Prelude
114:6.5 (1255.4) 1. The epochal angels. These are the angels of the current age, the dispensational group. These celestial ministers are intrusted with the oversight and direction of the affairs of each generation as they are designed to fit into the mosaic of the age in which they occur.
A mosaic is a work of art. It arranges countless pieces of various colors and shapes according to the artist’s design for a beautiful whole. Many mosaics, ancient and modern, are on the floors of buildings. We walk on them, perhaps hardly noticing them. If we take a look, we often need historical understanding to understand and begin to appreciate them. If we focus on one or a few pieces—tesserae—in the mosaic, we may be impressed with the abstract qualities of the stone, glass, or pixels of which they are made; but their real meaning escapes us apart from the whole.
The Urantia Book is the greatest work of art on the planet. To discover its full beauty requires study that seeks the book’s creative design.
2:7.5 (42.6) Philosophers commit their gravest error when they are misled into the fallacy of abstraction, the practice of focusing the attention upon one aspect of reality and then of pronouncing such an isolated aspect to be the whole truth. The wise philosopher will always look for the creative design which is behind, and pre-existent to, all universe phenomena. The creator thought invariably precedes creative action.
To discover the powerful design of The Urantia Book requires study of how the parts make up a meaningful whole on all levels: the four parts of the book; groups of papers; sections within a paper; and smaller units with meaningful structure. On the basis of this and other kinds of study, I have offered some findings about how the book as a whole illuminates an inquiry into principles of epochal revelation management. See two previous articles in this series, “Getting the Gospel Movement Back on Track,” and “Introducing The Urantia Book in Accord with its Teachings” which partly overlaps with the previous document but adds a lot to it.
Our Post-Bestowal Age: Origin, History, and Destiny
To discover what we can of the design of the post-bestowal age is a fascinating quest. To understand the planetary conditions that formed the backdrop for the bestowal, we do well to study especially the first three epochal revelations.
The origin of the post-bestowal age was Jesus’ bestowal, to gain creature experience and to reveal the will of the Paradise Father; in large measure his public career as a teacher was focused on establishing the kingdom of God by launching what is three times referred to as “the gospel movement.”
The history of the post-bestowal age, for the first two thousand years, is partly surveyed in Paper 195, After Pentecost, which traces the development of Christianity in its changing cultural and political contexts.
The destiny of the post-bestowal age, according to some passages, appears to be fulfilled by a spiritual renaissance.
176:2.6 (1915.3) “Concerning the times of the coming again of the Son of Man, no one in heaven or on earth may presume to speak. But you should be wise regarding the ripening of an age; you should be alert to discern the signs of the times. You know when the fig tree shows its tender branches and puts forth its leaves that summer is near. Likewise, when the world has passed through the long winter of material-mindedness and you discern the coming of the spiritual springtime of a new dispensation, should you know that the summertime of a new visitation draws near.
Jesus spoke of five “phases, or epochs” of the kingdom, and two of these are particularly relevant to this inquiry.
170:4.3 (1863.1) 2. The enlarging brotherhood of gospel believers, the social aspects of the enhanced morals and quickened ethics resulting from the reign of God’s spirit in the hearts of individual believers.
170:4.5 (1863.3) 4. The prospect of the more perfect fulfillment of the will of God, the advance toward the dawn of a new social order in connection with improved spiritual living — the next age of man.
What do we need in order to reach this “next age of man” with its spiritual progress and new social order?
195:9.4 (2082.9) Religion does need new leaders, spiritual men and women who will dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings. If Christianity persists in neglecting its spiritual mission while it continues to busy itself with social and material problems, the spiritual renaissance must await the coming of these new teachers of Jesus’ religion who will be exclusively devoted to the spiritual regeneration of men. And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world.
We are definitely told that a new civilization will be built upon Jesus’ teachings.
