© 2024 Claude Flibotte
© 2024 Urantia Association of Quebec
Claude Flibotte
Sainte-Julie
Hello dear readers! In the introduction to the Urantia Book in section (UB 0:0.2), it is written that this revelation was given to us to expand our cosmic consciousness and enhance our spiritual perception. It is precisely for this purpose that I share with you my thoughts on the destiny of the soul of the human Jesus and the mystery of its possible location. It was after reading booklet 189 on the resurrection of Jesus that I asked myself many questions.
¶ Usual procedure for resurrection
On the Sunday following the death of Jesus, the chief archangel of Nebadon convened the will creature resurrection council of archangels, Life Carriers, and their various associates to effect the resurrection of the human Jesus. As the procedure usually takes place on the first mansion world, in this special case it would take place on Urantia. After consultation, they realized that there was nothing they could do as creatures to resurrect their Creator (UB 189:0.1).
¶ Intervention of the Personalized Adjuster of Jesus
It was then that Jesus’ Personalized Adjuster stepped in and told them: “…as a mortal of the realm, Jesus died; as Sovereign of his universe, he still lives. The human Jesus is in transit from material to morontia existence. His spirit transit was accomplished on the day of his baptism when I separated from his personality.” (UB 189:0.2) By spirit transit, I assume he is referring to the state from material to morontia status.
The human body of Jesus was indeed in the tomb, however evidence of Michael’s activity was detected in his universe (UB 189:0.3).
¶ A heavenly presence
It was a little later that a Paradise incarnation commission arrived on the scene consisting of seven unidentified Paradise personalities. Five minutes later intense vibrations of material and morontia activity emanated from the tomb. Then, after twelve minutes, the resurrected morontia form and personality of Jesus of Nazareth emerged from the tomb (UB 189:1.1), although his flesh body still lay intact in the tomb (UB 189:1.2). While this commission was present, it appears that it had no part in the resurrection of Jesus (UB 189:1.4 and UB 189:1.5), for a Creator Son has the power within himself to bestow himself in the form of one of his creatures and then to abandon his observable life and resume it again (UB 189:0.2).
At this point in the event, the midwayers explain to us that “…in all that is personal, matter is only the skeleton of morontia, and that both are the reflected shadow of the enduring spiritual reality” (UB 189:1.3).
¶ Some details about this resurrection
The midwayers tell us three facts about the resurrection of Jesus. First, that his material body remained intact in the tomb. Jesus emerged from the tomb by passing through the stone (UB 189:1.7), for it is possible with the help of certain auxiliary morontia personalities to make the morontia form similar to that of the spirit which makes it indifferent to physical matter (UB 189:2.3). Second, Jesus emerged from the tomb neither as Michael of Nebadon nor as a spirit (UB 189:1.8). Third, he emerged from the tomb in the exact likeness of the morontia personalities of the resurrection halls of the first mansion world of the Satania system. This suggests that the Master’s resurrection on Urantia was arranged in a certain manner on mansion number 1 (UB 189:1.9).
After some formalities and greetings (UB 189:1.10-11), Jesus began to establish contacts on the morontia level and learn the requirements of this new life form, which took more than an hour (UB 189:1.12).
¶ Interesting note!
It seems that the material and morontia type vibrations were very discreet, because the Jewish soldiers and guards, twenty in number, who stood guard in front of the tomb did not notice anything (UB 189:1.2 and UB 189:1.13). At least, not at that moment, it was only later that they observed a phenomenon which greatly frightened them.
¶ What happened to Jesus’ material body?
We are told by the midwayers that the chief of the archangels (the angels of the resurrection) asked Gabriel to give him the material body of Jesus for immediate dissolution. This technique calls upon the acceleration of time in an almost instantaneous manner and not their technique of dematerialization (UB 189:2.1).
While archangels and their assistants prepared to remove the physical body of Jesus from the tomb, midwayers rolled away the stone from the entrance. This stone, which seemed to move by itself, frightened the guards and made them flee as fast as they could (UB 189:2.4).
So much for the story of the events that occurred at that time! But what can we deduce from these facts and what meanings can we draw from them?
