Chapter explorer
Browse all 196 papers of the Urantia Book. Each entry carries the book’s own opening words and opens at that section on FreeUrantia.
196 chapters
- 1
The Universal Father
THE Universal Father is the God of all creation, the First Source and Center of all things and beings. First think of God as a creator, then as a controller, and lastly as an infinite upholder.
- 2
The Nature of God
INASMUCH as man’s highest possible concept of God is embraced within the human idea and ideal of a primal and infinite personality, it is permissible, and may prove helpful, to study certain characteristics of the divine nature which constitute the character of Deity.
- 3
The Attributes of God
GOD is everywhere present; the Universal Father rules the circle of eternity. But he rules in the local universes in the persons of his Paradise Creator Sons, even as he bestows life through these Sons.
- 4
God’s Relation to the Universe
THE Universal Father has an eternal purpose pertaining to the material, intellectual, and spiritual phenomena of the universe of universes, which he is executing throughout all time.
- 5
God’s Relation to the Individual
IF THE finite mind of man is unable to comprehend how so great and so majestic a God as the Universal Father can descend from his eternal abode in infinite perfection to fraternize with the individual human creature, then must such a finite intellect rest assurance of divine fellowship upon the trut
- 6
The Eternal Son
THE Eternal Son is the perfect and final expression of the “first” personal and absolute concept of the Universal Father.
- 7
Relation of the Eternal Son to the Universe
THE Original Son is ever concerned with the execution of the spiritual aspects of the Father’s eternal purpose as it progressively unfolds in the phenomena of the evolving universes with their manifold groups of living beings.
- 8
The Infinite Spirit
BACK in eternity, when the Universal Father’s “first” infinite and absolute thought finds in the Eternal Son such a perfect and adequate word for its divine expression, there ensues the supreme desire of both the Thought-God and the Word-God for a universal and infinite agent of mutual expression an
- 9
Relation of the Infinite Spirit to the Universe
A STRANGE thing occurred when, in the presence of Paradise, the Universal Father and the Eternal Son unite to personalize themselves.
- 10
The Paradise Trinity
THE Paradise Trinity of eternal Deities facilitates the Father’s escape from personality absolutism. The Trinity perfectly associates the limitless expression of God’s infinite personal will with the absoluteness of Deity.
- 11
The Eternal Isle of Paradise
PARADISE is the eternal center of the universe of universes and the abiding place of the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, the Infinite Spirit, and their divine co-ordinates and associates. This central Isle is the most gigantic organized body of cosmic reality in all the master universe.
- 12
The Universe of Universes
THE immensity of the far-flung creation of the Universal Father is utterly beyond the grasp of finite imagination; the enormousness of the master universe staggers the concept of even my order of being. But the mortal mind can be taught much about the plan and arrangement of the universes;
- 13
The Sacred Spheres of Paradise
BETWEEN the central Isle of Paradise and the innermost of the Havona planetary circuits there are situated in space three lesser circuits of special spheres. The innermost circuit consists of the seven secret spheres of the Universal Father;
- 14
The Central and Divine Universe
THE perfect and divine universe occupies the center of all creation; it is the eternal core around which the vast creations of time and space revolve. Paradise is the gigantic nuclear Isle of absolute stability which rests motionless at the very heart of the magnificent eternal universe.
- 15
The Seven Superuniverses
AS FAR as the Universal Father is concerned—as a Father—the universes are virtually nonexistent; he deals with personalities; he is the Father of personalities.
- 16
The Seven Master Spirits
THE Seven Master Spirits of Paradise are the primary personalities of the Infinite Spirit. In this sevenfold creative act of self-duplication the Infinite Spirit exhausted the associative possibilities mathematically inherent in the factual existence of the three persons of Deity.
- 17
The Seven Supreme Spirit Groups
THE seven Supreme Spirit groups are the universal co-ordinating directors of the seven-segmented administration of the grand universe.
- 18
The Supreme Trinity Personalities
SUPREME Trinity Personalities are all created for specific service. They are designed by the divine Trinity for the fulfillment of certain specific duties, and they are qualified to serve with perfection of technique and finality of devotion.
- 19
The Co-ordinate Trinity-Origin Beings
THIS Paradise group, designated the Co-ordinate Trinity-origin Beings, embraces the Trinity Teacher Sons, also classed among the Paradise Sons of God, three groups of high superuniverse administrators, and the somewhat impersonal category of the Inspired Trinity Spirits.
- 20
The Paradise Sons of God
AS THEY function in the superuniverse of Orvonton, the Sons of God are classified under three general heads:
- 21
The Paradise Creator Sons
THE Creator Sons are the makers and rulers of the local universes of time and space. These universe creators and sovereigns are of dual origin, embodying the characteristics of God the Father and God the Son. But each Creator Son is different from every other;
- 22
The Trinitized Sons of God
THERE are three groups of beings who are called Sons of God. In addition to descending and ascending orders of sonship there is a third group known as the Trinitized Sons of God.
- 23
The Solitary Messengers
SOLITARY Messengers are the personal and universal corps of the Conjoint Creator; they are the first and senior order of the Higher Personalities of the Infinite Spirit.
- 24
Higher Personalities of the Infinite Spirit
ON UVERSA we divide all personalities and entities of the Conjoint Creator into three grand divisions: the Higher Personalities of the Infinite Spirit, the Messenger Hosts of Space, and the Ministering Spirits of Time, those spirit beings who are concerned with teaching and ministering to the will c
- 25
The Messenger Hosts of Space
RANKING intermediately in the family of the Infinite Spirit are the Messenger Hosts of Space. These versatile beings function as the connecting links between the higher personalities and the ministering spirits.