154:4.6 (1720.3) There was much talk about Jesus’ preaching doctrines which were upsetting for the common people; his enemies maintained that his teachings were impractical, that everything would go to pieces if everybody made an honest effort to live in accordance with his ideas. And the men of many subsequent generations have said the same things. Many intelligent and well-meaning men, even in the more enlightened age of these revelations, maintain that modern civilization could not have been built upon the teachings of Jesus — and they are partially right. But all such doubters forget that a much better civilization could have been built upon his teachings, and sometime will be. This world has never seriously tried to carry out the teachings of Jesus on a large scale, notwithstanding that halfhearted attempts have often been made to follow the doctrines of so-called Christianity.
To help build that better civilization, The Urantia Book, which is intended to function for a thousand years, highlights a number of social and political projects. But the highest leverage for planetary transformation comes from religious and spiritual projects, among which the gospel movement emphasized far more than any other, although there are other projects.
Modern religion would rehabilitate itself, if, in addition to its moral mandates, it would give equal attention to the truths of science, philosophy, and spiritual experience, to the beauties of the physical creation, the charm of intellectual art, and the grandeur of genuine character achievement.
The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness. (2:7.9-10/43.2-3)
And there is another specific a desideratum, not an inevitability.
195:10.16 (2086.2) The great hope of Urantia lies in the possibility of a new revelation of Jesus with a new and enlarged presentation of his saving message which would spiritually unite in loving service the numerous families of his present-day professed followers.
In this ecumenical project, “the new revelation of Jesus” obviously includes The Urantia Book, but it also refers to something said several paragraphs earlier:
195:10.1 (2084.1) The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth in the experience of spirit-born mortals who effectively reveal the Master to all men.
In This Emerging Mosaic, Where Does The Urantia Book Fit In?
In the normal planetary sequence, the first three epochal revelations build up a fine civilization as the base for the Bestowal Son’s spiritual mission. Coming to a world that lacked the proper foundation, Jesus is reversing that sequence, building a new civilization upon his teachings. The post-bestowal age includes or possibly culminates in a spiritual renaissance, and on that basis, a new world order is to arise.
The Urantia Book expands cosmic consciousness and enhances spiritual perception, providing a most elegant, if partial, substitute for the civilization that we have lost plus a spiritual understanding that will sooner or later guide the gospel movement into a magnificent repleteness. We can make blunders in epochal revelation management that will seriously delay that eventuality, but, promises Jesus, “in an age to come the gospel which I declare to you will rule this very world” (143:1.4/1683.1).
Those of us who are enthusiastic about The Urantia Book would like to play our part in helping the book to succeed in its mission. But why does the book itself not give us clear instructions about how to do this? In Paper 52, Planetary Mortal Epochs, we have a survey of sequences of ages through which a normal planet passes on the way from primitive man to light and life. Although our planet is atypical, we are given an entire section devoted to Urantia’s Post-Bestowal Age. This is an obvious place where we could be given some word about the role to be played by the Urantia Papers. What are we told? That Jesus has already shown the way to the immediate attainment of spiritual brotherhood; and that, in order to achieve social brotherhood, “much depends upon the following personal transformations and planetary adjustments”: social fraternity, intellectual cross fertilization, ethical awakening, political wisdom, and spiritual insight. Not a word about The Urantia Book. Where’s the advice we might have hoped for?
Actually the book provides abundant instruction about the role of truth and revelation in personal and planetary transformation; and we have the high privilege and duty of applying this teaching to changing personal, group, local, and planetary circumstances.
Additional instruction is provided outside the book itself. Urantia Foundation is mandated, first of all, to pursue its lofty goals by promoting a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with man’s intellectual and cultural development. To communicate effectively to the level of man’s development requires frequent adjustments to the ups and downs of intellect and culture.
Additional insight about how the book fits into the mosaic of the age comes from the observation that epochal revelations typically move through at least two major phases: an initial preparatory phase, which may include establishing a center or a network of centers, and mobilizing and training a team; next comes a phase which culminates in full contact with the planet.
