Urantia21: A Restatement of The Urantia Book for the 21st Century

“Jesus enjoyed a sublime and wholehearted faith in the Creator, experiencing the ordinary ups and downs of mortal existence, but never doubting the certainty of the Creator’s watchcare and guidance.” “In the Master’s life on Urantia, this and all other worlds of the local creation discover a new and higher type of religion, religion based on personal spiritual relations with the Universal Source and wholly validated by the supreme authority of genuine personal experience.” On Urantia, “The time is ripe to witness the figurative resurrection of the human Jesus from the burial tomb amidst the theological traditions and the religious dogmas of twenty centuries.” “You may preach a religion about Jesus, but you must live the religion of Jesus.”

The events of the day of Pentecost “were to decide the future policies, and to determine the plans, of the majority of the apostles in their efforts. Peter was the real founder of the Christian church; Paul carried the Christian message to the gentiles, and the Greek believers carried it to the whole Roman Empire.” Today, “The great hope of Urantia lies in the possibility of a new revelation of Jesus with a new and enlarged presentation of the message which would spiritually unite in loving service the numerous communities of present-day professed followers.”

As about one hundred and twenty followers were gathered together, “they all became aware of a strange presence in the room. At the same time these disciples all became conscious of a new and profound sense of spiritual joy, security, and confidence. This new consciousness of spiritual strength was immediately followed by a strong urge to go out and publicly proclaim the doctrine of the new realm and the news that Jesus had risen from the dead.” “And so they went forth, endowed with power, preaching redemption through Jesus to the people, but they unintentionally stumbled into the error of substituting some of the facts associated with the teachings for the message itself.”

In a final appearance to the apostles, Jesus gave a parting instruction. “I directed you to wait in Jerusalem until you were endowed with power from on high. I am now about to take leave of you; I am about to ascend to the Creator, and soon, very soon, we will send the Spirit of Truth into this world; and when it has come, you will begin the proclamation of the doctrine of the new realm, first in Jerusalem and then to the uttermost parts of the world.” And then Jesus disappeared “to begin the ascent to the Creator, to receive formal confirmation of the completed sovereignty of the universe of Nebadon.

Jesus continued to make appearances to the apostles, and Peter began to preach that “...Jesus is not dead; we declare that the Master has risen from the tomb; we proclaim that we have seen and talked with Jesus.” “Already the first steps had begun of changing the doctrine of the new realm — relationship with the Creator and with mortals — into the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus.” “And so, under the vigorous leadership of Peter and before the Master ascended to the Creator, these well-meaning representatives began that subtle process of gradually and certainly changing the religion of Jesus into a new and modified form of religion about Jesus,” in spite of all Jesus’ warnings to the contrary.

“Resurrection Sunday was a terrible day in the lives of the apostles; ten of them spent the larger part of the day in the upper chamber behind locked doors. They might have fled from Jerusalem, but they were afraid of being arrested by the agents of the Sanhedrin if they were found.” It took quite a while for the apostles to accept the fact of Jesus’ resurrection, even though they had been told it would happen. After several appearances they became fully convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead.

“The resurrected Jesus now prepares to spend a short period on Urantia for the purpose of experiencing the ascending morontia career of a mortal of the realms. Although this time of the morontia life is to be spent on the world of mortal incarnation, it will, however, be in all respects the counterpart of the experience of Satania mortals who pass through the progressive morontia life of the seven mansion worlds of Jerusem.” “The mortals of the realms will rise in the morning of the resurrection with the same type of transition or morontia body that Jesus had when emerging from the tomb on this Sunday morning.” Jesus made numerous appearances in morontia form during the short period after the resurrection.

Michael of Nebadon, the creator of our local universe, having completed the life experience of a mortal in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, now “having freely made the decision to give up the mortal life, had the power to take it up again.” As a mortal Michael experienced material death, but as the Sovereign of a universe, had “elected to pass through the whole of the experience of mortal creatures, from birth on the material worlds, on through natural death and the resurrection of the morontia, into the status of true spirit existence.” “On Friday Jesus died as a mortal of the realm, and on Sunday morning rose again as a morontia being of the system of Satania in Norlatiadek.” When the followers went to the tomb, they found it empty.