- 26
Ministering Spirits of the Central Universe
SUPERNAPHIM are the ministering spirits of Paradise and the central universe; they are the highest order of the lowest group of the children of the Infinite Spirit—the angelic hosts. Such ministering spirits are to be encountered from the Isle of Paradise to the worlds of time and space.
- 27
Ministry of the Primary Supernaphim
PRIMARY supernaphim are the supernal servants of the Deities on the eternal Isle of Paradise. Never have they been known to depart from the paths of light and righteousness. The roll calls are complete; from eternity not one of this magnificent host has been lost.
- 28
Ministering Spirits of the Superuniverses
AS THE supernaphim are the angelic hosts of the central universe and the seraphim of the local universes, so are the seconaphim the ministering spirits of the superuniverses.
- 29
The Universe Power Directors
OF ALL the universe personalities concerned in the regulation of interplanetary and interuniverse affairs, the power directors and their associates have been the least understood on Urantia.
- 30
Personalities of the Grand Universe
THE personalities and other-than-personal entities now functioning on Paradise and in the grand universe constitute a well-nigh limitless number of living beings. Even the number of major orders and types would stagger the human imagination, let alone the countless subtypes and variations.
- 31
The Corps of the Finality
THE Corps of Mortal Finaliters represents the present known destination of the ascending Adjuster-fused mortals of time. But there are other groups who are also assigned to this corps.
- 32
The Evolution of Local Universes
A LOCAL universe is the handiwork of a Creator Son of the Paradise order of Michael. It comprises one hundred constellations, each embracing one hundred systems of inhabited worlds. Each system will eventually contain approximately one thousand inhabited spheres.
- 33
Administration of the Local Universe
WHILE the Universal Father most certainly rules over his vast creation, he functions in a local universe administration through the person of the Creator Son. The Father does not otherwise personally function in the administrative affairs of a local universe.
- 34
The Local Universe Mother Spirit
WHEN a Creator Son is personalized by the Universal Father and the Eternal Son, then does the Infinite Spirit individualize a new and unique representation of himself to accompany this Creator Son to the realms of space, there to be his companion, first, in physical organization and, later, in creat
- 35
The Local Universe Sons of God
THE Sons of God previously introduced have had a Paradise origin. They are the offspring of the divine Rulers of the universal domains. Of the first Paradise order of sonship, the Creator Sons, there is in Nebadon only one, Michael, the universe father and sovereign.
- 36
The Life Carriers
LIFE does not originate spontaneously. Life is constructed according to plans formulated by the (unrevealed) Architects of Being and appears on the inhabited planets either by direct importation or as a result of the operations of the Life Carriers of the local universes.
- 37
Personalities of the Local Universe
AT THE head of all personality in Nebadon stands the Creator and Master Son, Michael, the universe father and sovereign. Co-ordinate in divinity and complemental in creative attributes is the local universe Mother Spirit, the Divine Minister of Salvington.
- 38
Ministering Spirits of the Local Universe
THERE are three distinct orders of the personalities of the Infinite Spirit.
- 39
The Seraphic Hosts
AS FAR as we are cognizant, the Infinite Spirit, as personalized on the local universe headquarters, intends to produce uniformly perfect seraphim, but for some unknown reason these seraphic offspring are very diverse.
- 40
The Ascending Sons of God
AS IN many of the major groups of universe beings, seven general classes of the Ascending Sons of God have been revealed:
- 41
Physical Aspects of the Local Universe
THE characteristic space phenomenon which sets off each local creation from all others is the presence of the Creative Spirit.
- 42
Energy—Mind and Matter
THE foundation of the universe is material in the sense that energy is the basis of all existence, and pure energy is controlled by the Universal Father.
- 43
The Constellations
URANTIA is commonly referred to as 606 of Satania in Norlatiadek of Nebadon, meaning the six hundred sixth inhabited world in the local system of Satania, situated in the constellation of Norlatiadek, one of the one hundred constellations of the local universe of Nebadon.
- 44
The Celestial Artisans
AMONG the courtesy colonies of the various divisional and universe headquarters worlds may be found the unique order of composite personalities denominated the celestial artisans. These beings are the master artists and artisans of the morontia and lower spirit realms.
- 45
The Local System Administration
THE administrative center of Satania consists of a cluster of architectural spheres, fifty-seven in number—Jerusem itself, the seven major satellites, and the forty-nine subsatellites.
- 46
The Local System Headquarters
JERUSEM, the headquarters of Satania, is an average capital of a local system, and aside from numerous irregularities occasioned by the Lucifer rebellion and the bestowal of Michael on Urantia, it is typical of similar spheres.
- 47
The Seven Mansion Worlds
THE Creator Son, when on Urantia, spoke of the “many mansions in the Father’s universe.” In a certain sense, all fifty-six of the encircling worlds of Jerusem are devoted to the transitional culture of ascending mortals, but the seven satellites of world number one are more specifically known as the
- 48
The Morontia Life
THE Gods cannot—at least they do not—transform a creature of gross animal nature into a perfected spirit by some mysterious act of creative magic.
- 49
The Inhabited Worlds
ALL mortal-inhabited worlds are evolutionary in origin and nature. These spheres are the spawning ground, the evolutionary cradle, of the mortal races of time and space.
- 50
The Planetary Princes
WHILE belonging to the order of Lanonandek Sons, the Planetary Princes are so specialized in service that they are commonly regarded as a distinct group.
