Appendix 2 – Bringers of Truth
Jesus
The fourth Epochal Revelation was Jesus. Our part of creation is a local universe called Nebadon ruled by a Creator Son and our Universe Mother Spirit. A local universe is the smallest creative unit in the grand universe and there are about seven hundred thousand inhabited local universes; when Nebadon is complete it will have about ten million inhabited planets.[1] The name of our creator son is Michael.
Michael, along with our Universe Mother Spirit, is the creator of all the life in our local universe. Even though he organized the physical creations and created all the forms of life therein he could not rule this part of creation in his own name until he fully earned that right. He would never be certified as Universe Sovereign until he has really acquired the viewpoint of his own creatures by actual experience in the environment of their existence and as these very creatures themselves.[2] He must acquire this experience by seven times living as one of his created subjects. The first six times he appeared as a fully formed individual and for a period of time fulfilled the duties he was assigned. The first of these was as a Melchizedek son, among the others he twice appeared as an ascendant mortal in different stages of growth toward paradise.[3]
After the sixth bestowal it was apparent to all of us that our Creator had become a fellow creature, that the Universe Sovereign was also the friend and sympathetic helper of even the lowest form of created intelligence in his realms.[4] Indeed this is the purpose of these bestowals.[5]
For his seventh and final bestowal, Michael lived the full life from birth to death of an evolutionary mortal on one of the worlds in his creation. He chose our planet, partially because we truly did need help; we know him as Jesus of Nazareth. This event of the creator bestowing himself on an evolutionary planet such as ours happens only once in ten million inhabited planets. Even though it may appear as if we have been neglected by the powers that be, this is not the case; our planet has a special place in the attention of our universe.
The primary goal of this final bestowal was to reveal the nature of our Father to all the intelligent beings of his universe,[6] indeed each of the seven bestowals was a revelation of a different aspect of God. This bestowal was for the benefit of his entire universe, not just this one planet; all the beings in this universe have benefited by this portrayal of the nature of our Heavenly Father as revealed in the earth life of Jesus.
The process by which our creator father could be born as a helpless infant is not revealed, they do say however that he was conceived and born as is every mortal.[7] Palestine was chosen for the bestowal partially because of its location as well as the spiritual and intellectual nature of its inhabitants. The world had experienced a spiritual revival, the Greek language and Roman rule had spread throughout the region and Palestine was well situated to spread these new teachings both east and west.[8]
One way new teachings could spread is by means of the caravans passing from the Orient into the Mediterranean area. More than half of these caravans came near the little town of Nazareth in Galilee.[9] This meant that the young Jesus could go to the caravan meeting place, learn several languages and interact with people from many lands. For this reason Nazareth was an ideal place for Jesus to grow up.
A final reason for the placement of the birth of Jesus was the couple Mary and Joseph. Out of three prospective couples, Mary and Joseph were chosen to be the parents of the child of promise.[10] They were in fact excellent parents.
As recounted in the Bible, Mary was visited by Gabriel announcing the birth of a child of promise.[11] Gabriel is the first born of the local universe and is Michael’s chief executive.[12] Joseph was skeptical of his visitation to Mary until he had an impressive dream in which he was told their son would become a great light in the world.[13] As a result of this dream he believed Mary’s account of the previous Gabriel visit.
Jesus was born in the stable at Bethlehem much as reported in The Bible.[14] The major difference was the choir of angels singing praises was not visible to mortals and there were no shepherds paying homage at the inn; as far as those present knew it was an ordinary birth in the stable of a small town inn.
Jesus grew up in a loving family and experienced most of the same emotions we experience. It is certainly comforting that our creator, the sovereign of our universe has undergone these experiences just as we have.
Jesus was an active, energetic and inquisitive boy; his parents did their best to answer his thoughtful queries. From the time Jesus was five years old until he was ten, he was one continuous question mark.[15] When Jesus was nine years old he puzzled over the observation water could be a solid, a liquid and a vapor even though he organized this local universe and created the life in it.
The personality of Jesus was such that all manner of people were drawn to him. Many of the apostles were manly fishermen who would not be drawn to the mystical type of person depicted in our artwork. His personality was perfected by his decisions and by faithfully following the advice of his indwelling adjuster. As we grow in our ability to conform our will to our adjuster’s leadings we may also approach such a personality.
