, one which does something which is phenomena-like, and the other which has “personal experiences.” I also want to speculate about their place in the order of creature existence.
I suggest to you that, whatever they are, we could not relate to these beings in the Trinity-Teacher-Son-Brilliant-Evening-Star chain, unless at least one of the groups has ‘form and distinct individuality,” someone we can “see,” if only barely, and talk to. And I think that’s the guess with the one group which has the “personal experiences.” This is the group associated with the Trinity Teacher Son Missions. (106:41-47)
The other group, the group engaged in “phenomena-like” activity, I think will not be visible to us on the new each. As such, they could well be the “other unrevealed creatures” which “might be termed MINDAL AND PHYSICAL ENEERGY PERSONALITIES,” beings which manipulate these two energies, and which are mysteriously “nonresponsive to spirit gravity” but which are distinct entities in the Father’s personality circuit. (334:19-22).
I am going to speculate that when they extend our vision range on the evacuation sphere, they will make it reach just barely to the “personal experiences” group, and not to include their next cousins in the chain, the Seraphim, nor the second ‘phenomena-like” activities group. Guardian Seraphim couldn’t very well function as guardians and “circumstancers” in our lives if we saw, or were conscious of their work.
They didn’t tell us where to fit them in in the serial association away from man and material reality out into morontia reality. So the following chart is simply my speculation. (425:5-10, 545:33-34, 423:13-16, 422:5-10)
Incidentally, while we are on this subject of “seeing” these creatures with our mortal eyes, you may wish to note an interesting fact concerning our vision. We “see” material reality and other mortals around us because the Life Carriers designed for us “antennae,” eyes, which would “react” to reflected “light” off the various surfaces we happen to be viewing, an object or a person. Why did they choose these particular wavelengths, visible light from red, orate, yellow, green, blue to violet for our vision range? One of the reasons is that these frequencies are strongly emitted by the sun, but are not significantly absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere. There are waves in the radio spectrum which also fill this bill, but they’re not suitable for human vision because there’s a principle in physics that says two objects cannot be distinguished from each other, have no depth of field relationship, if the distance separating them is much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation being used to view them!
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Thus, they used the visible light range to create for us the world in which we live, see, react, and have our being because the atmosphere is transparent to these wavelengths, does not absorb them. Contrastingly, however, they have chosen a region of the electromagnetic spectrum in which to have “their” being which behaves just the opposite:
Let’s move on out past the color violet and on into the invisible near, middle, and far ultraviolet into what is called the extreme or “vacuum” ultraviolet, just this side of x-rays in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The near ultraviolet is used to excite fluorescent pigments in paints or dyes for special effects in advertising, decorating, or the theater–so-called “Day-glo” effect. It is also used for inspection purposes in industry to detect flaws in machine
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parts, and finally, to detect invisible laundry marks or those invisible stamps-on the wrist one gets on entering night clubs to facilitate re-entry should one go out to the car or elsewhere.
The middle ultraviolet is what gives us our suntans and sunburns, whether coming directly from the Monmatia solar orb, or from artificial “sun lamps,” which produce this wavelength. Similar lamps are utilized for destroying molds, sheetmetal inspection for pinholes, and the making of blueprints.
Now we are starting to get to those regions of the ultraviolet spectrum which are highly dangerous to man, particularly if he is over-exposed. Nature, most living plants do not fare well when exposed to these wavelengths either. This is the region for which the Papers tell us a layer of ozone exists to protect us from these harmful energies coming from the sun. They refer to them as “dangerous and destructive.” (665:27-38)
This is the far ultraviolet which must obviously be used with care when it is artificially created in mercury lamps for germicidal effects, to reduce the count of airborne bacteria, or to destroy living organisms on or near the surface of perishable products in storage, or on pharmaceutical products.
As we move into the extreme or so-called vacuum ultraviolet we are getting into even more dangerous energy levels, not far from X-Rays, to which over-exposure can result in sterilization and other serious consequences to mortals.
Yet, as you can see from my diagram that is where most, if not all of our unseen friends live and have their being, where the “morontia” is to be found, the vacuum ultraviolet. And the farther you go toward the x-ray end, the harder it is for our unseen friends to make such a being visible to humans, even with the energy manipulation capability of a Master Physical Controller.
That’s why they tell us that as Jesus transited to ever-higher stages of morontia throughout the period of his post- resurrectional experiences or appearances, “it became, technically, more and more difficult for the morontia intelligences and their transforming associates to visualize the Master to mortal and material eyes.” (2041:3-8)
Yet, I am saying that these same energy levels are harmful to humans!
How is it then that a seraphim or a midway creature can stand right behind you, inches away, and yet not harm you by the reflected vacuum ultraviolet energy coming from her body?
The answer is to be found in a most peculiar fact of physics. Ordinary air, mostly nitrogen and oxygen, is opaque to wavelengths in the vacuum ultraviolet as the chart on the next page indicates.
It’s as if nature automatically draws a protective windowblind down between you and the superhuman being. The only way she can harm you is by getting too close, touching you, especially for an extended period of several seconds. The energy reflected off her is totally absorbed by the air between you. And that’s why they call this region the vacuum ultraviolet–its wavelengths will only pass through a vacuum, a total absence of air.
And that is why Jesus quickly exclaimed to Mary Magdalene at the resurrection as she prepared to throw herself at his morontia feet, “Touch me not, Mary, for I am not as you knew me in the flesh.” (2027:4- 5) Had she ignored him, and touched the feet, she might very well have received a severe burn on her hands!
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Therefore, if my speculation is correct, this all means that the Secrets of Seraphington “personal experiences” creatures will be just barely visible to us after our vision range is extended–an almost shimmering, transparent, wispy or fog-like being, with not clearly definable features, and of violet or orchid hue.
And you will ‘see” them, as virtually all our friends only when they are very near you, within a few inches or feet. As they back away from you, they will just seem to gradually disappear into thin air.! And within only a few inches or feet from you! You won’t see Midway creatures flying on the horizon across town, “Hey you, get off my cloud!”
For this reason, they may take some getting used to just popping up, appearing out of nothingness when you least expect them. It may well be that they will use their voices to announce their arrival while still invisible in the distance, sort of letting you know they are approaching, so that it isn’t quite a shock!
Let’s now pick up our discussion of the Secrets of Seraphington group which I have labeled as the one which has “personal experiences, and which I have suggested will be just barely visible to us.
We’ve established that they are connected with the Brilliant Evening Stars, and through them, with the future mission of the Trinity Teacher Sons here. They probably work with the “local universe personalities who are associated with the Trinity Teacher Sons,” since “contact with the world of visitation (is) maintained through the activities of the Brilliant Evening Stars. (232:7-9)
I also suspect that these Creatures, while of origin in the Infinite Spirit, and/or associated spirits, eventually gain immensely from this personal Association with the Trinity Teacher Sons and someday become the “Deity-trinitized Sons” who “are unrevealed in these narratives.” (243:9-15). We can assume this because they don’t seem to be included in the group of “Trinity-Embraced Sons (Paper 22, P.243-244, Section 1), and could hardly be, if they are near orders of existence to us, counted among the “Creature-Trinitized Sons” (Paper 22, Section 8, P.251-2), since candidates
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for this honor are “the diverse progeny of the multiple liaisons of seven finaliter corps and Paradise-Havona personalities.” (251:30-32)
They may also be involved in some mysterious way with the Morontia Companions since these Companions function “in numerous other realms not at present revealed on Urantia.” (547:16-17)
Their association with the Trinity Teacher Sons, as well as these Morontia Companions (547:11-17), also implies that they work with them and the finaliters as the “intelligent creatures” (633:12-13) in the management of the reconstituted mansion worlds in a Light and Life system. Therefore their work certainly appears to be very spiritual in nature.
They may also have an administrative capacity which would suggest some involvement with Lord Machiventa’s world government. Could these Creatures be those “Unrevealed angels” who occupy 41 of the 49 Seraphic Worlds on Salvington and who function in six orders (420:1-24), “wholly occupied with the administrative and other affairs of Nebadon.” (420:12-13)?
Could they also be the Creatures, “for the greater part unrevealed” who seem to appear on the garden world constellation capitals where they are described as being involved in administration? (485:29-33)
If they have administrative skills as a part of their personalities we could also expect to find them, as I indicated, in some way involved with the new government of Urantia. It may well be that because of their ability to communicate with Trinity Teacher Sons through Brilliant Evening Stars, they would be valuable as staff to Lord Machiventa.
I presume they would not repeat the technique of bringing 100 corporeals here a second time, as they would not have this communication capacity. We must also remember that provision is made normally for the reproduction by the corporeals, along with their cousins, the Primary Midwayers, of “certain high types of material beings who remain attached to the prince’s staff after their parents (the corporeals) have been removed from the planet at the time of the arrival of Adam and Eve.” These beings are also described as semi-material. (574:40-47, 744:12-23)
They don’t make it clear in the Papers whether these Creatures are here now functioning on Urantia, or are destined to come to the new earth, only that they haven’t been revealed “as yet.” (147:13)
Since these Creatures are also cousins of the Seraphim and count Seraphington as their destiny sphere, even they too may have the capacity to transport other beings, for ‘There are numerous types of beings, similar to the seraphim, who are able to traverse space, and who also are able to transport other beings who have been properly prepared.” (433:35-37) I also suspect that, as such, these Creatures are the “certain others” who, along with midwayers, can travel at twice the speed of light, (260:44-46) although we can’t rule out the possibility they could also be the “similar entities unknown to you” who can traverse space at fantastic velocities, like Solitary Messengers.(376:40)
Well that’s about all I can tell you about the Secrets of Seraphington Creatures, of that one group which has “personal experiences” and which I expect we will see and relate to on the evacuation world and the new Urantia. Let’s now turn to their equally puzzling brothers or sisters, the other group that is involved in phenomena-like activity and which, like the seraphim, will continue to be outside our range of vision, even after it has been extended.
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NATURE’S GARDENERS
Despite the fact that nature to us seems so random, so unpredictable, and in its variegated whimsy, so utterly lacking in any suggestion of the involvement of intelligent mind in a “gardener” sense, there is evidence and hints in the Papers that it may not be so random after all!
As I pointed out earlier, we are taught that the creation of natural food in some manner involves the conscious or unconscious volition of the Universe Creator Son, (1702:4-6) and that this volition seems to be exercised by beings described only as “agents,” but clearly associated with the “natural” making of wine, as well as the hurried-up production of miraculous wine. (1530:47-50)
Could it be that these Creatures involved in the “phenomena- like” activity are the “living supervision” of nature hinted at in the Papers? (1107:4) Could they be the keys to the super-agriculture on the new earth which I will get to in a minute?