We are told that we are ready now for truth and love. “All Urantia is waiting for the proclamation of the ennobling message of Michael . . . , for the living, spiritual reality of the gospel of Jesus” (94:12.7/1041.5). There are more specifics.
In the divine mosaic of history, each project in the planetary agenda has its proper place in sequence and its proper phases of unfolding.
Concluding Thoughts, Objections, and Replies
“This is the day which the Lord has made.” I believe that the Creators have a mosaic not only for each planetary age, but for each day, a mosaic which includes tesserae for each person each day. If we desire above all to find and do the Father’s will, to follow Jesus, and to work out the details with the agencies of the Infinite Spirit, we can enjoy ever-increasing success in that quest. We can even sense something of the mosaic for our day.
It can be difficult or impossible to find an answer to the question of what the will of God is, unless we recall that his will is, first and foremost, that we supremely desire to do his will; and, second, that how we do it is even more important than what we do. But if we are willing to undertake a thorough prayer process, being industrious in study and other modes of inquiry to provision our minds with a balanced set of teachings, and if we sincerely surrender every wish of mind and every craving of soul to the transforming embrace of spiritual growth, then we can succeed. The Father’s will asks us to go into partnership in our inquiry, and his expectations for us are not unreasonable. His will is for us to do what we can do with him and in him.
The Urantia Book is intended to serve for a thousand years, and it cannot present detailed guidance for each generation. In my several documents on these questions, I have sketched an orientation that I believe enhances a prayer process. The gift of the fifth epochal revelation requires us to be diligent. I am utterly convinced that this revelation will succeed. Nevertheless, this generation can blunder in epochal revelation management, and greatly delay that success. We should not assume that every our every initiative with The Urantia Book is appropriately described as serving the revelation. To serve truly, we need to mobilize our full energies of mind, soul, and body—under the guidance of divine wisdom.
For more insight on this question, see two further documents in this series, one on the goals of Urantia Foundation (with a key phrase that has been adopted for the constitutions of Urantia Association International and The Urantia Book Fellowship), and one on The Publication Mandate (not yet finished).
In closing I want to address two objections to the perspective I have set forth.
Objection 1: Each person should feel free to experiment, following his or her sense of leading, in bringing The Urantia Book to the attention of others. We should support one another in these experiments, and trust that time will weed out the ineffective ones and that our creativity will makes some nice discoveries about what works.
Question: How might the wisdom of The Urantia Book provide an answer to this objection? Please take time to come up with your own answer, before consulting my answer (presented below).
Objection 2: I want to introduce The Urantia Book to as many people as I can, and even if only one soul out of a hundred is truly ready for this discovery, all my efforts will have been worth it.
Question: How might the wisdom of The Urantia Book respond to this objection? Please take time to come up with your own current best answer before consulting my answer.
In “closing” this interminable discussion, we open a new phase of our inquiry, the sociological dimension. The documents in this series on Sharing The Urantia Book Wisely have emphasized two main points: first, wise truth teaching is adapted to the other person’s capacity of receptivity; and second, the gospel is the proper foundation for more advanced teaching and civilizational progress. These points are comparatively easy to apply when getting to know an individual to whom we may want to introduce the book. But what about groups?
The method of casuistry seeks to illuminate an ethical decisions in a grey area by beginning with extreme cases on each side of a spectrum and then going on to make decisions about cases that are increasingly close to the particular grey area at hand. Here are two extreme cases.
Extreme A. A religious group with a high average capacity of receptivity, including many beliefs in harmony with key teachings of The Urantia Book, has invited you to give a talk on book. You are eminently qualified to give the presentation, and you would design your talk to be clear and honest, while emphasizing truths held in common, especially the cluster of core spiritual truths that we call the gospel. You properly accept the invitation.
Extreme Z. You are attending a conference of Urantia Book readers in a hotel in a big city, and attendees are given concentric circles flags and advertising the book openly. And then, you discover right down the block in another hotel a conference of violent extremists. Shall you visit the other conference with your circles and books? You properly decide not mingle there and begin introducing the book, because you do not want to endanger your own group.