The day and a half that Jesus’ mortal body lay in the tomb, the period between death on the cross and resurrection, is somewhat mysterious even to the authors of this paper, which describes the burial and the activities of the followers during this time. It explains that Jesus’ death was the culmination “of twenty-five years on the cross of a real and intense mortal existence. The real value of the cross consists in the fact that it was the supreme and final expression of love, the completed revelation of mercy.” “The cross is that high symbol of sacred service, the devotion of one’s life to the welfare of others.”

“Jesus freely submits to death on the cross.” Foretelling this experience, Jesus said: “I will rise again. No one takes my life away from me — I lay it down myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up. I have received such a commandment from the Creator.” “Jesus lived and died royally, freely admitting being divine and remaining master of the situation throughout this tragic day.” This paper describes the events of that fateful day.

Jesus was placed in the custody of the Roman soldiers, and Judas Iscariot appeared before the Sanhedrin “to claim the reward for having participated in the Master’s arrest and sentence of death.” “All of these Jews loathed Judas; they viewed the betrayer with only feelings of utter contempt.” Consequently, Judas was given “a bag containing thirty pieces of silver — the current price of a good, healthy slave.” “Judas was stunned, dumfounded...” “This onetime ambassador of the realm of the Creator on earth now walked through the streets of Jerusalem, forsaken and alone,” finally choosing to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Pilate ordered that the crucifixion of Jesus be carried out immediately.

As the death sentence could not be carried out by the Jews, Jesus was taken by the temple guards into the presence of Pilate, the Roman governor, bound and accompanied by about fifty accusers, including the Sanhedrist court, Judas Iscariot, and the high priest, Caiaphas. “Pilate would have liked to postpone this hearing, but saw that the Jewish leaders were determined to proceed with the case...” Consequently, Pilate conducted a private hearing and then tried to avoid responsibility by ordering that Jesus be taken before Herod, whose jurisdiction included Galilee. But Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate, who then held a public hearing on the steps of the praetorium. The crowd, spurred on by the religious leaders, called for Jesus to be crucified.

“Jesus spent about three hours at the palace of Annas on Mount Olivet, not far from the garden of Gethsemane.” After this interrogation, Annas sent Jesus to the palace of Caiaphas, the current high priest, who had called the Sanhedrist court of inquiry together in order to put Jesus on trial. When the court was finished with the hearing, they had drawn up an indictment of Jesus as being worthy of death. Finally, “Jesus was led from the home of Caiaphas to appear before Pilate for confirmation of the sentence of death which this Sanhedrist court had so unjustly and irregularly decreed.”

Judas left the final meal with Jesus and the apostles and proceeded to meet with the temple guards, offering to lead them to Jesus. Judas led the guards to the home where the meal had taken place, but Jesus had already left with the apostles for Gethsemane, so the body of soldiers went directly to the garden. There the arrest took place, and Jesus was taken into custody and delivered to the palace of Annas, the former high priest. “And all the way to the palace of Annas, Jesus said nothing. From the time of the arrest to the appearance before Annas, Jesus spoke no word.”

“As Jesus and the eleven made their way back to camp, the apostles began to wonder about the meaning of Judas’s prolonged absence.” “But they did not engage in open comment until they reached the camp and observed that Judas was not there, waiting to receive them.” “David Zebedee and John Mark took Jesus to one side and revealed that they had kept Judas under observation for several days, and that they knew of the intention to betray Jesus into the hands of the enemies.” “None of the apostles expected anything out of the ordinary to happen that night since it was already so late.” “Only David Zebedee and John Mark understood that the enemies of Jesus were coming with Judas that very night.”

“At last it was beginning to dawn on these Galileans that their friend and teacher was going to leave them, and their hope grasped at the promise that Jesus, after a little while, would again be with them, but they were prone to forget that this return visit was also for a little while. On this occasion, Jesus took each of the apostles aside and spoke with them individually, giving them words of advice and comfort.