- 51
The Planetary Adams
DURING the dispensation of a Planetary Prince, primitive man reaches the limit of natural evolutionary development, and this biologic attainment signals the System Sovereign to dispatch to such a world the second order of sonship, the biologic uplifters.
- 52
Planetary Mortal Epochs
FROM the inception of life on an evolutionary planet to the time of its final flowering in the era of light and life, there appear upon the stage of world action at least seven epochs of human life.
- 53
The Lucifer Rebellion
LUCIFER was a brilliant primary Lanonandek Son of Nebadon. He had experienced service in many systems, had been a high counselor of his group, and was distinguished for wisdom, sagacity, and efficiency.
- 54
Problems of the Lucifer Rebellion
EVOLUTIONARY man finds it difficult fully to comprehend the significance and to grasp the meanings of evil, error, sin, and iniquity. Man is slow to perceive that contrastive perfection and imperfection produce potential evil; that conflicting truth and falsehood create confusing error;
- 55
The Spheres of Light and Life
THE age of light and life is the final evolutionary attainment of a world of time and space.
- 56
Universal Unity
GOD is unity. Deity is universally co-ordinated. The universe of universes is one vast integrated mechanism which is absolutely controlled by one infinite mind. The physical, intellectual, and spiritual domains of universal creation are divinely correlated.
- 57
The Origin of Urantia
IN PRESENTING excerpts from the archives of Jerusem for the records of Urantia respecting its antecedents and early history, we are directed to reckon time in terms of current usage—the present leap-year calendar of 365¼ days to the year.
- 58
Life Establishment on Urantia
IN ALL Satania there are only sixty-one worlds similar to Urantia, life-modification planets. The majority of inhabited worlds are peopled in accordance with established techniques; on such spheres the Life Carriers are afforded little leeway in their plans for life implantation.
- 59
The Marine-Life Era on Urantia
WE RECKON the history of Urantia as beginning about one billion years ago and extending through five major eras:
- 60
Urantia During the Early Land-Life Era
THE era of exclusive marine life has ended. Land elevation, cooling crust and cooling oceans, sea restriction and consequent deepening, together with a great increase of land in northern latitudes, all conspired greatly
- 61
The Mammalian Era on Urantia
THE era of mammals extends from the times of the origin of placental mammals to the end of the ice age, covering a little less than fifty million years.
- 62
The Dawn Races of Early Man
ABOUT one million years ago the immediate ancestors of mankind made their appearance by three successive and sudden mutations stemming from early stock of the lemur type of placental mammal.
- 63
The First Human Family
URANTIA was registered as an inhabited world when the first two human beings—the twins—were eleven years old, and before they had become the parents of the first-born of the second generation of actual human beings.
- 64
The Evolutionary Races of Color
THIS is the story of the evolutionary races of Urantia from the days of Andon and Fonta, almost one million years ago, down through the times of the Planetary Prince to the end of the ice age.
- 65
The Overcontrol of Evolution
BASIC evolutionary material life—premind life—is the formulation of the Master Physical Controllers and the life-impartation ministry of the Seven Master Spirits in conjunction with the active ministration of the ordained Life Carriers.
- 66
The Planetary Prince of Urantia
THE advent of a Lanonandek Son on an average world signifies that will, the ability to choose the path of eternal survival, has developed in the mind of primitive man. But on Urantia the Planetary Prince arrived almost half a million years after the appearance of human will.
- 67
The Planetary Rebellion
THE problems associated with human existence on Urantia are impossible of understanding without a knowledge of certain great epochs of the past, notably the occurrence and consequences of the planetary rebellion.
- 68
The Dawn of Civilization
THIS is the beginning of the narrative of the long, long forward struggle of the human species from a status that was little better than an animal existence, through the intervening ages, and down to the later times when a real, though imperfect, civilization had evolved among the higher races of ma
- 69
Primitive Human Institutions
EMOTIONALLY, man transcends his animal ancestors in his ability to appreciate humor, art, and religion. Socially, man exhibits his superiority in that he is a toolmaker, a communicator, and an institution builder.
- 70
The Evolution of Human Government
NO SOONER had man partially solved the problem of making a living than he was confronted with the task of regulating human contacts. The development of industry demanded law, order, and social adjustment; private property necessitated government.
- 71
Development of the State
THE state is a useful evolution of civilization; it represents society’s net gain from the ravages and sufferings of war. Even statecraft is merely the accumulated technique for adjusting the competitive contest of force between the struggling tribes and nations.
- 72
Government on a Neighboring Planet
BY PERMISSION of Lanaforge and with the approval of the Most Highs of Edentia, I am authorized to narrate something of the social, moral, and political life of the most advanced human race living on a not far-distant planet belonging to the Satania system.
- 73
The Garden of Eden
THE cultural decadence and spiritual poverty resulting from the Caligastia downfall and consequent social confusion had little effect on the physical or biologic status of the Urantia peoples.
- 74
Adam and Eve
ADAM AND EVE arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. It was in midseason when the Garden was in the height of bloom that they arrived.
- 75
The Default of Adam and Eve
AFTER more than one hundred years of effort on Urantia, Adam was able to see very little progress outside the Garden; the world at large did not seem to be improving much.
- 76
The Second Garden
WHEN Adam elected to leave the first garden to the Nodites unopposed, he and his followers could not go west, for the Edenites had no boats suitable for such a marine adventure. They could not go north; the northern Nodites were already on the march toward Eden. They feared to go south;
- 77
The Midway Creatures
MOST of the inhabited worlds of Nebadon harbor one or more groups of unique beings existing on a life-functioning level about midway between those of the mortals of the realms and of the angelic orders; hence are they called *midway* creatures.
