Episode:Jesus—The Transition Years (Part 5)

From Symmetry of Soul


Jesus, guided by his indwelling Thought Adjuster, spent six weeks alone with God on Mount Hermon that he might finish his work of mastering his human mind and complete the task of effecting his full consecration to the remainder of his lifework on earth. There he finished the mortal task of achieving the circles of mind-understanding and personality-control.

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Keywords: Urantia, Jesus, Planetary Prince, Temptation, Satan

Summary by Kermit

Commentary after review

The final three paragraphs of section 134:6 provide the epilogue to the story of the Urmia temple of the philosophy of religions. Sadly, the repercussions of Jesus’ teachings were diminished due to the lack of wisdom and tolerance exhibited by the later Christian teachers who joined the Urmia faculty. Following Cymboyton’s death his sons appealed to Abner (John the Baptist’s chief of staff at Philadelphia) for help supplying faculty at Urmia, but unfortunately he chose teachers who were unyielding and uncompromising. The led to a discussion of a facet of cosmic character, tolerance, and how difficult it is for the mere religionist to temper the sixth adjutant energy of zeal and attain the cosmic fruit of the spirit FORGIVING TOLERANCE.

134:7. The Thirty-First Year (A.D. 25)

In this last year before Jesus embarked on his public ministry, he traveled through Syria and Palestine under various appellations, as the carpenter of Nazareth, the boatbuilder of Capernaum, the scribe of Damascus, and the teacher of Alexandria. On his Mediterranean journey with Ganid and Gonod, we were graced with the rich narrative of the exploits, encounters, and experiences of this third psychic circle man among men. However, on this last journey of Jesus as a private individual, we find few details of his doings. It was during this period that he completed the mastery of his human mind and personality control in his attainment of the status of a first psychic circle mortal of the realm. We also surmised that his itinerary served the purpose of establishing in the forefront of his mind a clear and comprehensive understanding of Palestine, his homeland and the Jews, his people, immediately prior to beginning his public ministry. This journey extended the entire length of Palestine from Beersheba in the south to Dan, or Caesarea-Philippi in the north, whence, he followed the leading of his indwelling Though Adjuster and went up to Mt. Hermon to finish his work of “circle” attainment, and effecting his full consecration to the remainder of his lifework on Urantia.

We discussed how we might reconcile the revelation’s directive for us to avoid prolonged personality isolation versus Jesus entering six weeks of solitude on Mt. Hermon. It was explained that Jesus’ solitude served to remove possible distractions of Jesus’ human mind, the better to allow Michael’s consciousness to engage it. Long time readers of the revelation are familiar with the statement concerning the value to mankind of knowing the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it. Yet, the life of Jesus as Michael has little value or accessibility to mankind, accounting for the lack of detail regarding these aspects of the Master’s life. In fact, the more of these details we have, the greater the likelihood we might use them to fashion a far more elaborate religion about Jesus, such as could serve and an escape from the cosmic dimensions and responsibilities of the religion of Jesus.

134:8. The Sojourn on Mount Hermon

This six weeks sojourn of Jesus in August and September A.D. 25 is sometimes confused with his very similar forty day sojourn in the Perean Hills in January A.D. 26 immediately following his baptism by John. Jesus secured a donkey and a lad named Tiglath to periodically supply him with food during the six weeks. (Trivia tidbit, the name Tiglath far from being some childlike designation evoking a smile, it is rather a royal name taken by several generations of Assyrian kings).

During his first day on the mountain, Jesus prayed, asking his Father, among other things to send his guardian seraphim to attend Tiglath, and that he be permitted to confront the final struggle with the realities of his mortal existence alone, save the guidance and sustenance of his indwelling Adjuster. This last request underscores the fact that for all mortals, psychic circle conquest is the product of personal effort and choice, not grace. As we are told, “during these weeks he finished the mortal task of achieving the circles of mind-understanding and personality control.”

In the explanation of Jesus’ taking of food and encountering his Satania enemies, this narrative of these happenings should disabuse us from taking the biblical version of Christ’s “temptations” literally. For believers, the necessity and spiritual efficacy of fasting is put soundly to rest. For doubters, the idea that Jesus’ struggles with his enemies represented the disordered thinking of a starving mortal doing illusory battle with phantasms is likewise is abolished.

After more than five weeks of unbroken communion with his Father, Jesus became absolutely assured of his nature and of the certainty of his triumph over the material levels of time-space personality manifestation. He sought permission from the Father to hold conference with the rebel leaders as the Son of Man, as Joshua ben Joseph, and it was granted. Accordingly, Satan (representing Lucifer) and the rebellious Planetary Prince Caligastia were made visible to Jesus.

We discussed a number of points regarding the so-called temptation of Jesus. First, for Jesus to expose his human mind to the twisting influence of the minds of the superhuman rebels is not easily envisioned by us. (note the comments that this encounter is designated a “great struggle” and a “trying ordeal”, such that Jesus’ guardian seraphim returned afterwards to “minister” to him) But, were any of us to attempt such an engagement, loss of our sanity and mind control is practically a certainty. We further questioned as to why Lucifer we are told as being on Urantia at the time, did not participate directly in the confrontation. The explanation turns out simply to be protocol. Satan is the representative of Lucifer in such matters. Rather we might ask why wasn’t Daligastia standing in for Caligastia, which would have been according to protocol. Another point to be made has to do with Jesus’ recusal from judging the rebels, being their creator father. The Judges of a local universe are not of the local universe, thus avoiding the possibilities of bias in judgement.

Three things happened on Mt. Hermon:

  1. Jesus became designated Planetary Prince of Urantia.
  2. He virtually settled the Lucifer rebellion in Satania, and the Caligastia secession on Urantia.
  3. He completed the bestowal requirements of living a full life in the likeness of a material mortal and thereby attaining unquestioned sovereignty of his universe, the actual announcement of which was not made until his baptism, some four months hence.

We discussed the relation of these happenings in light of time vs. eternity. Truths in eternity play out in time and manifest as facts. We err in looking for eternal truths to be fully manifest in a “now moment.” We must train our spiritual consciousness to allow for time. Be reminded that the details of the interactions of free-will, time and eternity are a mystery to beings of much higher universe status than we.

134:9. The Time of Waiting

Following his victory on Mt. Hermon, Jesus met with his family in Capernaum and set out with John Zebedee for Jerusalem where the Jewish holy day of atonement and the feast of the tabernacles were being celebrated. John notice a great change in Jesus. We discussed this change in light of the transformations wrought in traversing the cosmic circles of attainment. Circle conquest is characterized by the increasing manifestation genuine personality. This is testified to by the fact that people who had encountered Jesus from earlier times did not recognize him years later. Moving up cosmic levels is much more profound than moving up spiritual levels.

We further remarked that the achievement of first circle status is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for Adjuster fusion. There remains the final phase of mind and Adjuster attunement to be consummated before actual fusion takes place. And of course we know that some celestials expected to witness Jesus’ fusion with his Thought Adjuster at his baptism, but something entirely different occurred.