Jesus spoke freely about soon leaving the apostles, saying “..., I am going away, going back to my Creator Parent. In a little while you will not see me as you do here. In a very short time I am going to send you my spirit, just like me except for this material body. This new teacher is the Spirit of Truth who will live with each one of you, in your hearts...” “This divine endowment is not the letter or law of truth, neither is it to function as the form or expression of truth. The new teacher is the conviction of truth, the consciousness and assurance of true meanings on real spirit levels.”

Jesus and the apostles gathered at the home of John Mark’s parents, celebrating the Passover a day early. This is the meal commonly known as the “Last Supper.” The story is told in considerable detail, including the conflict among the apostles regarding preferential seating, Jesus’ washing their feet, the departure of Judas for the purpose of betrayal, and the establishment of the remembrance ceremony with the bread and the wine.

“Jesus planned to spend this Thursday, the last free day on earth, with the apostles and a few loyal and devoted disciples.” “Jesus talked to about fifty trusted followers for almost two hours and answered many questions regarding the relation of the realm of the Creator to the dominions of this world, and the relationship with the Creator to citizenship in earthly governments.” Later that day they walked into Jerusalem in order to have one last meal together.

“When the work of teaching the people did not press them, it was the custom of Jesus and the apostles to rest each Wednesday.” On this particular day, Jesus decided to go into the hills alone, but John Mark insisted on going along. “The Master spent this last day of quiet on earth visiting with this truth-hungry youth and talking with the Paradise Creator.” “This occasion exemplifies the willingness of the Creator to socialize with the creature. Even a youth, if the desire of the heart is really supreme, can command the attention and enjoy the loving companionship of the ruler of a universe...”

On this evening Jesus spoke to the apostles about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. “The Master realized that the rejection of the spiritual concept of the Messiah, the determination to cling persistently and blindly to the material mission of the expected deliverer, would presently bring the Jews in direct conflict with the powerful Roman armies, and that such a contest could only result in the final and complete overthrow of the Jewish nation.” Instruction was also given about Jesus’ intention “to presently leave this world, one day most certainly returning to consummate the work of the new realm.” “Of all the Master’s teachings no one phase has been so misunderstood as the promise to come back in person to this world.”

“This discourse was intended to be a last appeal to the Jewish people and the final indictment of the vehement enemies and would-be destroyers — the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and the chief rulers of Israel.” Following the discourse, “the Sanhedrin, as then constituted, officially and unanimously voted to impose the death sentence on both Jesus and Lazarus. This was the answer to the Master’s last appeal to the rulers of the Jews that had been made in the temple only a few hours before, and it represented their reaction of bitter resentment toward Jesus’ last and vigorous indictment of these same chief priests and impenitent Sadducees and Pharisees.”

“...a council between the Sanhedrin and some fifty additional leaders selected from among the scribes, Pharisees, and the Sadducees had been held. It was the consensus of this meeting that it would be dangerous to arrest Jesus in public because of the affections of the common people. It was also the opinion of the majority that a determined effort should be made before an arrest and trial to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the multitude. Accordingly, several groups of learned people were designated to be on hand the next morning in the temple to ask difficult questions and otherwise seek to embarrass Jesus before the people. At last, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and even the Herodians were all united in this effort to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the Passover multitudes.”

This paper relates the story of Jesus cleaning the temple of sacrificial animals and money-changers. “This cleansing of the temple discloses the Master’s attitude toward commercializing the practices of religion as well as all forms of unfairness and profiteering at the expense of the poor and the unlearned. This episode also demonstrates that Jesus did not look with approval on the refusal to employ force to protect the majority of any given human group against the unfair and enslaving practices of unjust minorities who may be able to entrench themselves behind political, financial, or ecclesiastical power.”

“...the twelve apostles were given their final instructions by Jesus preparatory to entering Jerusalem, learning that Jesus would probably deliver many addresses and teach many lessons before returning to the Creator, but being advised to refrain from doing any public work during this Passover sojourn in Jerusalem.” Jesus had decided on a method for making a public entrance into Jerusalem, relying on a Scripture “which referred to a ruler coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey.” As Jesus and the followers approached the city, several thousand people “flocked to greet this much-talked-of prophet and wonder-worker, whom some believed to be the Messiah.”