- 78
The Violet Race After the Days of Adam
THE second Eden was the cradle of civilization for almost thirty thousand years. Here in Mesopotamia the Adamic peoples held forth, sending out their progeny to the ends of the earth, and latterly, as amalgamated with the Nodite and Sangik tribes, were known as the Andites.
- 79
Andite Expansion in the Orient
ASIA is the homeland of the human race. It was on a southern peninsula of this continent that Andon and Fonta were born; in the highlands of what is now Afghanistan, their descendant Badonan founded a primitive center of culture that persisted for over one-half million years.
- 80
Andite Expansion in the Occident
ALTHOUGH the European blue man did not of himself achieve a great cultural civilization, he did supply the biologic foundation which, when its Adamized strains were blended with the later Andite invaders, produced one of the most potent stocks for the attainment of aggressive civilization ever to ap
- 81
Development of Modern Civilization
REGARDLESS of the ups and downs of the miscarriage of the plans for world betterment projected in the missions of Caligastia and Adam, the basic organic evolution of the human species continued to carry the races forward in the scale of human progress and racial development.
- 82
The Evolution of Marriage
MARRIAGE—mating—grows out of bisexuality. Marriage is man’s reactional adjustment to such bisexuality, while the family life is the sum total resulting from all such evolutionary and adaptative adjustments. Marriage is enduring;
- 83
The Marriage Institution
THIS is the recital of the early beginnings of the institution of marriage.
- 84
Marriage and Family Life
MATERIAL necessity founded marriage, sex hunger embellished it, religion sanctioned and exalted it, the state demanded and regulated it, while in later times evolving love is beginning to justify and glorify marriage as the ancestor and creator of civilization’s most useful and sublime institution,
- 85
The Origins of Worship
PRIMITIVE religion had a biologic origin, a natural evolutionary development, aside from moral associations and apart from all spiritual influences. The higher animals have fears but no illusions, hence no religion. Man creates his primitive religions out of his fears and by means of his illusions.
- 86
Early Evolution of Religion
THE evolution of religion from the preceding and primitive worship urge is not dependent on revelation. The normal functioning of the human mind under the directive influence of the sixth and seventh mind-adjutants of universal spirit bestowal is wholly sufficient to insure such development.
- 87
The Ghost Cults
THE ghost cult evolved as an offset to the hazards of bad luck; its primitive religious observances were the outgrowth of anxiety about bad luck and of the inordinate fear of the dead. None of these early religions had much to do with the recognition of Deity or with reverence for the superhuman;
- 88
Fetishes, Charms, and Magic
THE concept of a spirit’s entering into an inanimate object, an animal, or a human being, is a very ancient and honorable belief, having prevailed since the beginning of the evolution of religion.
- 89
Sin, Sacrifice, and Atonement
PRIMITIVE man regarded himself as being in debt to the spirits, as standing in need of redemption. As the savages looked at it, in justice the spirits might have visited much more bad luck upon them. As time passed, this concept developed into the doctrine of sin and salvation.
- 90
Shamanism—Medicine Men and Priests
THE evolution of religious observances progressed from placation, avoidance, exorcism, coercion, conciliation, and propitiation to sacrifice, atonement, and redemption. The technique of religious ritual passed from the forms of the primitive cult through fetishes to magic and miracles;
- 91
The Evolution of Prayer
PRAYER, as an agency of religion, evolved from previous nonreligious monologue and dialogue expressions. With the attainment of self-consciousness by primitive man there occurred the inevitable corollary of other-consciousness, the dual potential of social response and God recognition.
- 92
The Later Evolution of Religion
MAN possessed a religion of natural origin as a part of his evolutionary experience long before any systematic revelations were made on Urantia. But this religion of *natural* origin was, in itself, the product of man’s superanimal endowments.
- 93
Machiventa Melchizedek
THE Melchizedeks are widely known as emergency Sons, for they engage in an amazing range of activities on the worlds of a local universe. When any extraordinary problem arises, or when something unusual is to be attempted, it is quite often a Melchizedek who accepts the assignment.
- 94
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Orient
THE early teachers of the Salem religion penetrated to the remotest tribes of Africa and Eurasia, ever preaching Machiventa’s gospel of man’s faith and trust in the one universal God as the only price of obtaining divine favor.
- 95
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Levant
AS INDIA gave rise to many of the religions and philosophies of eastern Asia, so the Levant was the homeland of the faiths of the Occidental world.
- 96
Yahweh—God of the Hebrews
IN CONCEIVING of Deity, man first includes all gods, then subordinates all foreign gods to his tribal deity, and finally excludes all but the one God of final and supreme value. The Jews synthesized all gods into their more sublime concept of the Lord God of Israel.
- 97
Evolution of the God Concept Among the Hebrews
THE spiritual leaders of the Hebrews did what no others before them had ever succeeded in doing—they deanthropomorphized their God concept without converting it into an abstraction of Deity comprehensible only to philosophers.
- 98
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident
THE Melchizedek teachings entered Europe along many routes, but chiefly they came by way of Egypt and were embodied in Occidental philosophy after being thoroughly Hellenized and later Christianized.
- 99
The Social Problems of Religion
RELIGION achieves its highest social ministry when it has least connection with the secular institutions of society. In past ages, since social reforms were largely confined to the moral realms, religion did not have to adjust its attitude to extensive changes in economic and political systems.
- 100
Religion in Human Experience
THE experience of dynamic religious living transforms the mediocre individual into a personality of idealistic power. Religion ministers to the progress of all through fostering the progress of each individual, and the progress of each is augmented through the achievement of all.
