Episode:The Third Epochal Revelation to Urantia (Part 2)
The new religion that Melchizedek taught at Salem required a simple declaration of faith and a promise to obey the seven commandments, which were patterned after those of the previous epochal revelations. His mission was twofold: to keep alive on earth the truth of the one God and to prepare the way for the subsequent bestowal of Christ Michael. Melchizedek found in Abraham the leader he sought; and their covenant was the core of the new gospel of faith, whereby God agrees to do everything, while man only agrees to believe God’s promises and follow his instructions.
Keywords: Urantia, Melchizedek of Salem, Abraham, Chosen People, Covenant
Summary by Kermit
4. The Salem Religion
The Salem religion was simple, consisting of three precepts: One God, divine favor of God through faith, and obedience to the seven commandments of Melchizedek.
Yet this idea of getting divine favor for nothing, by faith was too advanced for people of those days.
We had a wide ranging discussion about the fact that Melchizedek’s gospel of divine favor by faith was so hard for people of those days to grasp, and that religionists of faith today find it so difficult to move their faith to trust in God’s watch care. Let alone those today, who still find salvation by faith still too difficult to grasp.
We also reflected on the pre-Pentecost v post-Pentecost criteria for Adjuster indwelling and the nature of A supreme decision v. THE Supreme decision.
Melchizedek attempted to substitute a sacrament of bread and wine for sacrifices and burnt offerings, and did not permit sacrifices within the Salem colony, albeit the various tribes maintained auxiliary centers on the outskirts of Salem where they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Machiventa did not attempt the reform of the mores or habits of the world, but attended strictly to the fulfillment of his two pronged mission to keep alive the truth of the one God and to prepare the way for Michael’s bestowal.
We reflected on the similarities of the 3rd ER and 4th ER in that neither attempted social, political or economic reforms. The 5th ER however, does challenge its devotees to confront and re-form their preconceived opinions, settled ideas and long standing prejudices. We are further challenged in our efforts to spread the good news, to work at cultivating our discernment for our fellows real needs. If they are devoid of faith, then we can begin with the simple truth of the existence of one God, accessible via childlike faith (i.e. the truths of the 3rd ER). If they are grounded in a faith, then we encourage trust in the Father and love and service for our fellows (the truths of the 4th ER). Discernment of one’s real spiritual needs should precede our introduction of the 5th ER to anyone.
5. The Selection of Abraham
Geography and genetics were of primary importance in the choice of Palestine for the location of Melchizedek’s mission. Palestine was centrally located with respect to the main trade and travel routes of the civilized world. Also, the Melchizedeks were confident that the ancestors of Abraham could be expected to bring forth individuals of intelligence, initiative, sagacity, and sincerity with the requisite endowments to carry the mantle of Melchizedek’s revelation.
The revelators here provide the coordination of essential knowledge in recounting the events surrounding the selection of Abraham as an individual chosen to provide the material and spiritual leadership sufficient to produce for the conditions suitable for the subsequent coming of Jesus to the Hebrews.
The serious student will find the work of the revelators most remarkable in their presentation of the events so confusingly referred to in the chapters in Genesis devoted to these happenings. In a few pages, the absurdities and silliness of the Old Testament’s stories about Lot, his wife, Sodom and Gomorrah etc., are dispatched with a decidedly more logical narrative.
6. Melchizedek’s Covenant with Abraham
Upon formalization of his covenant with Abraham, Melchizedek told the story of the future occupation of Canaan by his offspring after their sojourn in Egypt, an event several centuries in the future.
This foreknowledge of Melchizedek was noted and liken to child’s play when compared with the work of the Life Carriers in their configuration of single cell organisms to evolve into complex life forms hundreds of millions of years hence.
This covenant represents the great Urantian agreement between divinity and humanity whereby God agrees to do everything and man only agrees to believe God’s promises and follow his instructions.
Of peculiar note was the narration concerning the three celestial beings who appeared to Abraham. We speculated that these three beings might well have been three of the Melchizedek receivers. Or even that they could be the named Melchizedeks in the revelation, i.e. Manovandet, Malavatia, and Mantutia.
This section ends with a brief summary of some of Abraham’s accomplishments in honoring his covenant with Melchizedek. Abraham possessed enough spiritual idealism balanced with his material pragmatism to serve as a worthy choice for the promulgation of Melchizedek’s mission to Urantia.
We are reminded that “those days” were pre-Pentecost. The Spirit of Truth had not come, and neither were Adjusters universally bestowed. We had a lengthy discussion concerning the questions of what constitutes A supreme decision versus THE supreme decision, which leads to the receiving of a pair of personal guardian angels, and a Thought Adjuster.