The teaching about the realm of the Creator and an “announcement about going to the Passover set all the followers to thinking that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to inaugurate the temporal rule of Jewish supremacy. No matter what Jesus said about the nonmaterial character of the realm, the Jewish hearers were still convinced that the Messiah was to establish some kind of nationalistic government with headquarters at Jerusalem. The apostles were less concerned now about the efforts of the religious leaders to apprehend and condemn Jesus to death. “The majority of the apostles and many of the inner disciples did not believe it possible for Jesus to die.

The concept of the realm of the Creator has no one specific meaning. “At different times and in varying circumstances it appears that Jesus may have presented numerous concepts in public teachings, but to the apostles Jesus always taught the realm of the Creator as embracing one’s personal experience in relation to others on earth and to the Creator.”

During the final week at Pella, “Jesus was very active in teaching the multitude and instructing the apostles, preaching every afternoon to the crowds and each night answering questions for the apostles and certain of the more advanced disciples residing at the camp.” Meanwhile, “The Pharisees and the chief priests had begun to formulate their charges and to crystallize their accusations.” “And so it was at the very height of the second phase of the public ministry that Jesus planned to teach this one short week at Pella and then to begin the tour of southern Perea which led right up to the final and tragic experiences of the last week in Jerusalem.”

This paper tells the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. “Though many believed in Jesus as a result of this mighty work, others only hardened their hearts. By noon of the day after Lazarus’ resurrection this story had spread over all Jerusalem. Scores of people went to Bethany to talk with Lazarus, and the alarmed and disconcerted Pharisees hastily called a meeting of the Sanhedrin...” “No matter what the source of such wonder-working power, these Jewish leaders were persuaded that, if Jesus were not immediately stopped, very soon all the common people would become believers” regarding Jesus as the Messiah, Israel’s deliverer.

The work continued to progress, with large numbers of followers attending the sessions. “This was a period when the teachings were proclaimed with power, without miracles, and most of the time without the personal presence of Jesus or even of the apostles.” The Pharisees, however, persisted in their efforts to entrap Jesus at every opportunity. Jesus, while consistently pointing out the fallacies in the Pharisees’ thinking, “did urge the Jews to live up to their own laws and higher teachings, constantly appealing to the written Scriptures in an effort to improve their practices along these social lines.”

The “...entire mission of three months in Perea was successfully carried on with little help from the twelve apostles, and the presentations from this time on reflected, not so much Jesus’ personality, as the teachings. But the followers did not long follow instructions, for soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection they departed from the teachings and began to build the early church around the miraculous concepts and the glorified memories of Jesus’ divine-human personality.”

The seventy were sent for a three-month mission of teaching and preaching. “This was the final period of the teachings, and there was, accordingly, an absence of miracle working.” Attendance at these sessions grew to over four thousand people who came to hear Jesus or Peter preach each morning. “The Master chose to terminate the bestowal on earth when interest had reached a high point, the highest point attained under this second or non-miraculous phase of the progress of the work. While three quarters of the multitude were truth seekers, there were also a large number of Pharisees present from Jerusalem and elsewhere, together with many doubters.”

“Jesus, taking Nathaniel and Thomas, secretly went to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the dedication. Not until they passed over the Jordan at the Bethany ford did the two apostles become aware that their Master was going on to Jerusalem. When they perceived that Jesus really intended to be present at the feast of dedication, they used every sort of argument against going. But their efforts were of no avail; Jesus was determined to visit Jerusalem.” “Jesus had attended the feast of tabernacles in order to teach the pilgrims from all parts of the empire, and now went to the feast of the dedication for just one purpose: to give the Sanhedrin and the Jewish leaders another chance to see the light.”

Jesus chose seventy well-trained and experienced disciples to engage in public teaching. Jesus talked to this company each morning. “Peter taught methods of public preaching; Nathaniel instructed them in the art of teaching; Thomas explained how to answer questions; while Matthew directed the organization of their group finances.” After being ordained as teachers, the seventy went out in pairs for six weeks. “The work now prepared to enter its terminal phase under the personal leadership of Jesus. And this present phase was one of spiritual depth in contrast with the miracle-minded and wonder-seeking multitudes who followed after the Master during the former days of popularity in Galilee.”