Could they be some type of Findhorn-type nature spirits, little “fairies” who work their own peculiar magic in Urantia’s out-of-doors?
Perhaps they are involved in some way with the “superphysical adjustment” of animals to their environment. (737:47). As such, they would be functioning as the “superphysical associates” of the Adjutants.(738:15-17).
This involvement of mysterious, unrevealed “fellows” in the management of nature (521:17) appears also in the animal and plant life of Jerusem in its “creative adaptation, and in its “no survival of the fittest.”(521:10-17)
This may also be why the Midwayers want us to worship God “in the tabernacles of nature.” (1840:25)
Yet, whatever these Creatures do with or for nature, they are clearly not simple gardeners like the spornagia on Jerusem (527:35- 528:39), but rather are ‘the morontia helpers who labor for the upkeep and embellishment of all morontia creations.’’ (523:10-11)
ADAM AND EVE
I am rather inclined to the view that Adam and Eve will also come back to Urantia as Vicegerents of the Second Adam of Urantia. (1025:28-31) They hardly lived here but a little over five hundred years, and therefore hardly even began the age they were to supervise. And, they have been rehabilitated by Michael.
If they do come, we have to wonder about their relationship with Lord Machiventa as Prince. Confusing the relationship among them is that Lord Machiventa will be visible. He’ll be in a mortal body, and Adam and Eve therefore will not be I presume, “The actual and literal heads of the planetary regime.” (632:5-22) Will we see “a union of the educational and administrative work...a new and effective order of world administration. (588.5-16) Will they “pay particular attention to the physical, scientific, and economic status” of Urantia? (588:23-24)
Will we finally be able to attend their “garden schools...devoted to practical arts, fundamental intellectual training, social culture, economic development, trade relations, physical efficiency, and civil government”? (587:10-15) Our evacuated children are going to have to continue attending school in Evaculand. Maybe they are even now getting these schoolhouses ready there?
The Mighty Messenger author of Paper 55 speculates that only “a son and daughter of the Urantia Adam and Eve” will be returning to Urantia with Lord
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Machiventa. (632:5-22) He further notes that they will not reproduce here, since “they were deprived of procreative powers” when they were taken from Urantia 37,000 years ago. (632:20-21)
I am inclined to see this as a much larger number. Like their parents, these Adamics never even had a taste of Urantia life, and they’ve been stuck on. Edentia ever since, where Adamics don’t normally operate in any numbers. (415:17-18)
Calculating the precise number of Adam and Eve’s children coming back, however, is difficult. They had “1647 pure-line descendants” when they left the garden.(834:21-22) Of these, two thirds chose to go to Edentia and have been there for these 37,000 years. This gives us about 1087, plus, the younger children of “pre-choice age” (844:37-38) which we are told resulted in a grand total of “more than three fourths of their children” (844:46), or at least 1236.
I am inclined to think they all will be coming back because the original plans called for Adam “to establish racial, continental, and divisional headquarters to be in charge of his immediate sons and daughters, while he and Eve were to divide their time among these various world capitals as advisers and co-ordinators...etc” (827:15-20)
There would be little point in telling us what these screwed up plans were, unless they also resembled future plans. I therefore deduce that Adam and Eve will live in Jerusalem, but will travel a lot. I also conjecture that the Adamics everywhere will live in well-appointed apartments probably in the outer or Spirit ring of the Temples to the Father located throughout the world.
COMING HOME FROM EVACULAND–THE NEW EARTH
As I have indicated, when we encounter Lord Machiventa for the first time on the evacuation sphere, we will discover that he has a body of flesh and blood, just like he did 4000 years ago. (389:20-22, 1025:19) That’s why they say “appear on earth.”
I think he will be more inclined to function as a governor rather than as a religious figure, although in Jesus’ day “the more learned Jews” looking forward to the Messianic kingdom, “thought of him as ‘prophet, priest, and king.’” (1509:30-33) We will simply have to wait and see.
I would expect some sort of state ceremony on Urantia upon our return, to inaugurate the well-nigh eternal regime of Lord Machiventa as “Vicegerent Planetary Prince of Urantia.” (632:14-16) It appears that Lord Machiventa will be properly crowned with some type of headpiece, although he will probably rarely wear it, except perhaps on ceremonial occasions, for “the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord.” (Zechariah 5:14)
Will Machiventa be installed as “prince” or as “Sovereign”? (631: Sect 7) In any case, a Mighty Messenger says when we reach the era of light and life, ‘no doubt Machiventa Melchizedek...will occupy the seat of the Planetary Sovereign.” (632: 14-16)
As I indicated earlier we will probably have some distinguished guests for this momentous inauguration, not to exclude Michael himself if he decides to come.
I would expect on that day the 24 Counselors will be retired from planetary overcontrol and management, although they will continue to supervise the other rebellion-tossed worlds of Satania.
I think you will also see the Vorondadek observer also move on to other duties
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to be assigned by the Most High Fathers of Edentia, since his role as emergency overseer would have been superseded by the arrival of the vicegerent Prince, a new “Son of standing in residence.” (611:21)
Jerusalem, the new world’s capital will be greatly enlarged. Lord Machiventa will have his palace-home on the very site where the first and second Jewish temples stood, i.e. atop Mount Moriah where a Moslem mosque now stands. And the city will also be known by the name “Melchizedek.” (Jeremiah 33:16)
The Jerusalem Temple of the Father will be located on the very site where the Master breathed his last, and it will be spectacular: tri-concentric, with the very center circle, the “sanctuary of the Paradise bestowal Son” (622:14-15), marking the “holy of holies.” In this sanctuary three crosses will stand, with statuary mounted upon them, everything exactly as it looked on that tragic day 2000 years ago.
The second ring in the temple will be a vast dining and banquet hall supported by extensive kitchens, where you and I shall sit down to eat with Lord Machiventa and the kings and presidents of the earth.
The Jews saw these banquets 2000 years ago with great clarity, especially the Essene Dead Sea sect. More about them in a minute. They called these meals “Messianic Banquets.” Indeed, finally will we see the fulfillment of the Master’s original wishes that instead of sitting in cold, sterile edifices for Sunday worship, we will celebrate ‘the Lord’s supper after the manner of its establishment.” We will assemble “for a social meal of good fellowship” and partake “of the sacrament at the end of the meal.” (2067:36-38)
The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, who prophesied from about 594 B.C to 571, saw this temple and its operation in a vision. He got some things clouded, but in many respects he was right-on. For example, he saw it as a perfectly square temple, instead of circular, but he got the symmetry right! Here’s a few other noteworthy hits, and remember that he had to interpret what he was seeing through 6th century B.C. eyes and comprehension, in a day in which animal sacrifices were mandatory:
A. “the most holy place” (41:4) is, interestingly enough, the inner of three courts, just like our sanctuary of the bestowal Son;
B. “the side chambers were in three stories” (41:6); the Dalamatia and Edenic temples were three stories high too;
C. Vestments appear as a liturgical feature, unless Ezekiel was seeing the cooks changing from their “whites” to street clothes, which I am more inclined to believe; (42: 14)
C. Recall that I said Messiah’s palace will be on the ancient temple mount, with the new temple centered on Golgotha to the north and west; as such, the Prince (called the God of Israel by Ezekiel) enters the temple from the east side (43:1-5), which seems to be reserved exclusively for his comings and goings, (a4:1-3) although that could be doubtful, as it is the front door of the temple (47:1)
D. As I mentioned, there will be giant kitchens and dining halls in the Son ring. When Ezekiel saw these kitchens, the unfamiliar grills in his mind became the “slaughter tables” (41:42-43, 46:19-20), and 46:24 reads literally “These are the kitchens.”
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E. Ezekiel’s seven days of atonement and altar consecration complete with a variety of burnt offerings was probably his interpretation of seven days of celebrating and Messianic banquets at the inauguration of Lord Machiventa; (43:18-27) Reference to the Messianic banquets hosted by the Prince is seen again in 44:3,16, and in 46:4-5;
F. It appears that in the new temple at Jerusalem, the ancient role of priest has become cook, waiter and janitor (44:11-14); and 44:17-19) reads like the donning of cooks’ whites, and the trimming of hair for hygienic reasons;
G. There shall be no drinking in, nor drinks brought to the Holy of Holies; (44:21) but if you are caught violating this edict, I doubt you will meet the fate of the drunken gentile who was murdered for “unwittingly” entering the sacred precincts, an event which shocked the boy Jesus with its absence of justice; (1382:7-12)
H. The Latter Day Apostles of Jesus, like those of old, it appears, will have “all things in common,” or shall at least live off a modest stipend from the temple (44:28) and handouts from admiring believers (44:29-30)
I. Ezekiel 45:1 reads like a requirement for a “divine commons,” a “holy district”; the Prince gets the land on both sides of the holy district (45:7) and, like the Pope in Vatican city, doubles also as the “Mayor” of Jerusalem;
J. It appears that tithing will be the accepted method of contributing to the upkeep of the temple, (45:13-16), but when we attend the Messianic Banquets in the temple, the Messiah foots the bill! (45:17, 22-25)
K. The “Passover Feast” shall see the Sinaitic Passover of the ancient Jews eclipsed by the 20th century Deliverance Feast of the former evacuees of Urantia; (45:21)
L. There seems to be some special once-a-week ceremony at the “Prince’s Gate”; (46: 1-3, 8)
M. There also seems to be some kind of crowd control as well as a ceremonial procession on the Sabbath, and one of the feast days, like Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: (46:9-10)
N. It also looks like the Prince and the temple foot the bill for your breakfasts too, should you be visiting in Jerusalem; (46:13-15)
O. It hardly seems probable, but not impossible, that Lord Machiventa will take a wife and propagate ‘little Melchizedeks,” but this certainly seems to be the interpretation of 46:16-18, that gifts of land to “sons” are permanent, while gifts to servants are deemed to be leaseholds- without-rent for such times as the individual wishes to occupy the land;
P. The temple will have fountains which appear to flow into the brook Kidron (47:1-12) and have an almost miraculous life-nurturing effect, “because the water...flows from the sanctuary”; (47:12, cf. Revelation 22:1-2)
Q. The Trees of Life line the river; (47:7)–”very many” of them–and “Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month...Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing”; (47:12, and cf. Psalm 46:4-5)
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R. The description of the “boundary of the land” in 47:15-20 pretty much takes in all of present day Israel and Lebanon, with a small added chunk of Syria to the north, and Egypt to the south;
S. This will not simply be the land of Israel, it will be an international settlement; (47:22-23) and
T. In chapter 48 Ezekiel envisions the new land with the world’s capital at its center, laid out in successive strips of land for the “12 tribes of Israel,” which never existed anyway, except in Jewish tradition; (URANTIA Book: 1071:39- 40) I interpret this parceling as probably “national zones,” from which the resettlement and rebuilding of Urantia will gradually go forth in successive waves.