I will not go further in this exercise of classical casuistry. On the one hand, we see today some beginnings here and there of what could become the spiritual renaissance. On the other hand, this is a world in which violence carried out by professed religionists is not uncommon. The internet tends to communicate in a way that is open to tolerant and supporting people as well as to intolerant and antagonistic people.
An overall pattern in epochal revelation can be found having to do with individuals and groups. In Planetary Prince’s staff, the college of revealed religion was slow in functioning, and when they began to teach, their neighbors who were paralyzed in bondage to custom. They responded not with a predominantly spiritual teaching but with “the gospel of individual initiative.” Later on, they were quite selective in whom they invited to join them.
When Adam and Eve discovered the religious status of their neighbors, they did not even attempt to teach the brotherhood of man, but began to give them a more basic foundation of faith. They, too, welcomed to the Garden the most qualified individuals.
Melchizedek and Jesus generally gave advanced teaching only to those who were themselves advanced, and sometimes on the condition that they promise not to tell others.
There are exceptions, but they were justified by specific reasons. To Nalda Jesus admitted that he was the deliverer, not only because of her spiritual sincerity, but also because he could do so without danger, and because he intuited that he would not come back there again. Jesus revealed his divine nature in the epochal sermon because his enemies were organized and gathered and about to declare open warfare. By pre-empt their imminent attack, he give stronger protection to his followers and a stronger message to his enemies that might wake some of them up to realize the cosmic significance of the conflict. And in his next to last visit to Jerusalem, during the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus publicly announced his divinity to the world. He knew that he could do so safely, his time of activity in this world was coming to a close, and his plan for his bestowal world was that he wanted us to know of his combined nature.
If we want to walk in the clear light of living truth, we have the proper foundation for a prayer process that requires cosmic stamina, industriousness, radical openness, decisiveness, commitment to follow through, a pure search for wisdom, and living faith.
Spiritual unity does not require intellectual uniformity. This discussion will continue in changing planetary and local circumstances. When decisions had to be made by Jesus’ and John’s apostles, Jesus did not participate in their debates, but gave talks on sympathy, tolerance, and cooperation. Divine love surrounds us and indwells us. Love enables us to learn to differ and debate. Love is perfected in wisdom, and wisdom for particular situations requires working out the details with the agencies of the Infinite Spirit operating in our universe and on our world. Best wishes in your continuing inquiry, industrious perhaps to the point of the exhaustion of your human capacity for human adjustment, as you seek wisdom to illuminate your truth-beauty-and-goodness path of growing ever closer to divine perfection as you deal with the problems of the earth career!
Should we be encouraged to experiment freely in bringing The Urantia Book to the public? Not if there are discernible guidelines, which have been abundantly demonstrated in this series of documents. We should experiment within the guidelines, not with the guidelines.
Should we introduce The Urantia Book without trying to determine anyone’s capacity of receptivity, in the hopes of reaching even one soul out of a hundred who is truly ready to make this discovery? On the one hand, the kingdom messenger sows seed widely, on varying types of soil. On the other hand, Jesus gave a clear warning.
140:3.18 (1571.5) “Discern the truth clearly; live the righteous life fearlessly; and so shall you be my apostles and my Father’s ambassadors. You have heard it said: ‘If the blind lead the blind, they both shall fall into the pit.’ If you would guide others into the kingdom, you must yourselves walk in the clear light of living truth. In all the business of the kingdom I exhort you to show just judgment and keen wisdom. Present not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample your gems under foot and turn to rend you.
A simple distinction enables us to see how to engage in broad seed-sowing without pearl-casting. If the gospel is the seed and The Urantia Book is one of the pearls, the tension disappears. More aspects could be brought in, some of which will be discussed in the last paragraphs of the essay. For now, it is enough. Return to the essay.
Most recently revised on March 3, 2017