The personality of Jesus was such that it appealed to all manner of people, from educated intellectuals to sturdy Roman soldiers to Galilean fishermen.[16] He was totally sincere and interested in everyone. He fully loved each individual, this showed in his interactions with every person he met; he loved people so much because he placed a high value upon them.[17]
His personality was such that people were comfortable when they were with him. Though they called him Rabbi, they were learning not to be afraid of him. Jesus possessed that matchless grace of personality which enabled him so to live among them that they were not dismayed by his divinity. They found it really easy to be “friends with God,” God incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh.[18] They immediately respected him and called him Rabbi even though he had no formal training; it was and still is easy to be friends with him.
This is a vital point; it is easy to be friends with God. He is our closest, most intimate friend; He truly knows us and loves us. He knows our value, our unique personality and the contributions we can make as we grow in spiritual awareness and service. It is easy to be friends with God.
The Heavenly Father has full confidence in Jesus and in his earth life, Jesus attained the highest level of human development. To God he displayed the nature of the perfected man while to men he displayed the nature of God.[19] These accomplishments were readily apparent to all who met him; even the emperor Tiberius recognized Jesus had the bearing of a true emperor.[20]
The personality of Jesus was balanced and unified. He was the same within himself as he was in interacting with others. Every aspect was in harmony with every other aspect. While we cannot hope to attain such levels of perfection and symmetry we can strive to reach these levels of personality attainment. The most effective presentation of Jesus consists in following the example of the one who said, as he gestured toward the Master standing before his accusers, “Behold the man!”[21] There are other references to this in both The Urantia Book and the Bible declaring this man was Pilate.[22]
It would be presumptuous for us to claim to summarize the teachings of Jesus. The best we can hope for is to present some of the teachings he presented to his contemporaries. To restate them in a way to bring us a heightened awareness of our spiritual potential and thereby direct our efforts to make this troubled planet a better place in which to live and to grow spiritually. The goal we are seeking in these pages is to follow after Jesus, attempt to become more like him and in so doing transform ourselves into beings more receptive to the spiritual guidance each of us receive. By doing this we become individuals who are more likely to be able to make some contribution toward making this world of our nativity more spiritual, more loving, more caring and more in line with God’s plan for us as individuals as well as for our planetary society.
After his baptism at the hands of John the Baptist at Pella in the river Jordan, Jesus went alone into the hills to contemplate the changes brought about by this experience and plan the rest of his bestowal. During this period his human mind was becoming more in tune with his divine mind. His human mind asked questions about what was happening but invariably chose to forsake human goals and to follow the guidance of God, choosing to do God’s will. He unqualifiedly submitted his will to doing the will of God.[23] In all the decisions he made in the hills he had only one objective, the further revelation of God to man, the establishment of the kingdom, the rule of the heavenly Father in the hearts of mankind.[24]
The main goal of his postbaptismal life was to portray to his fellows the true nature of God. To show the way to God was through faith and love.[25] As he was training the apostles he repeatedly told them the goal of this period of his life was to reveal the nature of the Father to men and to lead men to realize they are the faith sons of God.[26]
Following is a discussion of some of the teachings Jesus presented to his followers. This is only a small portion of these truths, in the revelation the life and teachings of Jesus take up more than seven hundred pages.
