Episode:Purpose and Destiny—Stages of Light and Life (Part 3)
Each of these successive ages represents advancing achievements in all phases of planetary attainment. In the initial age of light the revelation of truth was enlarged to embrace the workings of the universe of universes, while the Deity study of the second age is the attempt to master the protean concept of the nature, mission, ministry, associations, origin, and destiny of the Creator Sons.
Keywords: Urantia, Golden Ages, One Language, One Religion, One Philosophy
Opening thought: "No matter how much of God we may attain, there will always remain much more of him, the existence of which we will not even suspect. The quest for God is endless!" Even as evolutionary spheres progress into stages of light and life, the quest for God is endless there, too.
Note: Justin Armstrong filled in for Andrea Barnes this week.
Summary by Kermit
Commentary after Review
Further reflections on things funereal led to discussion of contemporary efforts to adopt recommendations of the revelators in cultivating the spirit of graduation ceremonies in place of the more common mournful, grieving affairs. Sensitivity and sincerity of the genuinely God-knowing are required to accomplish this acceptably ( a high bar). This sentiment is not entirely absent in today’s culture as noted in a popular account of a man who holds a living funeral with his friends documented in the book Tuesdays with Morrie.
Preparatory to the reading for this broadcast, SoS examined the section title The Golden Ages, noting how commonly such a term is used in reference to past times rather than the future as is the case here. Seen in the context of our arc title Purpose and Destiny, we can appreciate an existential top-down divine influence and future orientation in our strivings in harmony with the Divine Plan established by the First Source and Center. Also, we note that the Golden Ages are plural and, as we might expect, involve levels of sevenfold-ness.
55:3 The Golden Ages
We are surprised in the light of earlier descriptions of the planetary mortal epochs and the advanced state of planetary conditions leading to but preceding light and life, that we are confronted with references to inescapable infirmities of decrepitude of old age and even senility. This only serves to emphasize the impermanence of the material estate notwithstanding the well-nigh mastery of scientific principles and techniques possessed by the people of this age. And recognize the ever-finer degrees of precision in pursuit of perfection as a world advances through these ages.
Also, the details of life animation’s engagement with matter is little understood even by our revelators. The science of life animation is hidden deep in the transcendent Deity interplay with Reality. The odd mutations still occur, and mortality is dictated by the Divine Law, i.e., God made us to die.
Recognize that in the universe the deified levels of reality (personality) are primal and in control. The universe is mind made and personality managed.
Descriptions reminiscent of the [Paper 72] Government on a Neighboring Planet explain the governmental function regarding the taxation technique of tithing and the distribution of such proceeds equally in support of activities and institutions devoted to truth, beauty, and goodness, plus funding for insurance reserves against the risks of anticipated and unanticipated misfortune and unpreventable disasters.
On these advanced spheres the natural resources are administered as community property. The question then comes up, why don’t we do that here? Now? This question strikes at the heart of the Lucifer mind-set. As we have many times noted that slavery, war, social classes, and the profit motive were indispensable to budding civilization, their utility is very much dependent on timing. That which is indispensable in one age becomes dangerous and destructive in another.
Supermaterial achievements—mindal, intellectual, spiritual, religious, and philosophical—are recognized with ceremonial recognition in the morontia temple, the conferring of the order of “supreme service” upon deserving citizens.
Social and public administrative duties are discharged jointly by men and women. With lifespans extended, women will be free of childrearing responsibilities and able to realize heretofore latent potentials for the benefit of personal growth as well as planetary advancement.
Ascenders on worlds beyond the third planetary stage of light and life are at some point in their ascent assigned to a mortal world in earlier stages of evolution. Students may recall that mansion world life has parallel dispensational congruence with the planetary mortal epochs.
- Mansion world #1 corresponds to a post-Adamic planetary dispensation.
- Mansion world #2 corresponds to a post-Magisterial world culture.
- And so on with mansion worlds #3-7 corresponding to post-bestowal, post trinity teacher son, first, second, and third stages of light and life, respectively.
The parallels continue and are described in [49:6] where we are told of the three varieties of secondary modified orders of ascension, plus the primary modified orders of ascension. These beings are exempt from certain of the morontia training worlds. Resurrecting in ascending order of advancement: on the system headquarters, constellation training worlds, constellation headquarters, and lastly appearing in the immediate presence of the Sovereign Son on the local universe headquarters. These ascenders are then sent back to those realms of morontial training which were skipped and serve as instructors.
The remainder of the section is given to a description of the seven categories of administrators who function on the one hundred subadministrative centers of the planet.
We are reminded that Urantia’s major handicaps to the attainment of light and life are disease, degeneracy, war, multicolored races, and multilingualism. These would appear to be conditions only to be realized in the distant future. One language, one religion, and one philosophy (kindred minds) are necessary to attain light and life. But we are further informed that the multiracial makeup of Urantia peoples does not preclude the attainment of higher stages. Speculation was stated that our preblended Andonic racial beginnings may in some unknown way enable this attainment.
Notes by Brad
- No matter how advanced the world, old age decrepitude and senility are inescapable.
- Less interplay between dead matter and life animation.
- Mortality is an inescapable part of divine law. God made you to die. Good luck getting around that.
- What is "fatherly rule" of a Planetary Sovereign? See [51:6], the hierarchy of fathers.
- Notice a blink-and-miss-it "Government on a neighboring planet" block right here in Paper 55.
- Taxation (tithing) rates on a planet in light and life.
- Tithing (a tenth) is apparently a universal phenomenon.
- There is more and more of the divine law as worlds progress in light and life.
- That's counterintuitive to us!
- But this is divine law, not today's Code of Federal Regulations.
- [55:3.11] Seems to suggest that highly advanced people on a sphere miss some foundational connection to the divine law.