¶ Define the meaning of certain words
In order to give ourselves the chance to understand the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus, it would be essential to define certain facts. The Urantian human being is composed of a material body, its electrochemical mechanism which allows life; a mental circuit, benefiting at least from the ministry of the seven adjutant mental spirits, the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth since the day of Pentecost; a Thought Adjuster, the divinity of the Universal Father in oneself; a soul, the experiential relationship between the material mind of man and his Adjuster; finally his personality, another gift from the Universal Father (UB 0:5.7-11).
During his incarnation, the human Jesus had the same constituents as any ordinary human being except that his personality was, in reality, that of Michael of Nebadon. From his birth to his baptism, Jesus used his human material mind. At his baptism, his Adjuster separated from his personality and became a Personalized Adjuster, Jesus/Michael had the possibility of using exclusively his material mind, his divine mind or a combination of the two. Several events related in The Urantia Book demonstrate this well.
The word “spirit” seems to have more than one meaning depending on its use. In the quote (UB 0:5.9), it designates the Adjuster, but this word is also used to mean that man is conscious of being conscious. Animals are conscious thanks to the mental circuit which animates them comprising at most the ministry of five adjutant mental spirits. Man is conscious of being conscious by the same process, except that he benefits from the ministry of the seven adjutant mental spirits, that he has a personality endowed with free will and that he can choose to do the will of the Father, in short to create his soul in collaboration with his Adjuster. Living, man has a temporal identity, but by spiritualizing himself, he transfers this identity into his soul, a joint product of the human mind and the Adjuster. This identity is dynamic all the time that the human being is alive, but upon his death, this identity in the soul becomes static.
At the moment of His death on the cross, Jesus spoke these words: “It is finished! Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (UB 187:5.5). Midwayers hypothesize that the spirit that Jesus placed in His Father’s hands was the spiritual counterpart of His Adjuster’s initial work spiritualizing His human mind, or soul. This explains the words of His Personalized Adjuster who spoke to the local universe personalities present:
“That which you observe is the mortal transit of Jesus of Nazareth from life in the flesh to life in the morontia. The spirit transit of this Jesus was completed at the time I separated myself from his personality and became your temporary director” (UB 189:0.2)
In other words, the spirit beings present at that time were witnessing the passage of the human Jesus from mortal life to morontia life as all human beings normally do. The mention of the “spirit transit of this Jesus” which was completed the day his Adjuster separated from him simply means that the soul of Jesus had reached the maximum stage where fusion would normally have been possible. So, after his baptism, Jesus was still human, he had a soul ripe for fusion without experiencing fusion, his Adjuster had separated from him, then returned as a Personalized Adjuster and Jesus had recovered his full consciousness as a Creator Son with all his divine powers.
At the time of his death, the human Jesus lost his physical body, his active consciousness by losing his material mental circuit, therefore his dynamic identity, and his soul became a static identity. If he had been an ordinary human, his guardian angel would have taken charge of this soul (UB 112:3.5).
For his part, the Personalized Adjuster of Jesus retains forever the memory of his mortal career, his ascendant identity, as he also has within him the human career of Machiventa Melchizedek during the period in which he inhabited it when he lived 94 years as a man on Urantia; as do the other human personalities which he previously inhabited.
For a normal human, the union of a morontia body, the soul (static identity) and the Adjuster (dynamic identity since pure energy) reconstitutes the personality of the deceased.
So at the time of his resurrection we had Jesus with a morontia body of the first mansion world level, a perfect soul (static identity) re-energized (explained later), but no Adjuster to re-energize that identity, and a personality, that of Michael of Nebadon as the Creator Son added to the human experience of this final bestowal as the Son of Man. To explain the absence of the need for his Adjuster at this resurrection, let us remember that Jesus/Michael declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In this special case, Michael as Creator had the power to resume his life by replacing the action normally delegated to the Adjuster. There was then the reunion of a morontia body, a re-energized soul, a single personality (UB 196:0.7) and a perfect divine spirit in Michael of Nebadon.