There is an entire paper in The Urantia Book about the kingdom of heaven (Paper 170), further information about this subject can be found there. While he taught varying ideas about the kingdom in public, to the apostles he always taught the kingdom was man’s personal experiences with those around him and with the Father in heaven. He told them “the kingdom is within you.”[27] The core of the kingdom of heaven concept was the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Jesus stated when this is accepted we would be liberated from our bondage of fear and enriched by our new spiritual liberty.[28]
During his last few days on Earth as he was summarizing his teachings there are several references to our becoming faith sons of God. For example, at the remembrance supper Jesus was instituting a symbol of a new dispensation, individuals enslaved by selfishness and rituals now become “liberated faith sons of the living God.”[29] During the last group prayer with the apostles in Gethsemane he declared he would give eternal life to all who become faith sons of God.[30] In the commentary concerning the reaction of Jesus to his mistreatment at the Sanhedrin court, The Urantia Book declares in the kingdom of heaven faith sons of God at last experience deliverance from personal isolation and realize the ecstasy of spiritual citizenship in the universe.[31]
Again, during the appearances between the resurrection and his ascension, Jesus talks about the faith sons of God. “If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish.” This good news must be shared with all of our sisters and brothers. God is our loving Heavenly Father and we can now worship Him wherever we may be.[32] He also said he revealed God as our Father and us as sons of God on earth; this is activated when we become conscious of God. He declared our mission on Earth is to proclaim the gospel, which is “the fatherhood of God and the truth of the sonship of man.” [33]
Jesus also restated the Golden Rule, updating it to a more spiritual application. The previous statements of the golden rule were about doing onto others as you would have them do onto you. But throughout his teachings Jesus taught that we should do onto our brothers and sisters as God would do onto them, to manifest fatherly love by showing forth the love of God in our daily activities; this statement of the golden rule is much higher than brotherly love.[34] As Jesus restated the rule it became positive, outgoing and based upon spiritual thinking rather than on rules and ceremonies.[35] He placed a high value upon all people and therefore he was willing to spend himself in the unremitting service of humankind. And it was this infinite worth of the finite that made the golden rule a vital factor in his religion. What mortal can fail to be uplifted by the extraordinary faith Jesus has in him?[36]
The faith Jesus has in us is truly inspiring; we cannot help but be spiritually moved by it. When we open ourselves up to this truth we become filled with love for our creator who lived among us as one of us and holds us in such high esteem.
The teachings of Jesus bring us out of spiritual darkness and into the light of truth; they lift us up from an inherited faith to a personal faith attained by actual experience.[37] We no longer believe just because our parents may have believed, or because this is what some religious authority told us to believe; instead it is now based on what we feel and know and experience. Jesus said anyone who believes his teaching will no longer be in darkness.[38] Jesus truly brought the light of truth into our world which had been darkened by the transgressions of previous bringers of light.
One of the more difficult aspects of his teachings for the apostles was that we should seek entrance into the kingdom of heaven as a little child. A child in a loving family relationship is naturally open and trusting. And so should we approach God as a trusting child who is totally open to its loving father. Jesus Said: ‘Unless you seek entrance into the kingdom with the faith and trusting dependence of a little child, you shall in no wise gain admission.”[39] The faith of Jesus was based upon this innocent trust in his Heavenly Father.[40] He had the purity of a child’s trust in his faith and this is the way we must approach our Heavenly Father, with the open trust of a little child; when it comes to faith and awareness of spiritual matters we certainly are as little children. As we grow in faith we may gain spiritual maturity, but even then we retain this simple, open and trusting nature of a child in our faith.
The teaching of Jesus regarding sin was refreshingly new; even modern religions have not reached his level of revealing God’s love for each of us. They generally teach if we pray to God with faith He will forgive us. Jesus taught God has already forgiven us; He forgives us even before we ask for this forgiveness and this forgiveness of our sin becomes activated as we forgive our fellows.[41] When an earthly child has done wrong and goes to father with eyes full of tears, a loving father has forgiven the erring child before anything is said; there may be consequences for the misdeed, but the sincere repentant child is forgiven. And so are we.
When Jesus was on Earth teaching us about the love of God for each individual and other truths he naturally could be in only one place at a time, teaching only one person or one group of people. After he left Urantia and resumed leadership in his local universe, Jesus sent us the Spirit of Truth to be bestowed upon everyone; this spirit teaches us that we are the sons of God and teaches everyone about the presence of God within.[42] What exactly is this Spirit of Truth? It is not truth itself, nor is it the law of truth or some expression of truth; this spirit is actually the conviction of truth.[43] It tells us about true meanings on spirit levels; it is the spirit of expanding and growing truth. For each new generation this spirit restates the teachings of Jesus enabling us to use it based upon our own personal spiritual difficulties and needs.[44]
How do we know if we are truly fellowshipping with this Spirit of Truth? This proof lies in our own experience of enhanced fellowship with Michael.[45] The more we love Michael and are aware of his guiding presence the more we are following his guiding spirit. The Spirit of Truth comes really to lead all believers into all truth, into the expanding knowledge of the experience of the living and growing spiritual consciousness of the reality of eternal and ascending sonship with God.[46] One indication of the power of this Spirit of Truth is the fact that less than a month after the apostles received this spirit helper they made more spiritual progress than they had made in four years living with Jesus.[47] Each of us has this spirit guiding us into a greater understanding of truth and if we follow its guidance we cannot fail.