They give us a dynamic picture of life under the Messiah on page 1491: an end to war, more individual liberty, less taxes, fewer regulations, “global regulation of money and trade,” a “global language,” an eventual “global religion” and “good will among all men.” Are you ready for that? (Hosea 1:10, Jeremiah 3:16)
Indeed, our new existence back on Urantia will be “pleasant and profitable’, with “degeneracy and the antisocial end products of the long evolutionary struggle... virtually obliterated.” (599:4-5) As “society more nearly approaches the ideals of social brotherhood and spiritual equality.” (599:9-10)
TREES OF LIFE AND SUPER-AGRICULTURE
Also coming back to Urantia with us in great numbers will be Trees of Life. (825, Section 6).
The elect and probably most of the superhumans will be dependent on its fruit for sustenance and longevity for the long haul into the future 1000 year mission of the Trinity Teacher Sons. (1015:39-47)
In the prophetic tradition, these trees are described as having a magnificent fragrance and beautiful giant golden fruit, and their leaves are medicinal, “for the healing of the nations.” (825:32, Revelation 22:2, Ezekiel 47:7, 12)
As I mentioned, Ezekiel saw these trees lining a new river flowing through Jerusalem, which, from descriptions appears to be the brook Kidron, fed from an almost miraculous-like fountain which flows from “below the threshold of the temple” (Ezekiel 47:1-12, Zechariah 14:8) Joel also makes reference to this fountain, “and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the valley of Shittim.” (Joel 3:18) God knows, with a name like that, it may need a lot of water!
As a result of the spirit circuits being restored and bathing Urantia in the spirit light of the celestial realms, combined with the effective removal and/or reduction of sin here, will result in the rejuvenation of agriculture beyond our wildest dreams.
The effects of this “super-agriculture” are described in the Papers: “the earth will yield its fruits tenthousandfold, and on one vine there will be a thousand branches, and each branch will produce a thousand clusters, and each cluster will produce a thousand grapes, and each grape will produce a gallon of wine. (1518:45-48 quoting 2 Baruch 29:5)
And note, the Midwayers call this “legends of wonders” because of the obvious hyperbole, exaggeration, and because the Master had then just decided that he was not going to do this: that “He was not a Messiah coming to multiply bread and wine.” (1519:1) This leaves us with the distinct assumption and conclusion that the second
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or end-times Messiah will do this.
“And every seed that is sown on her, one measure will yield a thousand, and one measure of olives will yield ten measures of presses of oil.” (1 Enoch 10:19)
So it appears that the miracle of the loaves and fishes is just a preview, in the face of the “increase” that future farmers can expect:
EMERGENCY
MELCHIZEDEK “NORSON”
AND THE FATE OF CALIGASTIA
The Universe Sovereign Michael waited 200,000 years for his erring sons, the rebels, to repent–all to no further avail. That was the celestial opinion of 50 plus years ago, as of 1935. (611:38-39, Paper 54)
It wasn’t until the horrible consequences of these eons of sin–the self- destruction of a planet, Urantia’s imminent end, that steps were taken to deal with the rebels. (611:11-36) And remember that these legal “steps” before the courts of the superuniverse began in 1935. These trials have been underway now for 51 Urantia years! It is not far-fetched at all to speculate that they are over with now, that the rebels have been executed.
While the URANTIA Papers state that Caligastia is still free on Urantia, I am of the view that, like Satan in 1935, (611:21-29) he too was arrested and taken off the planet, maybe even executed, just shortly before the Papers were published in 1955!
The superhuman authors could not amend the revelation to reflect this fact, prior to its publication, because their mandates limited them in time. (354:43, 1319:15). In other words, they had to describe universe and planetary circumstances as they existed up to, and in 1934-35.
To make my point, I must now reveal more information from the Divine Letters Latent, the “extra” communications, which has come to me during my 14 years in the Urantia movement from unchallengeable, albeit mortal, authority.
The last formal message which the contact commissioners received came from our unseen friends, the revelators, in early January 1955. For several years then the “Book” had been ready to go. The Forum had taken up a collection and other contributions had made possible the casting of the Papers on nickel plates. But these plates had been stored in a printing plant in Indiana for years! The Forum and the commissioners had patiently waited for the go-ahead, to print the Papers and give them to the world, an event some of them thought was going to turn the whole planet upside down with excitement:
The last message they ever received, the go-ahead-and-print- the-Book message, came in January 1955. The being who transmitted the message was of powerful demeanor, and formidable no-nonsense personality. He introduced himself, and communicated as follows, words something along these lines:
“I am Norson. I am a Melchizedek. I am Planetary Prince of Urantia. While I am not positive that now is the time to publish these Papers, you may publish them if you receive no further communications from me before the first of October of this year.”
Dr. Sadler was somber as he took this information to the Forum: “I think we have received our last message,” he counseled them. And then as the divine silence lingered on for weeks, then months and on into years, he was driven to remark: “We were so alone!” And, of course, as the first day of October dawned over the city
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of Chicago, the printers who had been alerted to the imminent go-ahead, started the great platen presses up in Crawfordsville, Indiana and a few days later, on October 12th, Forum-ites walked out of 533 with great armfuls of Books they had bought in advance, to fund the first printing.
And I really am surprised that none of us over the years who have known about the Norson message, never once noticed the great revelation it contains:
We can’t have four Planetary Princes! (514:13-23) We have Caligastia, shorn-of-power but free to visit (as of 1935) still holding the title “Planetary Prince” because no superuniverse court had taken it away from him as of then, and he had not resigned it; (610:4-9) we have the Master having won the title “Planetary Prince of Urantia” by his bestowal; we have his vicegerent Planetary Prince, Lord Machiventa; and then, out of the blue comes a Melchizedek who says “I am the Planetary Prince of Urantia!”
There is only one possible explanation. Just before the Papers were published in 1955, the superuniverse courts reached a verdict in the Gabriel-versus-Caligastia case: “He is shorn of his title; he is to be executed forthwith,” or words to that effect.
So the last of the rebels, Caligastia and Daligastia, were taken into custody on Urantia about 1954-ish or just a little earlier. They and Lucifer and all the rebels are probably dead now; “...you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.” (Ezekiel 28:19, 611:39-46)
This was the last impediment which finally freed Michael and Gabriel’s hand. If they wanted to appoint a sitting Prince over Urantia, they were now free to do this unqualifiedly, and to give him the title.
Well, they had Lord Machiventa waiting in the wings, and as we have seen, the destiny is his. He would have been the logical choice to move into place. But remember, he is pre-occupied on the evacuation world and on Jerusem planning his future administration, which will appear on the scene “suddenly.”
I can see Michael and Gabriel having a conversation something like this: “We know the end is at hand; Machiventa is to busy preparing the Messianic Kingdom to also sit as Prince and supervise the myriads of events associated with the evacuation and Phase 3. Let us leave Machiventa alone to do that and appoint an emergency Melchizedek to run things until the eschaton. Urantia has evolved, with the hydrogen bomb, a hitherto non-existent capacity for bio-destruction; while the Vorondadek Observer has done a sterling job on several emergency occasions, (1253: Section 4) let’s put one of his elder brothers, a Melchizedek in there with the temporary title of Prince, so that he will “appear on the planet of assignment with the full authority of the Bright and Morning Star.” (386:27-28)
And thus, I hold the opinion that the Vorondadek Observer, the Governor- General, and the Commanding Archangel have all handed their powers over to this Emergency Melchizedek, and it appears that these events of earth were timed to occur just as the superpowers of earth had acquired sufficient nuclear weaponry to destroy the biosphere, i.e. the 1950-54-ish period!
THE MANDATES SAID: “HUSH, HUSH!”
Sonarington issues pre-bestowal mandates for incarnating Bestowal Sons. (1330:18). Immanuel of Salvington added to this in preparing a written commission for Michael’s incarnation here, parts of which are quoted to us in Paper 120.
We know also that the superuniverse revelatory commission which wrote Part 1
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of the Papers, also had a “mandate” with a minimum of 16 “proscriptions,” at least one of which allowed room for the superhuman discretion of the revelators; “If deemed wise...etc” (351:17-19, 16:41)
I think it is fair to speculate that the local universe commission, which wrote Parts 2 and 3, and the Midwayer commission which wrote Part 4, also were in possession of mandates limiting what they were to reveal and not to reveal, and I doubt very much that our mortal contact commissioners ever saw these mandates.
I think we can also reasonably conclude that Michael himself, and certainly Gabriel, had a hand in drafting these mandates, for “a Michael-bestowal world becomes the individual and personal ward of a Master Son and, as such, is wholly subject to his own plans and rulings” (227:20-22, cf. 241:31-45), and, of course, Gabriel takes a keen interest in our affairs. (370:26-27)
I therefore speculate that one of the local universe, or Midwayer commission mandates read something like this:
“The impending “end of the world” on Urantia may not be directly revealed, nor discussed as such; however, if deemed wise, oblique reference may be made to these events in order to clarify or cast a clearer light on the scriptural records of Urantia.”
And that’s why they beat around the bush on this topic, taking up the discussion of it on pages 1500-1501, without in any way stating their opinions on the subject, pro or con, and also for example, telling us how John the Baptist struggled with the Messianic Age as described by Daniel, again without indicating where they stand. (1498:19-49)
And this is why they make mysterious statements throughout the Papers on this subject, like referring to our “unrevealed planetary destiny” (1086:27) and telling us that “Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs (“epoch”=“New Age”) of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment” (2082:34-36)
When they refuse to expand on, and barely “touch” so awesome and formidable a subject, which is pan-cultural and pan- religious on this planet earth, we are forced to conclude that something mysterious is going on. Like Arte Johnson on the old ‘Laugh-In” show, with his German helmet and cigarette, I am inclined to remark: “Very interesting!”
MORE CLUES: DISGUISING THE END AS “EPOCHAL REVOLUTION”
Can you not see that the almost agonizingly slow, unexciting, well-nigh dismal growth of the Urantia movement is, in and of itself, evidence that this growth is being held in check? That the Spirit of Truth, the Thought Adjusters, and Seraphim alike are carefully and precisely involved in this rate of growth? Even Norson implied that he thought 1955 might be too early to publish the Papers.
We’ve sold about 150,000 Books since 1955! Today, no book publisher would even consider printing a book unless he could sell that many copies in one year! As book sales go in the publishing world, The URANTIA Book would appear to be a dismal failure.
And this is, of course, because the Book is really}, intended for the Fifth Epoch, the next age, coming soon to a planet near you.
