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Once again I have to ask the question – why not more? Why not more support for Machiventa? Why not a bigger, grander, more powerful mission? He achieved quite a lot, but it was in one small corner of the planet and it didn’t involve legions of angels or miracles or anything. Why do these missions look so ordinary to me? And by ordinary I mean totally material in their approach to material beings. No miracles, no angelic appearances, no council from on high. Instead all of the missions are roll up your sleeves and get dirty kind of work. Why don’t they involve the forces of the universe charging to the rescue, like in a John Wayne western?

Jesus

Now there was a being who knew how to make a splash. His mission included miracles, communication with angels, and a miraculous transfiguration. Yet, all of these events were outside of his predetermined approach to ministry. Jesus voluntarily divested himself of “extraplanetary support and special assistance” (1325.6). He set out to live like a normal person. The vast celestial hosts who were under his command were transferred to the command of his TA (1516.3). Jesus walked away from using the awesome power at his disposal unless the Father chose to act within his life. The Bible and The Urantia Book witness that God did act outside the bounds of a normal human life – but these actions were exceptions within Jesus’ ministry. When miracles happened he insisted that people not tell anyone. And he did not cure everyone he met, neither did he heal everyone on the planet. Jesus chose not to use his creator prerogatives in his life (1518.1), not to use superhuman protection for himself (1519.5), not to attract attention with miracles (1520.3), and not to take over the world (1522.1). And he made these decisions with only the Father’s help.

In the end Jesus’ mission was material. He preached and taught the truth. And he avoided tying his teaching to miracles or appearances by celestial beings. People met Jesus, listened to what he had to say, and then decided how they would respond. Aside from a few exceptional events; the voice at the baptism, the transfiguration, the appearances by Jesus after his death and resurrection – his followers were left on their own. Amazing things happened during Jesus’ mission on our world. But in the end, the majority of humans who came into contact with him did not receive extraordinary spiritual help. They received the same help from above as you and I, they made the same types of decisions as you and I. Jesus could have done a lot more, but didn’t.

The Urantia Book

Talk about different from the previous revelations. The latest mission from our celestial guides is a book. A pretty long book, a pretty impressive book. But still – a book? Couldn’t we have had a few angels singing in the heavens when it was published? How about a booming voice from the sky saying – read it! We do have the unusual events surrounding the writing of the Urantia Book that we can talk about. However, those events are not the mission. The Urantia Book is the mission. An important distinction. And how the book ties into past missions is the fact that it is a material mission. It’s a book, one reads it and buys into it or doesn’t. Past missions involved celestial beings becoming material beings. This mission involves the words of celestial beings printed and circulated. Still, it is consistent with past missions in this respect – people receive the message and choose. And all of us have the same spiritual resources to draw from as previous generations. Angelic announcements are nice, but press releases work too.

Prophets and Prophecy

A quick word on prophets. The Urantia book does talk about prophets receiving communication from celestial sources. Melchizedek continued to “collaborate with prophets and seers throughout the time between his bestowal and Jesus’ appearance” (1024.7). There are also the stories of Gabriel’s visit to Elizabeth and Mary, a messenger appearing to Joseph, and the “strange religious teacher” who was informed of Jesus’ birth in a dream. However, most of the prophets mentioned in The Urantia Book do not receive any special instruction. Moses did amazing things on his own. It seems to me that the communications leading up to the appearance of Jesus were part of the miraculous events of his ministry. The book does tell us that when a Creator Son appears on a planet unusual things are bound to happen. These unusual events seem to be exceptions rather than part of any observable pattern.

Finale

So, can we guess as to the development of a future mission to our planet? I think there is enough information in the book to make this prediction. Future missions will be in some form or another wholly material. A being will appear, or some form of communication which will be consistent with material life as it is at that time period. Any other worldly communications or supernatural phenomenon will be exceptions that will fall outside of the mission’s plan of operations. Every mission launched from the planetary authorities has been materially based and there is no reason to think that this will change.

Another question I have asked in this paper is, why this approach? Why haven’t the celestial powers sent armies of angels to appear to us to demand righteous living? My theory is that this approach is dangerous. I think visions of angels, voices in our head; even miracles can be manipulative and controlling. These approaches threaten to take away freedom of decision which is so important to our spiritual development. It would be very difficult for a person to ignore a voice booming from a burning bush. It would be especially difficult for a person who doesn’t have a strong will to say no to an angelic appearance. And most of the people who saw the miracles of Jesus believed for only a short time. Faith is truly powerful when we are making our own decisions. Many people met Jesus, talked with Jesus, lived with Jesus, and then said no. Others said yes, and went on to do amazing things. The real miracle is when we strive forth in faith with unseen spiritual forces helping us; Thought Adjuster, Spirit of Truth and Holy Spirit. I think the reason all of these missions to our planet were material was to preserve our freedom of choice. The Father in Heaven helps us to make wise decisions with our Father’s help – but the miracle is making decisions on our own.

God Bless You,

William Whitehead