Jesus took the apostles to Jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles. “Long before they fled from Galilee, the followers of Jesus had advised going to Jerusalem to proclaim the doctrine of the new age in order that this message might have the prestige of having been preached at the center of Jewish culture and learning; but now that Jesus had actually come to Jerusalem to teach, they were concerned about the danger.” But “During the feast of tabernacles Jesus went boldly into Jerusalem on several occasions and publicly taught in the temple, in spite of the advice of the apostles against doing this.”

A topic of much debate between Rodan and the apostles was the personality of the Creator. “Rodan contended that the fact of personality consists in the coexistent fact of full and mutual communication between beings of equality, beings who are capable of sympathetic understanding. Rodan readily accepted all that was presented regarding the attributes of Deity, but contended that the Creator is not, and cannot be, a person as humans conceive personality.” In the ensuing debate, the apostles were able to describe the personal nature of Deity to Rodan’s satisfaction.

Rodan was a Greek philosopher who had recently become a disciple of Jesus, and “was now earnestly engaged in the task of harmonizing a personal philosophy of life with Jesus’ new religious teachings...” This paper presents for consideration Rodan’s philosophy about human life, civilization, the meaning of life, problem solving, wisdom, maturity, the importance of meditation, and the true nature of religion. An important distinction made by Rodan was that “There are just two ways in which mortals may live together: the material or animal way and the spiritual or human way.”

This was a four-week teaching and preaching tour of the cities of the Decapolis. Jesus “...directed that each of the apostles should associate with one of the twelve evangelists, and they should go out in twelve groups...” During this time Jesus took the opportunity to explain the nature of the Jewish Scriptures, noting that “The Scriptures have been gathered together as we now have them only in recent times. While they contain the best of the higher thoughts and longings of the Jewish people, they also contain much that is far from being representative of the character and teachings of the Creator; therefore I must choose from among the better teachings those truths which are to be gleaned for the doctrine of the new age.”

Jesus took three close apostles up Mount Hermon to witness the arrival of celestial beings who came to address “the transaction of important matters having to do with the progress of the bestowal mission as this experience was related to the local universe.” Their experience of this event powerfully impressed them. “The apostles were truly afraid; they were a silent and thoughtful trio as they prepared to descend the mountain shortly before midnight.” It was also on this occasion that Jesus spoke about dying and rising from the dead. “Jesus requested silence about their observation of this prelude to death and resurrection, not wanting to foster the notion that their erroneous concepts of a wonder-working Messiah would be fulfilled.”

In this paper the apostles grapple with understanding Jesus’ divinity. “Jesus had spent long months in training these apostles and realized that the time had come when it was necessary to teach them more about having a divine nature and a personal relationship to the new realm.” “Since the occasions of the baptism by John and the turning of the water into wine at Cana, the apostles had, at various times, virtually accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and for short periods the expected Deliverer.” “They had long been in a state of turmoil due to conflict between the concepts of the expected Messiah which they held in their minds and the experience of the association with this extraordinary person which they held in their hearts.”

“The apostles and evangelists were greatly cheered by the manner in which the gentiles of Sidon received their message...” “In many ways these gentiles appreciated Jesus’ teachings more fully than the Jews.” “These gentiles were not afraid of Jesus, whose message they dared to accept.” “The theme of Jesus’ instructions during the stay at Sidon was spiritual progression. Jesus told the associates that they could not stand still...” They must continue to grow spiritually. After this period, Jesus “returned from the Phoenician mission and began the reorganization of the scattered, tested, and depleted forces for this last and eventful year of the bestowal mission on earth.”

The apostolic group left Capernaum for a journey through northern Galilee. During this two-week period, “The apostles learned that the Jews were spiritually stagnant and dying because they had crystallized truth into a creed; that when truth becomes formulated as a boundary line of self-righteous exclusiveness instead of serving as a signpost of spiritual guidance and progress, such teachings lose their creative and life-giving power and ultimately become merely preservative and fossilizing.” “One of the great lessons of this stay at Caesarea had to do with the origin of religious traditions, with the grave danger of allowing a sense of sacredness to become attached to non-sacred things, common ideas, or everyday events.”