Jesus said our world is not evil, he showed us how to live and be at home in the world; he delivered us from taboos and taught using positive affirmations; he taught love, joy and brotherhood; he looked upon us as sons of God and visualized a glorious future for all who choose survival. Regardless of our situation we are all God’s children and his brethren.[48] His life and teachings are a mighty inspiration for us all.
The trial of Jesus by the Sanhedrin court was not in any way fair or just. These religious leaders of the Jewish people were so set on preserving their position and power they would do anything to get Jesus out of their way; in fact the entire process from the Jewish “trial” to the appearance before the Roman rulers was a sham. He was arrested without indictment; accused without evidence; adjudged without witnesses; punished without a verdict; and now was soon to be condemned to die by an unjust judge who confessed that he could find no fault in him.[49] During the entire process Jesus remained calm and majestic and this certainly surprised his accusers.[50] Jesus was totally dedicated to doing the will of God in all things; by means of his calm and majestic bearing during this unfair series of appearances he was making a radically new revelation to God of the best nature of man.[51] This demonstration of calm composure in the face of unfairness shows us the ideal way we should act when wrongly accused. He is saying we must trust in God to see us through; he is not saying we should agree in a cowardly fashion, nor is he saying we should rant and rave over the injustice being done to us. The ideal way to fight injustice is to follow God’s will and the example of Jesus.
Throughout the entire process Jesus exemplified the majestic silence and solemn dignity of the divine nature.[52] In our own interactions with those who may wrong us in some way we should remember the conduct of Jesus under these exceedingly difficult trials. If we keep his example in our heart we can face any difficulty with grace.
One final thought on these proceedings, when the mob in Jerusalem shouted for the death of Jesus they cheered and said “His blood be on us and our children.”[53] This brings to mind the history of the Jewish people since that day.
A moment’s reflection on the nature of God as taught by Jesus reveals the meaning of the death of Jesus is different from teachings by religions bearing his name. Jesus taught God is our loving Father, he taught love and brotherhood; teachings which are not consistent with the concept of atonement, God is so angry with sin that His blameless son must be put to death. There are two sections in The Urantia Book that discuss the true meaning of the cross. These start on page 2016 with “Meaning of the Death on the Cross” and continue on the next page with “Lessons from the Cross.” These sections give a more complete commentary on this subject.
The cross of Jesus… forever places all relations between God and man upon the family basis. God is the Father; man is his son. Love, the love of a father for his son, becomes the central truth in the universe relations of Creator and creature….”[54] A loving father would not require some price be paid for transgressions; the reaction of a loving father would not be anger and retribution; rather it would be love, mercy and forgiveness.
The cross shows us the attitude of our universal Father is to overcome evil with good; it exemplifies divine love absorbing and destroying wrongs; this totally transcends mercy.[55] The beauty of divine love, once fully admitted to the human heart, forever destroys the charm of sin and the power of evil.[56] It has been said man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends; the love of Jesus was so strong he was willing to lay down his life for his enemies.[57] After the cross nobody can think our creator does not know about our earthly afflictions.[58] Jesus was certainly afflicted and he rose above them by being totally focused on doing God’s will.
The resurrection of Jesus on the third day is a creed of Christians everywhere; it is a foundation of our faith. When it happened this was a surprising event, even the apostles did not expect it nor did they believe it at first.[59] One who believed before the apostles was David Zebedee a brother of the apostles James and John; he was the self-appointed chief of communications for the believers; he sent messengers out to believers in distant places, even as far away as Alexandria, proclaiming the resurrection.[60] After the resurrection, for forty days[61] Jesus appeared nineteen separate times to individuals who could make spiritual use of the experience; he never appeared to his enemies.[62]
All this power which is inherent in Jesus — the endowment of life — and which enabled him to rise from the dead, is the very gift of eternal life which he bestows upon kingdom believers, and which even now makes certain their resurrection from the bonds of natural death.[63]
The resurrection is proof eternal kingdom believers shall likewise experience resurrection after death; no longer should we who believe fear death. Death has lost its sting for all time; for us physical death is graduation time, delivering us into a better realm.