To prove my point I am going to refer to one last collection of sentences, again, from the Divine Letters Latent, only tiny fragments of which have survived in accordance with the wishes of the revelators.
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The last living contact commissioner, Christy, authorized Martin W. Myers, the current President of URANTIA Foundation, to quote four such paragraphs from the Divine Letters Latent, in a talk to the First Urantia Society of Los Angeles (FUSLA) on June 29, 1973. I reproduce here those profound words:
“The URANTIA Book is a feature of the progressive evolution of human society. It is not germane to the spectacular episodes of epochal revolution. The Book belongs to the era immediately to follow the conclusion of the present ideological struggle. That will be the day when men will be willing to seek truth and righteousness. Then the chaos of the present confusion has passed, it will be more readily possible to formulate the cosmos of a new and improved era of human relationships. And it is for this better order of affairs on earth that the Book has been made ready.
“We must learn to possess our souls in patience.
“We are in association with a revelation of truth which is a part of the natural evolution of religion on this world. Over-rapid growth would be suicidal. The Book is being given to those who are ready for it long before its world-wide mission.
“In the meantime thousands of study groups must be brought into existence. Thus will the Book be in readiness to comfort and enlighten the peoples of the world when the battle for man’s liberty is finally won and the world is once more made safe for the religion of Jesus and the freedom of mankind.”
From: “UNITY, NOT UNIFORMITY,” by Martin W. Myers copyright 1973, URANTIA Foundation
The identity of the actual ‘speaker” or “writer” of these words is unknown to me, but I speculate it was either the Divine Counselor who headed the superuniverse commission, or Mantutia Melchizedek, who chaired the other two.
Note first how they linguistically refer to the “end of the world” which, as I am suggesting to you, they could not directly do. They call it “spectacular episodes of epochal revolution.” If it’s a “revolution” so radical as to effect “spectacular” geo-political change and even provoke the end of an “epoch,” we are not talking about something on the order of the Russian “revolution” which affects merely one nation, this revolution touches the entire planet!
Then, they go on to suggest that this “revolution” will cause the end of the ideological struggle, the momentous tug-of-war between communism and capitalism. Whatever ends that, considering that the two chief adherents and leaders of this worldwide tension are armed-to-the-teeth, and still arming, is going to have to be “spectacular” indeed!
What they have said by implication is: “This Book is not an emergency revelation in anticipation of the eschaton. It has nothing to do with the end. We’ve been planning for this book all along. It’s part of your progressive evolution.”
They make it very clear that the Book belongs to the “era,” in the fifth sentence called “a new and improved era,” i.e. the “New Age,” immediately to follow the revolutionary conclusion of the present struggle with atheistic communism.
This word “immediately” finds its parallel in the description of the “impending ‘crisis,” as described by a Melchizedek and Daniel (1071: 14-16), followed by ‘the immediate establishment of the everlasting reign of righteousness, the Messianic Kingdom.”
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Then, they describe this new age: men will be spiritually motivated. The “chaos” and “confusion” of the end will have been forgotten. Throughout the whole world (“cosmos–and considering the Residentials and the broadcasts alone, that’s quite a descriptive word, cosmos) we will have “new and improved...human relationships.”
Then, they repeat that the Book “has been made ready” not for now, but for “this better order of affairs on earth.”
Christy selected passages which call for our ‘patience,” and avoidance of “over-rapid growth” which would prove fatal to the revelation.
The idea of “natural evolution” is repeated. And you may be surprised to note that the ancient Jews indeed foresaw this revelation, The URANTIA Book as a key part of the Messianic Age. Back then they called it the “Messianic Torah” which Elijah prophet-of-the-end-times was to give to the world!
Then, we get our marching orders: “thousands of study groups must be brought into existence.”
Finally, they conclude with ominous and forbidding phrases, clearly forecasting a horrendous struggle on earth. We are talking about “the battle for man’s liberty,” the “freedom of mankind,” not just the struggle of empires, a couple of world wars! No way! And they make it clear that this is the final battle, a battle so profound that the whole world will be changed, “once more made safe for the religion of Jesus and the freedom of mankind.”
Are they talking about a worldwide communist regime?
Whatever they are talking about it lends tremendous solemn import to Daniel’s ‘fourth kingdom on earth” of the last days. It “shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down and break it to pieces. (Daniel 7:23)
If there is any good news in Daniel concerning the events of the end, it is that this somewhat worldwide communist regime will last only three and one-half years. (Daniel 7:25)
GEO-POLITICAL EVENTS OF THE LAST DAYS
When it comes to assessing and predicting the geo-political events that will characterize Urantia during its final seven years, assembling a composite whole-picture is not all that easy.
Christian apocalyptist Hal Lindsey takes a stab at this in his three books, ‘The Late Great Planet Earth,” “The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon,” and “The Rapture,” which are worth reading. Note, however, his incorrect depiction, and coloration of the eschaton as being caused by a fed-up God, rather than an iniquitous mankind. He also errs somewhat, I believe, in his depiction of the Antichrist.
Also of interest are the two new volumes on Nostradamus, by Jean-Charles de Fontbrune, “Nostradamus: Countdown to Apocalypse,” and “Nostradamus: Into The Twenty-First Century.” As a scholar, and with the thoroughness of his research, de Fontbrune stands head and shoulders above all others who have attempted analyses of the writings of this 16th century French seer.
These new studies of Nostradamus’ quatrains give a jumbled, almost incoherent- as-to-sequence-of-events, yet very detailed mosaic of these upcoming world events. I have been working on and off for years to break the code by which Nostradamus
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systematically scrambled his quatrains into an out-of-time- sequence jumble. So far, to no avail,
This paper is already too long, so I will not go into copious details about all the possible scenarios that could lead this planet to its pre-visioned fate and glorious recovery by an almost deux-ex-machina God who rescues us at the end. I will give simply a brief outline of the scenario toward which I presently lean. You are free to contemplate these things and work them out for yourself, remembering that the Spirit of Truth will “even show you things to come.” (1951:47-48)
I see two more world wars, World War IV is the end probably about 1997 or so, maybe a little later.
In World War III, which has to be soon, the USSR, in league with the Arab nations, will invade and take Europe, Palestine and North Africa. The United States, ironically, will not participate in this war! America will withdraw and remove its troops from Europe, right at the outbreak of hostilities, to the great consternation of England and all of free-Europe.
It appears that this American reticence will be the result of nuclear blackmail, which is possible even today, since the Soviet Union now possesses nearly four times the nuclear throw- weight of the United States, about 13,000 megatons versus 3500 megatons.
We now live in an era of geo-political stasis called “MAD–Mutually Assured Destruction.” It’s based on the “horrendous destruction” idea that nuclear war is unwinnable. It works because each superpower thereby holds the other superpower’s peoples “hostage.” Part of the understanding that has made it work so far is that both sides agree to mount no civilian defense effort, and no anti-ballistic defense network. The Americans have largely lived up to this, the Soviets have not, they have elaborate Civil Defense plans in case of nuclear war.
As soon as either side can develop a good anti-ballistic missile defense, this MAD stasis automatically collapses, and nuclear war becomes thinkable and winnable again, in the minds of strategists. One superpower can then entertain the heady notion that it can attack, and not be seriously hurt in a counter-attack.
President Reagan is pushing “Star Wars,” the Strategic Defense Initiative, just such an anti-ballistic missile system because, he argues, there is good reason to believe that the Russians have already developed or are developing their own. That may or may not be so, but it doesn’t matter anyway! The stasis is clearly changing, nuclear stability is being slowly destabilized on Urantia, with all its horrible consequences.
It appears then, that the USSR, hating taken free Europe, Israel, and North Africa in World War III, enters into a concord of socialist government with these conquered territories, add the already-under-foot Warsaw pact nations. This conglomeration is the two-footed final empire, the one-clay-foot, and one- iron-foot image of Daniel in his second chapter.
The clay-foot, or puppet ruler of the conquered European nations, is presumably the “second” beast of Revelation 13:11-18. As to who the first beast is, I’ll come to in a second.
And remember, it appears very clearly in the URANTIA Papers that it is the so-called ‘smiting” of this great “image,” the feet of which represent the final empire, that triggers the “world crisis.” (1071:14-16, 1863:35), and which is now impending.
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We can glean a few other clues as to the timing mechanism of these events from the various prophecies concerning the Popes.
It appears that the incumbent John Paul II will be a victim of the third World War, killed after he flees to France. (Nostradamus)
In accordance with the predictions of the 11th century papal prognosticator, “Saint” Malachy (1094-1148), you can expect two more Popes before the end. John Paul’s successor will probably not be of the white races, and the last Pope, prophetically nicknamed “Peter the Roman,” will be a tool of the Antichrist.
IS GORBACHEV THE ANTICHRIST OF THE END-TIMES?
The worldwide antagonist of the last days has picked up the nickname “Antichrist” through the Christian era. Most religious scholars believe that this represents both an anti-deity ideology, and a real person.
If he is a real person, and if the end of the world is only ten-Plus-or-so years away, then he could well be on the ground right now, or just emerging in world affairs.
John said the “number” of the Antichrist’s name would be 666. (Revelation 13:18)
The Revelator is referring to ancient numerology, clearly labeled in the URANTIA Book as pure superstition. (1681:11-12) Yet in John’s day, numerology was a popular inheritance from the surrounding Greek culture brought to the region by the conquests of Alexander. We can assume that John, who sat at the very feet of the most gracious source of truth this world has ever known, is not advocating numerology, he is just using one of its tools, the “number of a name” to get a larger message across. In exactly the same manner, Nostradamus uses astrological terms in his quatrains, but clearly does not himself believe in it.
When you take the identical ancient methods of numerology, which have been preserved and are available to scholars today, the same calculating tool that John used, and when you apply these methods to the following name, you get a very surprising result:
MIKHAIL SERGEYEVICH GORBACHEV = 999!
That’s right! 999! Which is 666 upside down, and we are talking about a reversed-philosophy being, an Antichrist, an “upside down Christ.”
John was also permitted to “see” this man, this very end-times antagonist, and he tried to describe him. He wrote: “One of its heads (the beast) seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed. (Revelation 13:3)
Could John have seen Gorbachev’s characteristic port-wine stain on the forehead which, to a first century mortal, could well be described as having the distinct appearance of a lance blow, complete with the definition shape of running blood, all healed over and made smooth again, yet retaining the “mark.”?
The author of the Apocalypse of Elijah in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha also appears to have seen the Antichrist and described him as a “young lad, having a tuft of gray hair at the front of his bald head.” (Apoc. Elijah 3: 16) The physical description is right on, and Gorbachev is the youngest ruler of the Soviet Union since Malenkov. (Lenin was 47 years old when he acceded to power. Stalin was 44, Malenkov was 51, and Gorbachev was 54) Just a “young lad.”!