During his forty-day sojourn on Urantia in his morontia form (UB 191:3.1), Jesus progressed through the various stages of morontia existence, citizenship of Jerusem, and even the embrace of the Most Highs of Edentia (UB 191:3.3). The same journey we will make in our own Paradise experience. He also received instruction from the morontia directors concerning the requirements of these levels of existence.
¶ What is different for Michael during his last outpouring
There is a great difference between the six bestowals of Michael of Nebadon and his last bestowal as a human being on Urantia. In his six previous bestowals, Michael assumed the form of a Melchizedek (UB 119:1); a primary Lanonandek Son (UB 119:2); a Material Son (UB 119:3); a Seraphim (UB 119:4); an ascending pilgrim on Uversa (as a spirit) (UB 119:5); and a morontia mortal (constellation level) (UB 119:6), but on none of these occasions did he fashion a soul in collaboration with a Thought Adjuster. In contrast, he did in his bestowal as Jesus of Nazareth. What, then, are we to make of the destiny of this soul which happens to be the human identity of Jesus, a perfect soul (UB 136:2.3)? This is what we will see a little further on!
¶ The goals achieved by Michael through his seven effusions
Michael of Nebadon had two objectives to achieve through the experience of his seven bestowals. The first was to attain the necessary experience of creature understanding required of all Creator Sons before assuming the full authority of complete sovereignty in his universe. The second objective, to rule by the maximum authority of the Paradise Trinity, which he did through each of his bestowals by submitting to the will of the seven possible associations of the Paradise Trinity (UB 120:0.4).
¶ The Personality of Jesus’ Personalized Adjuster
Regarding the personality given to the Adjuster of Jesus by the Universal Father, we might question his capacity for expression. It is revealed to us that this Adjuster had worked in the mind of Machiventa Melchizedek (UB 136:2.2), and doubtless in several human beings previously to acquire the experience needed to minister to the divine Sons. So, when he expresses himself personally, he must undoubtedly reflect the entire spiritualized human experience of Jesus’ choices in addition to the combined accumulation of the experience of Melchizedek and all these other candidates who did not survive. This is exactly what we will experience after our fusion with our Adjuster where we will have access to all the experience of the former hosts who did not choose eternal life.
¶ The revealers hypothesis
The revelators tell us that Jesus had acquired a spiritual identity, a soul, through his relationship with his Adjuster, and through his perfect balance between a human life and a spirit life by constantly doing the will of his Father. This spirit (soul) which he delivered into the hands of his Father on the cross, the revelators believe was part of the morontia Jesus at his resurrection. Some cosmic philosophers believe that this soul identity now rests with the Father and will later be released to take charge of the Corps of the Finality of Nebadon in our destiny in relation to the outer space universes of the absonite level. (UB 188:3.8).
Now, picture the scene at that time: first, we shall have our Michael of Nebadon, our Creator Son, who embodies in his personality all the lived experience of the human life of Jesus of Nazareth; second, we shall have the Adjuster of Jesus now personalized, representing the will of the Universal Father, but who possesses within him all the spiritualized human experience of the human Jesus, who can express all the wisdom of Jesus; and finally, we shall have the perfect soul identity of the human experience of Jesus, now as a spirit recently released from the bosom of the Father, guiding our steps in the working out of the divine plan on the level of transcendence of time and space. What a wonderful prospect! However, since the personality of this human Jesus was that of Michael of Nebadon, and there is only one such personality, then how could this spirit Jesus be a personal being again? If we take into account the primary function of personality, namely to unify all the components of identity, no doubt the Universal Father will grant to the identity of Jesus the grace of a personality which will have the effect of unifying the experience of the human Jesus made perfect by his human life, his acquisition of the perfection of the morontia worlds, his status as resident of Jerusem, his embrace by the Most Highs of Edentia (UB 191:3.3), seat of our constellation, a preliminary stage to existence as a spirit on Salvington in addition to the experience of having known the embrace in the bosom of the Father, possibly the equivalent of the experiential journey of the worlds of Havona and the discovery of the Paradise Deities. What a marvelous guide he will be for us, become finaliters of human origin made perfect in the execution of the will of the Father (UB 10:8.7)!