One interesting aspect is Mary Magdalene witnessed four out of the first five appearances by Jesus;[64] she was the chief spokesman for the women’s corps just as Peter was for the apostles.[65]
Four papers in The Urantia Book describe the post resurrection appearances by Jesus, these are papers 190-193 starting on page 2029. We will present only a brief summary of these appearances, for a full description see these papers.
To a group of women believers he said: You also are called to publish the good news of the liberty of mankind through the gospel of sonship with God in the kingdom of heaven. Go to all the world proclaiming this gospel and confirming believers in the faith thereof.[66]
He appeared to two brothers returning home from the Passover in Jerusalem and gave them a summary of his teachings;[67] this appearance is mentioned in The Bible.[68]
When Peter declared he believed Jesus had risen, Jesus appeared before him and among other things said “Gird yourself, Simon, for the battle of a new day, the struggle with spiritual darkness and the evil doubtings of the natural minds of men.”[69] This speaks to us today as we prepare to share this message with our sisters and brothers; we must prepare ourselves to enter the struggle with spiritual darkness and doubters with evil minds; we must be prepared to do battle with forces of evil seeking to thwart our revelation.
He appeared to a meeting of believers at Philadelphia telling them about the Spirit of Truth he would send them.[70]
He appeared before the eleven apostles telling them they should manifest in their daily lives these teachings through loving service in addition to preaching about them.[71] During this same meeting after Thomas declared that he believed it was Jesus, he was told “Blessed are those in the ages to come who will believe even though they have not seen with the eye of flesh nor heard with the mortal ear.”[72]
The believers at Alexandria were told this gospel belongs to all races, all economic groups, to all people without any classification; they were told they were to proclaim the gospel by the lives they live in the flesh.[73]
At the Sea of Galilee he walked along the shore with the apostles two at a time asking each if they believed and giving them personal advice for the future.[74]
He appeared before Nalda and about seventy-five Samaritan believers saying faith their saves their souls.[75] Nalda was the Samaritan woman from whom Jesus asked for water a few years previously to the consternation of the apostles.
His final appearance was with the apostles and finished on the western slope of Mount Olivet. The apostles were bewildered and silent, no doubt in shock after these events. His final words before he disappeared from their sight were “Remember all I have taught you and the life I have lived among you. My love overshadows you, my spirit will dwell with you, and my peace shall abide upon you. Farewell.”[76]
Jesus the human being with his unshakable faith in God is a compelling image for mortals struggling with a hostile environment of materialism and greed, but Christianity forsook the human Jesus in its glorification of him as the divine Christ.[77] After the emotions connected with Pentecost, Jesus became a religion and his human aspects were largely ignored; while the glorified Christ is truly a noble story, it neglects the human Jesus. We must not lose sight of this human Jesus because he is our brother as well as our creator.
We must now figuratively resurrect the human Jesus from the tomb where his mortal struggles were buried underneath the theological traditions and religious dogmas of more than two thousand years.[78] These traditions do portray a splendid concept of the Christ, but they do not speak to the human efforts and needs of their parishioners. The religious authorities who put Jesus to death were likewise mired in tradition and dogma just as many current religious leaders are. The revelation of The Urantia Book was given to us at this time so we who seek righteousness can bring a breath of fresh air into the religious community today; we should seek His will in bringing this truth forward.
There will come a time when Christianity will be reformed so the unadulterated religious teachings of Jesus will again be proclaimed.[79] This is vital because traditions and dogmas cannot transform your life; only a vital, living, and personal faith in God can; a religion about Jesus may be interesting and temporarily satisfying but the religion of Jesus is soul saving and eternally meaningful.
The modern age will refuse to accept a religion which is inconsistent with facts and out of harmony with its highest conceptions of truth, beauty, and goodness. The hour is striking for a rediscovery of the true and original foundations of present-day distorted and compromised Christianity — the real life and teachings of Jesus.[80]
The legacy of Jesus was to begin the spiritual transformation of Urantia. We must not be dismayed centuries have transpired since his life on this planet with no outward showing of prominent righteousness amongst the majority of our fellow citizens. A moral foundation has been put down by Christianity; we now have a revelation giving us a more complete picture of creation. The time is near when the righteous will march forth proclaiming peace, brotherhood, love, joy and eternal life for all of the faithful.
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