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FAIR IS FAIR!–GOD IS MALE AND FEMALE EQUALLY
Before concluding this paper, I want to suggest to anyone of the female persuasion who is reading that women too, stand to see tremendous advances in the equality of the sexes on the evacuation world and the new Urantia. (Typical male chauvinist–he leaves it till last!)
We simply must come to see the absolute equality of women (1683:7-8)
I think this is partly what they mean when they talk about “the social order...which is destined to undergo reconstruction.” (1087:27-28)
“For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman protects a man.” (Jeremiah 31:22) Women will also once again enjoy painless childbirth. (714:7-8, 847:12-15, 850:44-46, 935: 46-47, 1 Timothy 2:15, and 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch 73:7)
THE ESSENES MIS-SAW IT ALL!
The first century ultra-conservative Essene sect of Judaism, which set itself apart from mainstream Judaism in monasteries in the desert region about the Dead Sea, saw itself as the end-times generation. (1534:46- 1535:2)
Unfortunately, while they correctly anticipated a divine bestowal, they got their prophecies of the two Messiahs blurred, and were anticipating the King Messiah instead of the suffering Messiah, even our Lord, who really came. (1872:4-47, 1535:11-13)
Yet, for some mysterious reason their scriptural writings, flimsy leather scrolls were, apparently accidentally, preserved for twenty centuries until the middle of this century, in apparent anticipation of the real end-times. This remarkable preservation, now the oldest known collection of scripture, was probably effected through the work of the historicity council of the Mortal Reserve Corps of Destiny. (1258:24)
One of these scrolls is named by the archeologists, “11 Q Melch,” signifying that it came from cave number 11 in the collection from Qumran, and deals with the subject of “Melchizedek.” The scroll provides two new bits of information about this “Melchizedek,” that is to be found nowhere in the Old or New Testaments.
It describes this Melchizedek as a pre-existent superhuman being, and as having some kind of end-times eschatological role as Redeemer or Deliverer, final victor over the forces of evil!
Isn’t it ironic that this information, and a lot of other prophetic information about the Messianic Age, just happens to turn up now!?
YOUR ROLE IN THE DRAMA
This brings us to the last question–what role will you have in this cosmic drama on Urantia?
I suspect that many, if not most, of the ‘elect” will be selected from among dedicated students of the URANTIA Book. I don’t know how they will qualify these so-called “dedicated” readers, or whether they will include un-dedicated readers who “are merely playing with this revelation,” to quote Paul Snider in his outgoing speech as President of URANTIA Brotherhood. (cf. 1923:27)
They will need a racial and national balance of teachers. They can’t all be Americans, Canadians, Australians and a few Europeans, those nations where the Book
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seems to have caught on a little better. Many of the elect, particularly those from other foreign nations may never have seen the URANTIA Book, until they get to the evacuation world, and will accordingly, teach while they themselves are learning.
Suffice it to say, that your faith will certainly put you among the rescued righteous, unless you’ve got real genetic problems. And if your career planner, your architect of destiny, even the indwelling Thought-Adjuster-Father-Himself has laid plans for your involvement, and if your will can be consecrated to this cosmically unique task–you will be there!
The prophet Daniel of old saw this day and your labors in the vineyards of God: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3, 1445:50 - 1446:2)
And other prophets described this very generation in glowing and transcendent terms: “Oh most blessed, whatever man will live to that time!” (Sibylline Oracles, Book 4:192), and “thrice happy was the man, and four times blessed!” (Sibylline Oracles, Book 8:164)
And the only “price” you will have to pay is that you will lose your “agondonter” status, for then you will “see,” truly, with the “eye of spirit.” (578-79)
It remains only for you to be a diligent student of the great revelation, and continue to grow spiritually, by small daily increments of love, doing “little” things for people until the Lord of All the Earth calls you to the even greater work.
In conclusion, you can now perceive why the Master did not install some type of visible but superhuman government here, one which we could “see,” when he successfully rescued the planetary titles from the clutches of the evil-one two thousand years ago.
Such an installation would have been in order, consistent with their normal supervision of inhabited worlds. There was no observable reason to leave us as agondonters. The Gods and all their associates remained obscurely hidden to us, glorious phantasms that we prayed to, without a clue of what they even looked or behaved like, at the risk that others might think us crazy for talking to apparently unreal beings, yet knowing deep down inside by some magical conviction that they were real, and benign too, that they loved us.
Caligastia had been unseated. Even though free to roam, he could hardly have contended, say, with 100 new corporeals and a powerful Prince.
Instead we got the Spirit of Truth, the universal outpouring of Thought Adjusters and two thousand more years without visible concrete divine guidance or rule.
The Father refused to interfere with the assassination of His Son here, in order that a transcendent revelation of His love for mankind might be made manifest.–(60:41-45, 2016: Sections 4, 5).
It is obvious now that the Gods also foresaw this now imminent “certain end” (1500:41) of Urantia, and have similarly decided not to act to prevent it by divine authority, so that they could similarly use this horrible tragedy as a vehicle to
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reveal their providential divine love.
After all, it is a perfect circumstance to make a fresh start, to substantially reduce, almost wipe out sin and evil, correct all our genetic problems, to put an end to having to deal with “emergencies” on Urantia, to get us back into the mainstream of creation again, and not least of all, show us a little love!
When we wake up on that beautiful and glorious evacuation world with our new bodies and changed-circumstances-of-life, meet our fantastic rescuers face to face, I doubt not that we will enthusiastically accept their new regime,–even the most powerful nation on earth will capitulate willingly and cheerfully, without one iota of nationalism, to the world rule of Lord Machiventa Melchizedek!
Can you imagine the difficulty they would have had attempting to install this new regime on earth today? By just suddenly appearing on the scene? The first thing we would have done was kill them, or try to arrest them as “aliens,” trying to take over Urantia!
IT’S BITTERSWEET!
Some of my colleagues in the Urantia movement see the ideas I have about the impending end of the world as “negative.” “You’ll harm the Urantia movement,’ they warn. ‘How can anybody prepare or plan for the end of the world?” But you must plan! Only, the plans are spiritual, inside yourself, not stocking food and guns to fight off food marauders! Fear not! They will take care of you!
The only readers who see the end of the world as a “negative” concept are those who are so materialistic that they can’t see the far better earth that emerges from this cosmic metamorphosing cocoon.
John the Revelator tried to describe his feelings about the end and the new earth when they showed it to him. He characterized this event as a little scroll which the angel commands him to eat. She warns: “it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” (Revelation 10:9) Note the food intake reversal! Digesting in the stomach, it is “bitter,” the sweet taste OF honey in the mouth comes after this stomach discomfort.
Don’t feel bad if you experience this sensation. When I came to the convictions that the eschaton was impending, I felt like someone had just kicked me in the stomach. It quickly went away when the spiritual taste of the honey of the new earth began to circulate in my head, but I’ll always remember this bitter-sweet experience, for ironically, that is what the end of the world truly is.
“Quivering on the very brink” I like that word “brink,” it means the edge of a steep place. You either fall to your death, or you “fly,” you ‘mount up with wings like eagles,” (1444:47 quoting Isaiah 40:31)
And that s what this paper is all about!
May the Master’s PEACE be with you, always!
APPENDIX
Since completing “THE END OF THE WORLD! AND THE COMING BESTOWAL SON” in August, 1986, I have continued my research into prophecy and The URANTIA Book and have made additional exciting discoveries about the imminent world evacuation and Messianic Age on Urantia.
This Appendix will address, and provide a study guide for, three of these:
A. The unprecedented “flesh” resurrection of past martyrs at the eschaton, to live out to the full their violently interrupted mortal lives, on the evacuation world and the new earth, and their identification as the “Elect”;
B. The unprecedented (in the universe) “flesh” resurrection of the so-called “unjust,” i.e. non-survivors, at the end of the world, and their consignment to a mysterious “Second Death”; and
C. Two separate clue systems in the Papers pointing to roughly Feb 4th, 1998 as the date on which the final mortal left alive on Urantia will breathe his/her last, the nuclear exchange having occurred about 45 days earlier, around November 21st to December 21st, 1997.
There is, normally, no “reincarnation” in all creation for mortals.
The midwayers even make a point in noting that Gabriel, in certifying Lazarus’ transit back to mortal life: “made record of the first instance on Urantia, and the last, where a mortal creature had been resurrected in the likeness of the physical body of death.” (1846:37-39) In a moment I will prove that there is a semantic “straw man” here, in that these words, as precise as they are, do
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not rule out “the likeness of youth,” with extended vision, hearing, longevity and universal healing, the future destiny of the survivors of the eschaton.
Furthermore, you will note that page 339-40 of the Concordex under “rein- carnation” (page 384 in the new Concordex), lists a whole pile of other references in the Papers making it absolutely clear that normally, you could forget any idea of dying, and then coming back here to live again, somehow, as a mortal. But this is no normal world! It is the Universe Bestowal World.
It should be no surprise, therefore, that there are several references in the noncanonical apocalyptic literature, and the canonical 01d and New Testaments, but more importantly, in the Urantia Papers, which clearly point to a physical resurrection of bodies at the end of the world! We are not talking body-to-morontia transits, we are talking reanimated flesh bodies coming out of graves! And I’ll explain “noncanonical” later herein.
For openers, you have Isaiah 26:19, “Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.” And this, in a clearly Messianic context of deliverance from off the earth, (Vs. 16-18): “We have wrought no deliverance in the earth,” followed by reference to the dew-like light of the evacuation world, (519:33 – 520:21, especially 520:4-6), “thy dew is a dew of light (Vs. 19), and indeed, to the idea of the remote hiddeness of the evacuation sphere, “hide yourselves for a little while” in “your chambers.” (Vs. 20-21)
You’ll also recall that a Melchizedek tells us that the writings of the two Isaiahs, minus the Jewish nationalism and racial egoism in them, “would have prepared the way for the recognition and reception of the promised Messiah,” (1070:25-26) i.e. they are directly relevant to the end of the world.
Then we have Ezekiel chapter 37–his “dry bones vision.” The description of the reanimation of mortal bodies is vivid. We’re talking “breath,” “sinews,” and “flesh,” and the reference to these “slain” clearly implies that they were martyrs of some cause. The language is unequivocal “a will open your graves, and raise you from Your Staves ... I will bring you home etc..” Remember, morontia resurrection is in no way associated with the former mortal body, does not require the opening of any graves. (Ezekiel 37’12)
“I will ransom you from the grave; I will redeem you from death.” (1446:12-13, quoting Hosea 13.14). And note the third paragraph on page 13 in my paper.