- 101
The Real Nature of Religion
RELIGION, as a human experience, ranges from the primitive fear slavery of the evolving savage up to the sublime and magnificent faith liberty of those civilized mortals who are superbly conscious of sonship with the eternal God.
- 102
The Foundations of Religious Faith
TO THE unbelieving materialist, man is simply an evolutionary accident. His hopes of survival are strung on a figment of mortal imagination; his fears, loves, longings, and beliefs are but the reaction of the incidental juxtaposition of certain lifeless atoms of matter.
- 103
The Reality of Religious Experience
ALL of man’s truly religious reactions are sponsored by the early ministry of the adjutant of worship and are censored by the adjutant of wisdom. Man’s first supermind endowment is that of personality encircuitment in the Holy Spirit of the Universe Creative Spirit;
- 104
Growth of the Trinity Concept
THE Trinity concept of revealed religion must not be confused with the triad beliefs of evolutionary religions.
- 105
Deity and Reality
TO EVEN high orders of universe intelligences infinity is only partially comprehensible, and the finality of reality is only relatively understandable.
- 106
Universe Levels of Reality
IT IS not enough that the ascending mortal should know something of the relations of Deity to the genesis and manifestations of cosmic reality;
- 107
Origin and Nature of Thought Adjusters
ALTHOUGH the Universal Father is personally resident on Paradise, at the very center of the universes, he is also actually present on the worlds of space in the minds of his countless children of time, for he indwells them as the Mystery Monitors.
- 108
Mission and Ministry of Thought Adjusters
THE mission of the Thought Adjusters to the human races is to represent, to be, the Universal Father to the mortal creatures of time and space; that is the fundamental work of the divine gifts.
- 109
Relation of Adjusters to Universe Creatures
THE Thought Adjusters are the children of the universe career, and indeed the virgin Adjusters must gain experience while mortal creatures grow and develop.
- 110
Relation of Adjusters to Individual Mortals
THE endowment of imperfect beings with freedom entails inevitable tragedy, and it is the nature of the perfect ancestral Deity to universally and affectionately share these sufferings in loving companionship.
- 111
The Adjuster and the Soul
THE presence of the divine Adjuster in the human mind makes it forever impossible for either science or philosophy to attain a satisfactory comprehension of the evolving soul of the human personality.
- 112
Personality Survival
THE evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin, the initial worlds of the ascending mortal career. Urantia is your starting point; here you and your divine Thought Adjuster are joined in temporary union. You have been endowed with a perfect guide;
- 113
Seraphic Guardians of Destiny
HAVING presented the narratives of the Ministering Spirits of Time and the Messenger Hosts of Space, we come to the consideration of the guardian angels, seraphim devoted to the ministry to individual mortals, for whose elevation and perfection all of the vast survival scheme of spiritual progressio
- 114
Seraphic Planetary Government
THE Most Highs rule in the kingdoms of men through many celestial forces and agencies but chiefly through the ministry of seraphim.
- 115
The Supreme Being
WITH God the Father, sonship is the great relationship. With God the Supreme, achievement is the prerequisite to status—one must do something as well as be something.
- 116
The Almighty Supreme
IF MAN recognized that his Creators—his immediate supervisors—while being divine were also finite, and that the God of time and space was an evolving and nonabsolute Deity, then would the inconsistencies of temporal inequalities cease to be profound religious paradoxes.
- 117
God the Supreme
TO THE extent that we do the will of God in whatever universe station we may have our existence, in that measure the almighty potential of the Supreme becomes one step more actual.
- 118
Supreme and Ultimate—Time and Space
While God the Sevenfold is indispensable to the evolutionary attainment of the Supreme, the Supreme is also indispensable to the eventual emergence of the Ultimate.
- 119
The Bestowals of Christ Michael
CHIEF of the Evening Stars of Nebadon, I am assigned to Urantia by Gabriel on the mission of revealing the story of the seven bestowals of the Universe Sovereign, Michael of Nebadon, and my name is Gavalia.
- 120
The Bestowal of Michael on Urantia
ASSIGNED by Gabriel to supervise the restatement of the life of Michael when on Urantia and in the likeness of mortal flesh, I, the Melchizedek director of the revelatory commission intrusted with this task, am authorized to present this narrative of certain events which immediately preceded the Cre
- 121
The Times of Michael’s Bestowal
ACTING under the supervision of a commission of twelve members of the United Brotherhood of Urantia Midwayers, conjointly sponsored by the presiding head of our order and the Melchizedek of record, I am the secondary midwayer of onetime attachment to the Apostle Andrew, and I am authorized to place
- 122
Birth and Infancy of Jesus
IT WILL hardly be possible fully to explain the many reasons which led to the selection of Palestine as the land for Michael’s bestowal, and especially as to just why the family of Joseph and Mary should have been chosen as the immediate setting for the appearance of this Son of God on Urantia.
- 123
The Early Childhood of Jesus
OWING to the uncertainties and anxieties of their sojourn in Bethlehem, Mary did not wean the babe until they had arrived safely in Alexandria, where the family was able to settle down to a normal life.
- 124
The Later Childhood of Jesus
ALTHOUGH Jesus might have enjoyed a better opportunity for schooling at Alexandria than in Galilee, he could not have had such a splendid environment for working out his own life problems with a minimum of educational guidance, at the same time enjoying the great advantage of constantly contacting w
- 125
Jesus at Jerusalem
NO INCIDENT in all Jesus’ eventful earth career was more engaging, more humanly thrilling, than this, his first remembered visit to Jerusalem.