At the Capernaum synagogue, “There was much talk about Jesus’ preaching doctrines which were upsetting for the common people; the enemies maintained that these teachings were impractical, that everything would go to pieces if everybody made an honest effort to live in accordance with these ideas. And the people of many subsequent generations have said the same things. Many intelligent and well-meaning people, even in the more enlightened age of these revelations, maintain that modern civilization could not have been built on the teachings of Jesus — and they are partially right. But all such doubters forget that a much better civilization could have been built on these teachings, and someday will be. This world has never seriously tried to carry out the teachings of Jesus on a large scale...”

As Jesus spoke at the Capernaum synagogue, “more than thirty of the leaders and rulers of the neighboring synagogues were also present. These Jewish religious leaders were acting directly under orders from the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and they constituted the orthodox vanguard which had come to inaugurate open warfare on Jesus and the disciples. Sitting by the side of these Jewish leaders, in the synagogue seats of honor, were the official observers of Herod Antipas who had been directed to ascertain the truth concerning the disturbing reports that an attempt had been made by the populace to proclaim Jesus the ruler of the Jews.” It was on this occasion that the religious leaders began their active campaign to discredit Jesus.

This paper describes the event in which Jesus fed five thousand people from a few scraps. “The feeding of the five thousand by supernatural energy was another of those cases where human pity plus creative power equaled that which happened.” This apparent miracle so impressed the crowd that they immediately began to associate Jesus with the predicted coming of the Jewish Messiah. “For a long time the Jews had been taught that the Messiah would cause the land to flow again with milk and honey, and that the bread of life would be bestowed on them as manna from heaven was supposed to have fallen on their ancestors in the wilderness.” “In the eyes of these simple-minded people the power to feed carried with it the right to rule.”

During this time “James and John were with Jesus much of the time, Peter being more than occupied with the many responsibilities having to do with the welfare and direction of the new corps of evangelists. While waiting before starting for the Passover at Jerusalem, the evangelists spent this time visiting from house to house, providing personal ministry in Capernaum and the surrounding cities and villages.” “About this time Jesus first began to employ the parable method of teaching the multitudes that so frequently gathered about.”

Now the apostles of Jesus, along with an equal number of John’s followers, “were joined by the tested evangelists, about seventy-five in number...” “The evangelists were sent in groups of five, while Jesus and the twelve traveled together most of the time. For a period of almost three weeks Abner and the apostles of John also worked with the evangelistic groups.” During this time Jesus astonished everyone by selecting ten women to constitute a special corps of evangelists. “It was most astounding in that day, when women were not even allowed on the main floor of the synagogue, to see them being recognized as authorized teachers of the new doctrine of the realm.”

A second preaching tour of Galilee lasted for almost three months. “On this tour only James and John traveled with Jesus. Peter and the other apostles each took with them about one dozen of the evangelists and maintained close contact with them while they carried on their work of preaching and teaching.” “Jesus and the two companions traveled extensively during these three months, often visiting two cities in one day to observe the work of the evangelists and to encourage them in their efforts. This entire second preaching tour was principally an effort to afford practical experience for this corps of 117 newly trained evangelists.”

During a five months’ period an enormous camp was set up and maintained to accommodate an ever-changing population of truth seekers, healing candidates, and curiosity devotees, numbering from five hundred to fifteen hundred. During this time “several thousand came and went at this encampment. Interested persons from every part of the Roman Empire and from the lands east of the Euphrates were in frequent attendance. This was the longest settled and well-organized period of the Master’s teaching.” “This ever-changing camp was an indispensable feature of Peter’s evangelistic training school.”

Jesus and the apostles made a journey to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was a time for much teaching and healing. One lesson Jesus taught was in relation to the various interpretations possible for what is known as the “Golden Rule.” “Jesus attended many...semiprivate meetings and banquets with the high and the low, the rich and the poor, of Jerusalem before finally leaving with the apostles for Capernaum. And many did accept the doctrine of the new age.”