We also have the Master’s parable of the absent householder, where Jesus, referring to the stone “not made with human hands” (the Messianic kingdom, the kingdom in its fullness, Phase $) says, “And there is a mystery about this stone, seeing that whoso falls upon it, while he is thereby broken in pieces, (slain as a martyr) shall be saved etc.” (1894:27-30) See pages 9-10 in my paper.
We see again oblique reference to the persecuted martyrs inheriting Phase 4 of the kingdom in the beatitudes: “Happy are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (1570:39-42, 1575:34-37, 1860:3-5, paralleling Matthew 5:11-12, and Luke 6:22-23).
Then we have the Master’s mysterious prophecy at the Ordination, and which he later repeats to the twelve en route to Magadan Park, leaving no doubt that he is speaking literally of a future amazing and transcendent event.
At the Ordination he says: “Even now is the kingdom at hand, (kingdom-within- you idea) and some of you will not die (!) until you have seen the reign of God
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come in great power.” (1569:24-25, i.e. the kingdom in its fullness, Phase 4). When they talk “power” in the Papers they are normally talking sovereignty, the omnipotence of God, not spiritual wonders like miracles, He says “the reign of God.” When I first read these words “the reign of God come in great power,” I thought he was referring to the future resurrection of Lazarus, and his own resurrection and glorious appearances. But he couldn’t be, because he says “some of you will not die,” and only one apostle then present, Judas, did not live to see most of this glory, the Master’s own self-resurrection and appearances. Yet he clearly said “some,” plural! What could this mean?
Then we note on page 1760:20, again alone with the twelve, he echoes this motif: “but whosoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s, shall save it,” i.e. shall save his “life,” even after he is dead!
Then he adds, “Nevertheless, many of you now standing before me shall not taste death till you see this kingdom of God come with power.” (1760:25-26) So that makes it absolute! Judas only will die before the Master leaves, so his reference to “many of you” clearly refers to a larger group of them. And we must conclude, therefore, that the kingdom coming with “power” is not resurrections and future miraculous appearances. He is talking Phase 4, the Messianic Age! And since this kingdom in its fullness and “power” has not yet come, we must conclude that this group of “many” apostles, plus the dead Christian martyrs, indeed anyone who has been cut down in the past two thousand years on the battleground of divine truth and witness, are not dead! They’re only in suspended animation until their deliverance, back into mortal bodies at the end of the world!
I thus conclude that the following five apostles will be alive, in mortal bodies with us on the evacuation world and will return to Urantia with us: Andrew, Peter and his wife, Philip and his wife, Matthew Levi and Thomas! (1550-63). James Zebedee is a possibility, but I discount him, because even though he was the first of them to be martyred, the Midwayers note: “James lived his life to the full,” (1553:35), which may simply mean that the Zebedee brothers have already ascended as a group, and will continue to ascend together.
Isn’t that incredible! Think of the delight of the archaeologists alone, They will talk with individuals who have first hand knowledge of events, situations, and the lay of the land in first century Palestine, not to mention first hand knowledge of the personality and teachings of the Master himself! It also means that we will personally meet, talk with, and be taught by, these same apostles!
Now you can understand why the Midwayers make specific reference to the “later Jewish concept of a world-wide and transcendental kingdom of supernatural origin and miraculous inauguration? (1858:32-33) The glorious flesh beings therein will transcend vast stretches of time. Can you imagine yourself seated at one of the Messianic banquets in evaculand, with an apostle at your right and, a third century martyr at your left, and a victim of the Spanish Inquisition across from you? “Hey. What’s happening, man? Say what?”
THE TRAGIC RESURRECTION OF THE UNJUST
The flesh resurrection motif is again echoed by the Master himself on pages 1828-29.
He starts out, on 1828 in his response to the question of how many will be saved, with a typically gracious answer: all who, by faith, seek to find the Father. Then he digresses to what he calls a “danger” that obtains “when the glory of the better way becomes revealed in the age to come.” This is obviously a reference to Phase 3 of the kingdom—(1863:4-5, 33-41), and Phase 4, the Messianic Age, (1863:6-8) for
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this glory becomes revealed in the age to come, “in the likeness of divinity.” Remember, both Phases are “glorious.” (1829:7)
Then the Master cites a sobering principle we could call: “Closing time!”
We see this same principle in the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Selta’s apocalypse. (1915:35-41 and Matthew 25) The bolting of the door. Religious scholars believe this Parable refers to the Messianic kingdom.
In effect, the Master warns “Don’t abandon yourselves to Bacchanalian pleasures and material pursuits, and then, when my glorified kingdom suddenly becomes revealed to you, plead that you want in. Then, it will be too late.” And he is clearly talking about the kingdom on earth, then in the juridical hands of the “Judge of all the earth.” (1829:17-22)
Then he prophesies a tragic drama that is just about unbelievable: the physical flesh resurrection at the time of this judgment of not just the ascenders, but those who are doomed to the “resurrection of the unjust.” (1247:34-40) This is unprecedented, and clearly will occur despite the fact that the Master once spoke disapprovingly “of the Pharisaic belief in the resurrection of the literal human body.” (1900: 41-42) It is clear from page 1247 and other references in the Papers that, at the time of resurrection, normally, mortals who are deemed not worthy of survival simply sleep on. They are not awakened from death to be told the bad news: “Sorry, you have to go back to sleep now and become as if you never were. You didn’t make it.” That would seem cruel and heartless for the Gods and their agents to do. And what purpose would it serve other than to suggest a God who “gloats”?
Yet look at page 1829. The Master is saying that several of the members of that very crowd in front of him will be awake then, will be pleading with him: “Did we not eat and drink with you, and did you not teach in our streets?” How could they “speak” these words to him at this future confrontation if they were not “awake,” resurrected? And the Master warns he will then say: “you are spiritual strangers.” As to what happens to them, we are only told that he will say: “Depart from us.”
And less you question the veracity of my discoveries here, that dead human beings are going to be awakened in flesh bodies on Urantia and find themselves pleading for eternal life, and then will be told to get lost by the Master, just turn to page 1571:40-46’ (And to Ezekiel’s dry bones vision–Ezekiel chapter 37.)
Now you can grasp what John the Revelator is talking about in Revelation 2:11, 20:14, and 21:8, concerning the “Second Death,” a final consummation which seems to be effected by fire. How else can you explain a “second” death? And there’s no resurrection from the Second death
I know this sanguinary hellfire-and-damnation eschaton seems incredible and unbelievable, right out of Dante’s inferno in the Divine Comedy, or the over- heated imagination of some fundamentalist preacher. But it’s in The URANTIA Book!
So here’s Annas and Caiaphas going blink, blink. Hitler is there, and Joseph Stalin. And the whole scene seems to be presided over by Michael, (“I will be compelled to say to them...etc., 1571, 41-42, “then shall I again declare… etc.,” 1829:20) who seems to be conveying by this cosmic, grandly tragic scene: “See! You fools! See what you missed!”
Still, there is a quality of divine gloating here, something which seems totally out of character for the Master-as-God-and-Judge. I have only been able
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to explain it so far to myself by reasoning that this is an agondonter world, cut off from evidentiary physical proof of the reality of our divine associates. Could it be that he therefore will refuse to let Stalin or Hitler go to their final rest convinced that there was/is no God, that they were somehow vindicated by all their violence and greed-based criminality and imperialism?
Anyhow, there’s a final scene that shows up in the apocalyptic writings. It appears that the broadcasts are switched on in a duplex or simultaneous two-way fashion. These poor resurrected wretches are permitted to see us evacuees dining at the Messianic Banquets on the evacuation world, and these glorious diners see these condemned reprobates, looking the other way, as it were.
And this brings me back to the regeneration of martyrs idea. It would appear that even though we are told there was a complete dispensational judgment in 30 A.D. inaugurating this age, (2024:12-43) not even one from the last age was resurrected and ascended in the morontia. I speculate that other martyrs from this past age, like Abel, Amos, who was stoned to death, and Zechariah “who was slain between the sanctuary and the altar,” (1908:40) will then be awakened and in a flesh body},, to resume their interrupted lives. On the other hand, we can’t rule out the possibility that these prophets will appear in morontia bodies in Evaculand, because it is not clear whether our extended vision will then take in the mortal post-resurrectional morontia forms.
But there’s no doubt that that’s there. And that’s why the Master says unequivocally on page 1829: “But you who refuse this salvation will some day see the prophets of the seed of Abraham sit down with the believers of the gentile nations in this glorified kingdom to partake of the bread of life etc.” (1829:26-29)
And he caps it off with an ominous forecast of this day of reckoning, day of divine and mortal justice, when “many who are first” (those who rejected the kingdom and found abandon in the greatness or material allures of earth), “will be last,” (left to die the Second Death), and “those who are last” (the martyrs and other unfortunate victims of oppression), “will many times be first” (living again and enjoying life in the glorified kingdom). I am rather inclined now therefore, to see the “Elect,” the 144,000 of Revelation, in a somewhat different light. In my paper I speculated that they could be we Urantians, i.e. devout students of the Papers, soldiers of the circles. I am now more persuaded that these will be the martyrs. You will have to die for him, or see persecution for the divine cause, to find yourselves in the ranks of these millenially undying “Elect.” Furthermore, I bet they elect Andrew (“elect”) in the sense of “vote”) as their presiding head!
I guess we Urantians will Just have to be satisfied, and count ourselves blessed to be among the evacuated “Righteous,” living 300 to 500 years. Oh well.
Incidentally, it should be noted that the flesh repersonalization of mortals, after leaving the world of nativity, the first life, is not wholly unprecedented in the Universe of Nebadon. We are told that this privilege is extended to aborted children, or other kids who perished before “acquiring spiritual status as individuals,’’ only they appear on The Probationary Nursery World. (516s39- 517:14, 531:14 532:38), and have no sex organs for reproduction.
In any case, I think you can also now see what Paul was talking about in 1 Thessalonians 4:.16-17 when he wrote “And the dead in Christ will rise first, (i.e. the martyrs and the prophets) then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air...etc” (i.e. on the evacuation world). I speculate that these “dead” are resurrected “first” because of the need to acculturate them to the hundreds and hundreds of years of history and evolution which passed while they slept. If Michael J. Fox in “back to the Future” generates confusion in the 1950’s by asking for a “Tab” or “Pepsi- Free,” you can imagine the difficulty Peter would have dealing with a flush toilet, or automobiles and traffic lights. In fact, with the end of the world now only ten years away, these survivors may already be awake and acculturating themselves on the evacuation sphere!