- 126
The Two Crucial Years
OF ALL Jesus’ earth-life experiences, the fourteenth and fifteenth years were the most crucial.
- 127
The Adolescent Years
AS JESUS entered upon his adolescent years, he found himself the head and sole support of a large family. Within a few years after his father’s death all their property was gone. As time passed, he became increasingly conscious of his pre-existence;
- 128
Jesus’ Early Manhood
AS JESUS of Nazareth entered upon the early years of his adult life, he had lived, and continued to live, a normal and average human life on earth. Jesus came into this world just as other children come; he had nothing to do with selecting his parents.
- 129
The Later Adult Life of Jesus
JESUS had fully and finally separated himself from the management of the domestic affairs of the Nazareth family and from the immediate direction of its individuals.
- 130
On the Way to Rome
THE tour of the Roman world consumed most of the twenty-eighth and the entire twenty-ninth year of Jesus’ life on earth. Jesus and the two natives from India—Gonod and his son Ganid—left Jerusalem on a Sunday morning, April 26, A.D. 22.
- 131
The World’s Religions
DURING the Alexandrian sojourn of Jesus, Gonod, and Ganid, the young man spent much of his time and no small sum of his father’s money making a collection of the teachings of the world’s religions about God and his relations with mortal man.
- 132
The Sojourn at Rome
SINCE Gonod carried greetings from the princes of India to Tiberius, the Roman ruler, on the third day after their arrival in Rome the two Indians and Jesus appeared before him. The morose emperor was unusually cheerful on this day and chatted long with the trio.
- 133
The Return from Rome
WHEN preparing to leave Rome, Jesus said good-bye to none of his friends. The scribe of Damascus appeared in Rome without announcement and disappeared in like manner. It was a full year before those who knew and loved him gave up hope of seeing him again.
- 134
The Transition Years
DURING the Mediterranean journey Jesus had carefully studied the people he met and the countries through which he passed, and at about this time he reached his final decision as to the remainder of his life on earth.
- 135
John the Baptist
JOHN the Baptist was born March 25, 7 B.C., in accordance with the promise that Gabriel made to Elizabeth in June of the previous year. For five months Elizabeth kept secret Gabriel’s visitation;
- 136
Baptism and the Forty Days
JESUS began his public work at the height of the popular interest in John’s preaching and at a time when the Jewish people of Palestine were eagerly looking for the appearance of the Messiah. There was a great contrast between John and Jesus.
- 137
Tarrying Time in Galilee
EARLY on Saturday morning, February 23, A.D. 26, Jesus came down from the hills to rejoin John’s company encamped at Pella. All that day Jesus mingled with the multitude.
- 138
Training the Kingdom’s Messengers
AFTER preaching the sermon on “The Kingdom,” Jesus called the six apostles together that afternoon and began to disclose his plans for visiting the cities around and about the Sea of Galilee. His brothers James and Jude were very much hurt because they were not called to this conference.
- 139
The Twelve Apostles
IT IS an eloquent testimony to the charm and righteousness of Jesus’ earth life that, although he repeatedly dashed to pieces the hopes of his apostles and tore to shreds their every ambition for personal exaltation, only one deserted him.
- 140
The Ordination of the Twelve
JUST before noon on Sunday, January 12, A.D. 27, Jesus called the apostles together for their ordination as public preachers of the gospel of the kingdom. The twelve were expecting to be called almost any day; so this morning they did not go out far from the shore to fish.
- 141
Beginning the Public Work
ON THE first day of the week, January 19, A.D. 27, Jesus and the twelve apostles made ready to depart from their headquarters in Bethsaida.
- 142
The Passover at Jerusalem
THE month of April Jesus and the apostles worked in Jerusalem, going out of the city each evening to spend the night at Bethany. Jesus himself spent one or two nights each week in Jerusalem at the home of Flavius, a Greek Jew, where many prominent Jews came in secret to interview him.
- 143
Going Through Samaria
AT THE end of June, A.D. 27, because of the increasing opposition of the Jewish religious rulers, Jesus and the twelve departed from Jerusalem, after sending their tents and meager personal effects to be stored at the home of Lazarus at Bethany.
- 144
At Gilboa and in the Decapolis
SEPTEMBER and October were spent in retirement at a secluded camp upon the slopes of Mount Gilboa. The month of September Jesus spent here alone with his apostles, teaching and instructing them in the truths of the kingdom.
- 145
Four Eventful Days at Capernaum
JESUS and the apostles arrived in Capernaum the evening of Tuesday, January 13. As usual, they made their headquarters at the home of Zebedee in Bethsaida. Now that John the Baptist had been sent to his death, Jesus prepared to launch out in the first open and public preaching tour of Galilee.
- 146
First Preaching Tour of Galilee
THE first public preaching tour of Galilee began on Sunday, January 18, A.D. 28, and continued for about two months, ending with the return to Capernaum on March 17.
- 147
The Interlude Visit to Jerusalem
JESUS and the apostles arrived in Capernaum on Wednesday, March 17, and spent two weeks at the Bethsaida headquarters before they departed for Jerusalem. These two weeks the apostles taught the people by the seaside while Jesus spent much time alone in the hills about his Father’s business.
- 148
Training Evangelists at Bethsaida
FROM May 3 to October 3, A.D. 28, Jesus and the apostolic party were in residence at the Zebedee home at Bethsaida.
- 149
The Second Preaching Tour
THE second public preaching tour of Galilee began on Sunday, October 3, A.D. 28, and continued for almost three months, ending on December 30.