ROUGHLY DATING THE END OF THE WORLD
Only ten years away? I will now set forth the two independent and corroboratory sets of clues, secreted into the Papers by our unseen friends, that point to a nuclear exchange somewhere on the order of November 21st to December 21st, 1997, followed by the evacuation of Urantia, and then the end of the world (death of the last surviving mortal/) roughly 45 days later, on or about Feb 4th, 1998.
If 45 days (from Daniel 12:11-12) seems a short time, it isn’t. Current thinking on the scientific theories of nuclear winter foresees a temperature drop within continents to as low as 60 degrees below zero within only}, about 6 days after the nuclear exchange, and even if this exchange involves only}, five percent of the world’s total nuclear arsenals! It will be only slightly warmer, but with severe winds, along the oceanic coasts of continents. Quite a chilling prospect.
Now, how do I get these dates? In Selta’s apocalypse (Matthew 24:25) we read: “Pray that your flight may not be in winter...” (Matthew 24:20) I have already noted in my paper, page 25, the Master’s strange adjective on page 1915, describing materialism as “the long winter.” Materialism is hot, not cold: the unrestrained pursuit of luxury, vices, personal wealth and comfort. You could argue that it could be called “cold” from a spiritual point of view, but in my opinion that is stretching metaphor much too far. There is a “veiled” message here.
In Job 38:22-24, the writer talks about “the storehouses of the snow... which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.”
I think most readers of The URANTIA Book however, miss the most profound clue of all, hidden therein.
You will recall that the Prince’s headquarters was at Dalamatia in the then region of Mesopotamia. It was located about 30 degrees of northern latitude, i.e. about the same as central Florida or the middle of the Baja peninsula of Mexico. It probably never experienced what you and I would call “winter.” Indeed, we are told it had mild “favoring climate.” (743:12)
You will also recall that they tell us the planetary rebellion occurred about 200,000 years ago, but they don’t give us the exact date: it could have been maybe 198,423 years ago, or maybe 203,456 years etc. They’re saying it’s so far in antiquity, the precise date is not important. Which leads me to a big question: why then do they tell us the precise season of the year when it occurred? Are these words merely dramatic embellishment of the story? I think not.
Look at page 755:12-13. They say the planetary rebellion was hatched “midwinter of the northern continents.” So what? For all intents and purposes. it’s an absolutely unrelated and irrelevant fact, like saying: “John Doe of San Francisco went to visit Europe when it was summer in Australia!” what has the climatic state of the northern continents got to do with the timing of the rebellion in Mesopotamia?
I think they are being prophetic in a mysterious and veiled sort of way.
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I think they are trying to tell us: “Evil, iniquity, began on your world ‘midwinter of the northern continents’, and it will end ‘midwinter of the northern continents’”! That’s about the 4th of February.
Now, where do I get 1987 That’s hidden in the Papers too. Twice!
Turn to page 1518. The Master, in the wilderness for the post-baptismal final planning stages of his career, is agonizing over whether he would manifest or use wonder-working to lure followers. He decides that he won’t. But in the uniquely masterful way that these Midwayer authors can say ,nothing” wisely, in the process saying “something incredible,” obscurely, i.e. their “straw man” technique which I explain in the paper, they give us the BIG CLUE!
You’ll notice that in the last paragraph and over onto page 1519 they “seem” to be dismissing the manna idea and the super-agriculture idea of the Messianic Age and the evacuation. They try to make it read as if they are pooh- poohing this thinking as “traditions of miracles and legends of wonders,” but they’re not. They are saying that Jesus decided he would not use this methodology, not that it was never to be. We see this fact confirmed in their clear reference to “the coming Messiah,” which can also mean “coming” relative to the time of their writing (1935). The carefully chosen word “only” atop 1519, can also mean that there will be a Messiah who will ‘minister to temporal needs,” i.e. provide evacuation, food, clothing and shelter.
But now comes the clincher. They quote from just about as obscure a source as you can find, the pseudepigraphal apocalypse known as 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch. This noncanonical apocalypse was written about the first or second decade of the second century A.D., not long after Selta’s work, so religious scholars believe. I should explain “noncanonical.” What we have today as the “official” Old Testament, a unique collection of ancient scriptural writings, was assembled and approved by the Jews at the Council of Jamnia roughly 100 A.D. As such, it forms the “canon” of the Old Testament, or “approved” collection. (“Canon” means “measuring line,” or “rule”). For the Christians, this stabilization of approved writings, now known as the New Testament, was accomplished between the second and fourth centuries A.D. Anything outside the “Canons” is noncanonical. It has no canonicity. 2 Baruch has no canonicity. So why did the Midwayers quote from it?
They quote the fifth verse from its 29th chapter, word for word. (“the earth will yield...etc.”) (1518:45-48) 2 Baruch, as an “apocalypse’; deals with the end of the world. You ought to have a look at it, and indeed all the ancient apocalypses to be found in Charlesworth, James H., The 01d Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, Doubleday and Co. Inc., New York, 1983. If there’s a university-associated school of theology or religious studies in your town, there should be a copy available in its library. If not, look for the older edition by R.H. Charles.
I have always felt that when the authors of the Papers quoted from some other text or source, they were, to a certain degree, “validating” that source, “canonizing” it, telling us by implication, that we too should have a look at it.
Why am I interested in apocalypses? Because Jesus was! (1390:21). On that same page they pointedly draw our attention to an apocalypse known today as 1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch. Why? Because Jesus was fascinated with it, “it proved very intriguing to him, and he read and reread it many times,” (1390:23-24) Below that on the same page they tell why 1 Enoch was so interesting to Jesus, and should be to us: at least part of it was written by Enoch himself! It is “partially accredited” (1390:36). Do you realize the significance of this casually “dropped” fact by the Midwayers? This means 1 Enoch is supercanonical! It would appear to be, at least in parts, the oldest existing scripture known to man! Dating
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back from today over 37,000 years! It is ironic that the Roman or western division of the Christian church turned its nose up at 1 Enoch, refused to include it in the canon of the New Testament, while the eastern orthodox church did canonize it, and continues to so regard it today.
But let’s get back to 2 Baruch, and why the Midway creatures drew our attention to it.
Just before the text quoted above from 2 Baruch, we read in the same apocalypse: “those who live on earth in those days will not understand that it is the end of times.” (2 Baruch 27:15). There’s the idea of “surprise.”
Then, at the beginning of chapter 28, we read: “But everyone who will understand will be wise at that time (you, the reader of my paper and this appendix thereto). For the measure and the calculation of that time will be two parts: weeks of seven weeks.” (2 Baruch 28:1-2)
Now, you know from the book of Daniel, that in the codified language of prophecy, “weeks” means “years” and also means the number “seven.” So the mysterious date above means 2 (“parts”) times (X) seven (“weeks”) times (X) seven (“of weeks”)= 98 years. Incidentally, this calculation is the accepted opinion of religious scholars, not Just my fanciful interpretation. But the number has always baffled the scholars, because they have to ask: “98 years from when?” How about the 98th year of the twentieth century? Would you buy that? I do. And that’s why the Midwayers draw our attention to an ancient and obscure apocalypse, 2 Baruch
The manna idea and the super-agriculture idea is mentioned quite a number of times in the Old Testament. They could have quoted any of these (manna: Isa. 40:11, 51:14, 55:1, Ezekiel 34:16,23; super-agriculture, 1 Enoch 10:19, Amos 9:13, Joel 2:24, and Ezekiel 47:12). There was no particular reason for them to quote from this obscure noncanonical writing gathering dust on library shelves, unless they wanted to draw our attention to it!
Still, I wanted more. I thought surely they must have left another clue in the Papers which I have not yet discovered. These beings who are capable of the brilliant Andon-and-Fonta-not- sending-greetings business, and who love symbolism, (e.g. the Transfiguration taking place on a mountain of the gentiles and in the land of the gentiles) are quite capable of just as ingenious other loving revelations, apparently outside their revelation mandates, but disguised by straw men. (1752:25-27)
Still, I reasoned, the Master wanted his followers to know roughly when Jerusalem would be destroyed, when to clear out of town, but he didn’t pin it down exactly. (1912:25 -1913:23) He could have come right out and said: “70 A.D.” He didn’t. Is it really possible that we, the children of light, are to know the precise date for the eschaton, end of the world, when it’s supposed to be a big “surprise,” according to all prophecy? On the other hand, the venue and circumstances are different. The Jerusalemite believers had a choice, abandon their possessions and get out of town, or stay and face the music. Our only choice will be to despair in the nuclear winter, or continue to believe sublimely that “they” will come to rescue us, constantly turning over in our minds the Master’s words to these Jerusalemite believers: “And when you see all this come to pass, be not dismayed, but rather believe, inasmuch as you knew it all beforehand.” (1954:15-16, cf. 1951:15-33)
Anyhow, I thought: “Where’s the clue? Where would they hide it? How would they hide it? How could I be sure?”
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December, 1997, the nukes, then nuclear winter. February, 1998, the evacuation and the “end.” How about page 1997, and page 1998 Maybe that’s where they sight symbolically hide a clue, let a little “extra revelation” slip? Well, turn to page 1997, and hold on to your hat,
When you look mid-page, two words really jump out at you: “THE END,” but they’re followed by three more words: “OF JUDAS ISCARIOT.” To take the first two words out of context as a hidden “clue” to the end of the world and its date would ú really be reaching, stretching the speculative imagination awfully far.
But wait a second! Judas didn’t end! We have every reason to believe he ascended Either on the third day, or in a special millennial group. On page 1998 he wails: “I repent that I have done this.” (lines 29-30) He commits suicide because he is ashamed of himself, recognizes the arch-villainy of his deed: “I want to escape the guilt of this deed.” We are told he was “pricked in his conscience about his traitorous conduct” (1997:39 – 1998:01), “I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood,” he screams breathlessly to the Sanhedrin, (1998:27-28) making it clear to us that he is no longer deluded, is fully conscious of the meaning and significance of his misdeed. It’s as if, at that moment, the master’s love and that of all his colleagues penetrated through the egotistical and self- serving wall of his mind into the very depths of his heart. He is crushed. Overwhelmed.
Furthermore, we are told “The worlds have found it difficult to forgive Judas” (1567:46-47) Surely, if he is now (at the time the Urantia Papers were written) a non-existent being by virtue of his deeds, there would be no need for other worlds to agonize over forgiving him! You and I today don’t agonize over forgiving Annas, Caiaphas, Hitler or Stalin. They’re gone, done with. Such agonizing over forgiveness could only be motivated by the need to confront Judas as a reality, a living, walking, morontia presence.