- 150
The Third Preaching Tour
ON SUNDAY evening, January 16, A.D. 29, Abner, with the apostles of John, reached Bethsaida and went into joint conference with Andrew and the apostles of Jesus the next day.
- 151
Tarrying and Teaching by the Seaside
BY MARCH 10 all of the preaching and teaching groups had forgathered at Bethsaida. Thursday night and Friday many of them went out to fish, while on the Sabbath day they attended the synagogue to hear an aged Jew of Damascus discourse on the glory of father Abraham.
- 152
Events Leading up to the Capernaum Crisis
THE story of the cure of Amos, the Kheresa lunatic, had already reached Bethsaida and Capernaum, so that a great crowd was waiting for Jesus when his boat landed that Tuesday forenoon.
- 153
The Crisis at Capernaum
ON FRIDAY evening, the day of their arrival at Bethsaida, and on Sabbath morning, the apostles noticed that Jesus was seriously occupied with some momentous problem; they were cognizant that the Master was giving unusual thought to some important matter.
- 154
Last Days at Capernaum
ON THE eventful Saturday night of April 30, as Jesus was speaking words of comfort and courage to his downcast and bewildered disciples, at Tiberias a council was being held between Herod Antipas and a group of special commissioners representing the Jerusalem Sanhedrin.
- 155
Fleeing Through Northern Galilee
SOON after landing near Kheresa on this eventful Sunday, Jesus and the twenty-four went a little way to the north, where they spent the night in a beautiful park south of Bethsaida-Julias. They were familiar with this camping place, having stopped there in days gone by.
- 156
The Sojourn at Tyre and Sidon
ON FRIDAY afternoon, June 10, Jesus and his associates arrived in the environs of Sidon, where they stopped at the home of a well-to-do woman who had been a patient in the Bethsaida hospital during the times when Jesus was at the height of his popular favor.
- 157
At Caesarea-Philippi
BEFORE Jesus took the twelve for a short sojourn in the vicinity of Caesarea-Philippi, he arranged through the messengers of David to go over to Capernaum on Sunday, August 7, for the purpose of meeting his family. By prearrangement this visit was to occur at the Zebedee boatshop.
- 158
The Mount of Transfiguration
IT WAS near sundown on Friday afternoon, August 12, A.D. 29, when Jesus and his associates reached the foot of Mount Hermon, near the very place where the lad Tiglath once waited while the Master ascended the mountain al
- 159
The Decapolis Tour
WHEN Jesus and the twelve arrived at Magadan Park, they found awaiting them a group of almost one hundred evangelists and disciples, including the women’s corps, and they were ready immediately to begin the teaching and preaching tour of the cities of the Decapolis.
- 160
Rodan of Alexandria
ON SUNDAY morning, September 18, Andrew announced that no work would be planned for the coming week. All of the apostles, except Nathaniel and Thomas, went home to visit their families or to sojourn with friends.
- 161
Further Discussions with Rodan
ON SUNDAY, September 25, A.D. 29, the apostles and the evangelists assembled at Magadan. After a long conference that evening with his associates, Jesus surprised all by announcing that early the next day he and the twelve apostles would start for Jerusalem to attend the feast of tabernacles.
- 162
At the Feast of Tabernacles
WHEN Jesus started up to Jerusalem with the ten apostles, he planned to go through Samaria, that being the shorter route. Accordingly, they passed down the eastern shore of the lake and, by way of Scythopolis, entered the borders of Samaria.
- 163
Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan
A FEW days after the return of Jesus and the twelve to Magadan from Jerusalem, Abner and a group of some fifty disciples arrived from Bethlehem.
- 164
At the Feast of Dedication
AS THE camp at Pella was being established, Jesus, taking with him Nathaniel and Thomas, secretly went up to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the dedication. Not until they passed over the Jordan at the Bethany ford, did the two apostles become aware that their Master was going on to Jerusalem.
- 165
The Perean Mission Begins
ON TUESDAY, January 3, A.D. 30, Abner, the former chief of the twelve apostles of John the Baptist, a Nazarite and onetime head of the Nazarite school at Engedi, now chief of the seventy messengers of the kingdom, called
- 166
Last Visit to Northern Perea
FROM February 11 to 20, Jesus and the twelve made a tour of all the cities and villages of northern Perea where the associates of Abner and the members of the women’s corps were working.
- 167
The Visit to Philadelphia
THROUGHOUT this period of the Perean ministry, when mention is made of Jesus and the apostles visiting the various localities where the seventy were at work, it should be recalled that, as a rule, only ten were with him since it was the practice to leave at least two of the apostles at Pella to inst
- 168
The Resurrection of Lazarus
IT WAS shortly after noon when Martha started out to meet Jesus as he came over the brow of the hill near Bethany. Her brother, Lazarus, had been dead four days and had been laid away in their private tomb at the far end of the garden late on Sunday afternoon.
- 169
Last Teaching at Pella
LATE on Monday evening, March 6, Jesus and the ten apostles arrived at the Pella camp. This was the last week of Jesus’ sojourn there, and he was very active in teaching the multitude and instructing the apostles.
- 170
The Kingdom of Heaven
SATURDAY afternoon, March 11, Jesus preached his last sermon at Pella. This was among the notable addresses of his public ministry, embracing a full and complete discussion of the kingdom of heaven.
- 171
On the Way to Jerusalem
THE day after the memorable sermon on “The Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus announced that on the following day he and the apostles would depart for the Passover at Jerusalem, visiting numerous cities in southern Perea on the way.
- 172
Going into Jerusalem
JESUS and the apostles arrived at Bethany shortly after four o’clock on Friday afternoon, March 31, A.D. 30. Lazarus, his sisters, and their friends were expecting them;
- 173
Monday in Jerusalem
EARLY on this Monday morning, by prearrangement, Jesus and the apostles assembled at the home of Simon in Bethany, and after a brief conference they set out for Jerusalem. The twelve were strangely silent as they journeyed on toward the temple;
- 174
Tuesday Morning in the Temple
ABOUT seven o’clock on this Tuesday morning Jesus met the apostles, the women’s corps, and some two dozen other prominent disciples at the home of Simon.
- 175
The Last Temple Discourse
SHORTLY after two o’clock on this Tuesday afternoon, Jesus, accompanied by eleven apostles, Joseph of Arimathea, the thirty Greeks, and certain other disciples, arrived at the temple and began the delivery of his last address in the courts of the sacred edifice.
- 176
Tuesday Evening on Mount Olivet
THIS Tuesday afternoon, as Jesus and the apostles passed out of the temple on their way to the Gethsemane camp, Matthew, calling attention to the temple construction, said: “Master, observe what manner of buildings these are. See the massive stones and the beautiful adornment;
- 177
Wednesday, the Rest Day
WHEN the work of teaching the people did not press them, it was the custom of Jesus and his apostles to rest from their labors each Wednesday. On this particular Wednesday they ate breakfast somewhat later than usual, and the camp was pervaded by an ominous silence;
- 178
Last Day at the Camp
JESUS planned to spend this Thursday, his last free day on earth as a divine Son incarnated in the flesh, with his apostles and a few loyal and devoted disciples.
- 179
The Last Supper
DURING the afternoon of this Thursday, when Philip reminded the Master about the approaching Passover and inquired concerning his plans for its celebration, he had in mind the Passover supper which was due to be eaten on the evening of the next day, Friday.
- 180
The Farewell Discourse
AFTER singing the Psalm at the conclusion of the Last Supper, the apostles thought that Jesus intended to return immediately to the camp, but he indicated that they should sit down.
- 181
Final Admonitions and Warnings
AFTER the conclusion of the farewell discourse to the eleven, Jesus visited informally with them and recounted many experiences which concerned them as a group and as individuals.
- 182
In Gethsemane
IT WAS about ten o’clock this Thursday night when Jesus led the eleven apostles from the home of Elijah and Mary Mark on their way back to the Gethsemane camp. Ever since that day in the hills, John Mark had made it his business to keep a watchful eye on Jesus.
- 183
The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
AFTER Jesus had finally awakened Peter, James, and John, he suggested that they go to their tents and seek sleep in preparation for the duties of the morrow. But by this time the three apostles were wide awake;
- 184
Before the Sanhedrin Court
REPRESENTATIVES of Annas had secretly instructed the captain of the Roman soldiers to bring Jesus immediately to the palace of Annas after he had been arrested. The former high priest desired to maintain his prestige as the chief ecclesiastical authority of the Jews.
- 185
The Trial Before Pilate
SHORTLY after six o’clock on this Friday morning, April 7, A.D. 30, Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman procurator who governed Judea, Samaria, and Idumea under the immediate supervision of the legatus of Syria.
- 186
Just Before the Crucifixion
AS JESUS and his accusers started off to see Herod, the Master turned to the Apostle John and said: “John, you can do no more for me.
- 187
The Crucifixion
AFTER the two brigands had been made ready, the soldiers, under the direction of a centurion, started for the scene of the crucifixion. The centurion in charge of these twelve soldiers was the same captain who had led forth the Roman soldiers the previous night to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane.
- 188
The Time of the Tomb
THE day and a half that Jesus’ mortal body lay in the tomb of Joseph, the period between his death on the cross and his resurrection, is a chapter in the earth career of Michael which is little known to us.
- 189
The Resurrection
SOON after the burial of Jesus on Friday afternoon, the chief of the archangels of Nebadon, then present on Urantia, summoned his council of the resurrection of sleeping will creatures and entered upon the consideration of a possible technique for the restoration of Jesus.
- 190
Morontia Appearances of Jesus
THE resurrected Jesus now prepares to spend a short period on Urantia for the purpose of experiencing the ascending morontia career of a mortal of the realms.
- 191
Appearances to the Apostles and Other Leaders
RESURRECTION Sunday was a terrible day in the lives of the apostles; ten of them spent the larger part of the day in the upper chamber behind barred doors. They might have fled from Jerusalem, but they were afraid of being arrested by the agents of the Sanhedrin if they were found abroad.
- 192
Appearances in Galilee
BY THE time the apostles left Jerusalem for Galilee, the Jewish leaders had quieted down considerably.
- 193
Final Appearances and Ascension
THE sixteenth morontia manifestation of Jesus occurred on Friday, May 5, in the courtyard of Nicodemus, about nine o’clock at night. On this evening the Jerusalem believers had made their first attempt to get together since the resurrection.
- 194
Bestowal of the Spirit of Truth
ABOUT one o’clock, as the one hundred and twenty believers were engaged in prayer, they all became aware of a strange presence in the room. At the same time these disciples all became conscious of a new and profound sense of spiritual joy, security, and confidence.
- 195
After Pentecost
THE results of Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost were such as to decide the future policies, and to determine the plans, of the majority of the apostles in their efforts to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Peter was the real founder of the Christian church;
- 196
The Faith of Jesus
JESUS enjoyed a sublime and wholehearted faith in God. He experienced the ordinary ups and downs of mortal existence, but he never religiously doubted the certainty of God’s watchcare and guidance.