Even the statement on 2056:24s “Judas set defeat in the battles of the earth struggle” is sufficiently qualified in the context not to rule out the ongoing growth battles of the morontia existence. Even the Master knew that Judas’ love was not “really dead” (1941:39–and note the Midwayers are speaking philosophically in this context, i.e. not necessarily specifically of Judas and Judas only), else why would he have “made one last effort to save Judas from actually betraying him”? (1974t11) The Master foreknew he would eventually win Judas back.
He said he was sorry. He was so ashamed of himself he chose death as the only apparent way out. He refused to forgive himself, or seek the forgiveness of his apostolic colleagues. Somehow these things tell us there was and is a flickering flame of honest repentance in this wayward Ambassador of the Kingdom. If there is a school of the Art of Forgiveness in Mansonia, can you think of a better teacher for its faculty?
So this section head in the Papers should have read something like: THE DEATH OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, or THE SUICIDE OF JUDAS ISCARIOT.
To say “THE END,” given all they have revealed to us about his present fate and circumstance, borders on untruth. It’s almost melodramatic, histrionic exaggeration: “Served him right, the bum!” So you see, the real reason they used this expression is obvious. It’s the one clue I wanted. Fantastic! But there’s more.
You’ll also recall my reflection described above on “How could I be sure?” what clinches this speculation?
Well, they carefully composed this section so that it would not exceed the bottom of page 1998. And there are several symbolic parallels between the death of
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this one man who betrayed his divine Master, and a planet about to face its similar fate for ignoring him. Both events focus: “the realization of the true nature of sin. All the glamour, fascination, and intoxication of wrongdoing had vanished.” ( 1998: 38-39)
And like those secularistic, imperialistic, materialists who are going to bring about the end of the world, a day of darkness, gloom, and despair: “now the evildoer stood alone and face to face with the judgment verdict of his disillusioned and disappointed soul. Sin was bewitching and adventurous in the committing, but now must the harvest of the naked and unromantic facts be faced.” (1998:39-42) Concerning the future similar despair of God-unidentified Urantians at the end of the world, Ezekiel’s words come to mind. (See page 22 in my paper).
Furthermore, this tale of the denouement of Judas doesn’t even belong here chronologically in the Papers! It properly belongs in “time” between sections 3 and 4 of the next Paper, 187. Paper 186 is a short work that seems to pick up some philosophical loose ends, “THE MASTER’S ATTITUDE,” “JESUS DEATH IN RELATION TO THE PASSOVER,” interspersed with continuing narrative. It is even prophetic of the now future focus of an entire universe on its sacred shrine: “The executive business of a great universe was practically at a standstill.” (2001:39-40, 1319:01)
Still, I wondered: “How could I really be sure?” Then my eyes jumped to the top of page 1997, to the number of the Paper, 186. 186! And 1986 would be the year that they would “arrange” for this to be “revealed” or perhaps just “discovered” by some unworthy mortal like me. Incredible! With this number you have a Midwayer “wink” across 31 years of time, more accurately 51.
And doubt not the significance of this. With their prodigious mathematical computing ability, the seraphim would have been able to tell the Midwayers precisely where any word in The URANTIA Book would fall on any page in the printed text, using only the typed manuscript which Forum members were then avidly devouring. Besides, the nickel plates for the first printing of the Book were cast and stored in the basement of a printing company in Crawfordsville, Indiana, for many years before the first printing rolled off the platen presses. They knew what they were doing! (419:22-31)
You’ll notice that earlier herein I indicated the calculated date for the beginning of the “end,” the detonation of too many nukes in some future world war, as November 21st to December 21st, 1997. Yet 45 days before “midwinter,, or February 4th, is roughly December 21st. I allowed for this extra month because of another mysterious fact in The URANTIA Book.
Of all the people who have lived in this Age of the Spirit of Truth, they give us the precise date of death of just two Jesus and Abner. Abner? Yes, and I can’t figure out why they tell us he died “on the 21st day of November, A.D. 74.” (1832:15-16) So what? Now don’t get me wrong: on the surface, the date of Abner’s death would appear to have absolutely nothing to do with the end of the world -yet. there it is–November 21st–an apparently “useless” fact that the Midwayers designedly put into the Papers. Is it another “straw man” clue? You be the judge.
“A.I.D.S.”
AND OTHER CLUES TO THE TIMING
OF THE END OF THE WORLD
In this last section I am going to outline a number of prophetic reasons why my convictions that the “end” is imminent are as profound as they are. And the most interesting of all these is the appearance, worldwide, of the disease, “A.I.D.S.” And I’ll come to that in a minute.
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Let us first look at ancient and modern prophecy which has already been fulfilled in this century, in many cases, only in recent years:
A. The return of the Jews to Palestine to re-establish Israel as a nation; (Isaiah 10:20-23, 66:8, Ezekiel 36-38, especially 37,21-22, 38,8-9, Hosea 1:11, Joel 2:32,3:1, Zechariah 12:6, Romans 11:25-27, Matthew 24:15 (by implication, restoration of temple worship idea , and Sibylline Oracles Book 2:174-176). Paralleling these references are yet others wherein the fig tree as a symbol of Israel is used: (Hosea 9:10, Matthew 24:32-33, i.e. Selta’s apocalypse). Even the Master gets double symbolic prophetic value out of the fig tree as a symbol Of Israel, and the 1948 re-creation of the state of Israel: (1915:15- 17). Zechariah 12 to 14 describes a future invasion of Israel, probably by the USSR and its allies, and Daniel makes it clear that this comes near the end of the world l “when the shattering of the power of the holy people (the Jews) comes to an end all these things would be accomplished. (Daniel 12:7);
B. The appearance of the Antichrist; (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 2.18, 4:3, and note, the “spirit of antichrist” is evil itself, Revelation 13, 17:7-18) And in my paper I note four remarkable coincidences suggesting that Gorbachev may indeed be this end-times antagonist: (the number of his name, “999” which is really “666” inverted, his port-wine stain birthmark, i.e. the “healed” mortal wound of Revelation 13:3, and his baldness and youth, Apocalypse of Elijah 3:14-18, also a noncanonical Old Testament apocalypse);
C. The fact that only two Popes remain on “Saint” Malachy’s list before the end of the world. Also known as Maedoc Va Morgair, this Irish archbishop and prophet lived from 1094 to 1148. In 1139 while visiting Pope Celestinus II in Rome, he had a vision of the next 112 Popes down to the end of the world; for each he used a Latin motto signifying his family name or crest or revealing some other clue about his life or work; the most recent mottos are: DE MEDIETATE LUNAE (“from a halfmoon” signifying John Paul I who died suddenly within days of his elevation to the pontificate, hardly the time of one “moon”) and DE LABORE SOLIS (“from the toil of the sun,” describing the present John Paul II, who is the most traveled and exposed of all the Popes in history, “laboring in the sun,” as it were); the last two Popes are DE GLORIA OLIVAE (“from the glory of the olive,” which causes me to interpret it am indicating the next Pope will not be a white man,) and finally PETRUS ROMANUS, (‘Peter of Rome,” the “Rome” causing me to speculate that he will be a tool of the Antichrist in the final revived Roman empire of Europe;)of him, Malachy added a postscript:
“During the last persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there shall sit Peter of Rome, who shall feed the sheep amid great tribulations, and when these have passed, the City of the Seven Hills shall be utterly destroyed, and the awful Judge will judge the people.” (Quoted from: Garrison, Omar V., The Encyclopedia of Prophecy, Citadel Press, Secaucus, N.J., 1978)
D. Materialism, pleasure-mania; (1 Enoch 94:7-8, 97:8-10, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 1915:17-18, 2082:24-41, 2076:40);
E. Worldwide travel and unprecedented technological advancement l (Daniel 12:4);
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F. Eventual worldwide (or nearly so) atheism, as embodied in communism. (Daniel 7:23,25, “shall think to change the times and the law”);
G. Wars and rumors of wars; (James 4:1-4, Jude 17-19, Sibylline Oracles Book 2:155-157, and note not Matthew 24:6- 7 as this was the Master referring to the then fate of Jerusalem: 1912:31, Revelation 6:3-8, 12-17)
H. The Master’s promise to send us “an enlarged revelation of truth” (The URANTIA Book, “and an enhanced demonstration of righteousness” (a Son of God as demonstrator), (1914:32-34) and note that these events are separated in the Master’s symbolism, as summer is separated from spring; The Book causes us to “discern the coming of the spiritual springtime of a new dispensation,” hence “the summertime of a new visitation (the Son) draws near”; (1915:18-19) and we’ve had the Book for 32 years
I. The fact that the revelators frequently boldly state, or at least imply that a “New Age” is upon us: “This new and oncoming social order” (1086:24), “a new and unrevealed planetary destiny” (1086:27), “this impending world-wide social reconstruction and economic reorganization,” , “the approaching age of improved human relations and advancing spiritual attainments,” (1862: 37-38) “this godless philosophy of human society will lead only to...war, and world-wide disaster,” (2081:31-32,) “Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its ... most enthralling epochs,” (2082:34-35), “the social, moral, economic and political reorganization of the world” (2083:1- 2), and “a new transformed human society”; (2084:36, and cf. 1860:19-20) and lastly:
J. The sudden appearance of the worldwide disease known by the mnemonic “A.I.D.S.,” and the fact of its appearance and proliferation in the homosexual community; there were 32,500 cases in 74 countries by the end of 1986. The World Health Organization expects the number of victims worldwide could reach 100 million by 1990, not all of them dying; In 1991, the United States alone expects 74,000 new cases bringing the estimated total by then to 270,000 cases with 179,000 deaths; the prophetic irony is that this disease was predicted as one of the features of the end-times over 2000 years ago! In the Sibylline Oracles Book 3, another noncanonical apocalypse written in Egypt about 31 B.C. we read:
“Male will have intercourse with male and they will set up boys in houses of ill-fame and in those days there will be a great affliction among men and it will throw everything into confusion.”
(Sibylline Oracles, Book 3:185-187) (available in Charlesworth–see Preface of my paper for citation)
So much for the prophecies already fulfilled in this century. There are others which we must now anticipate in the next ten years: the appearance of Elijah and Enoch, (Malachi 4:5, Revelation 11, Sibylline Oracles Book 2:187-189,) they will convert the world to “Jesusonianism,” the religion of Jesus, including the Jews, (Ezekiel 36:25-27, Hosea 1:10, Zechariah 12:10) and given the timing mechanism surrounding their life and assassination (pages 18-21 in my paper) I look for them in late 1990, and finally the wars of the Antichrist, invasion of Israel, and final nuclear devastation.
[Norm’s note: Sorry for any remaining typos. Joe’s 1987 “Errata” material has been added. Special thanks to Les Richards for scanning Joe’s paper. -August 4, 2004]