© 1999 Ken Glasziou
© 1999 The Brotherhood of Man Library
No motion, no time. That appears to be fundamental. Even considering time as a measure of sequentiality, if there is no motion how can there be sequentiality? But how can there be motion if there is nothing movable?
Paradise is a strange place, quite outside our experience and our ability to imagine. We need space and things to make sense of time. On Paradise, there is “spirit” and all spirit is minded in some way. The infinite Spirit has infinite mind and infinite mind ignores time. (UB 9:4.4) On the other hand, ultimate mind transcends time. Mind itself is inherently aware of sequentiality. (UB 12:5.1) Since all spirit is minded, presumably absolute mind must also be aware of sequentiality and sequentiality surely must imply time, even if there is no motion.
Cosmic mind is the source of that feeble thing we ourselves are endowed with, and cosmic mind is conditioned by time (UB 9:4.3). Which may be the reason we have difficulty comprehending the deeper things about the timeless, the spaceless, and the infinite.
The revelators tell us that time comes by virtue of motion, that motion is essential to time, and then comment that no universal time unit is based on motion other than the Paradise-Havona day which is arbitrarily based upon the length of time required for the planetary abodes of the first or inner Havona circuit to complete one revolution around the Isle of Paradise—about one thousand years of our time.
Newton made time absolute and imposed from without. Einstein made it relative and defined from “within the system.” If Paradise was accessible, Newton’s followers could utilise the Paradise-Havona unit of time—but it isn’t, so we appear to be stuck with relative time—though quantum physicists mostly use time as if it is imposed from “without.”
Since the velocity of light is constant in a vacuum, it would appear to be possible for us to use this velocity to standardize an absolute time interval from within the system (our space). For example, the time taken for light to travel 186,000 miles could be used to define one second of our time. But then we would need a standard of distance to specify an exact 186,000 miles.
There may be easier ways to get an absolute standard—radioactive decay, or an egg timer being possibilities. Radioactive decay is interesting because it appears to be independent of motion, time, and space. So maybe we could use an appropriate radioactive isotope and make our unit of time the interval for “n” number of disintegrations to occur. But Einstein messes up this idea because his relativity tells us that it would only work for independent observers at rest relative to one another and with gravity a constant. Others would have to make corrections for where they were at.
The book states that time and space are inseparable in the time/space creations—which certainly includes the seven superuniverses but may exclude components of the master universe.
The following comment is a puzzle:
“God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are eternal—are existential beings—while God the Supreme, God the Ultimate, and God the Absolute are actualizing Deity personalities of the post-Havona epochs in the time-space and the time-space-transcended spheres of master universe evolutionary expansion.” (UB 0:7.1)
That this may be incomprehensible to us earthlings is not surprising since our minds are derivatives of cosmic mind which is “conditioned by time.” (UB 9:4.4)
Perhaps these “time-transcended spheres” are to be the abode of the absoniters who will exist in the domain of God the Ultimate. If so they might provide employment for members of the Corps of Finality in “an effort to compensate their experiential deficiencies in not having participated in the time-space evolution of the Supreme Being.” (UB 31:10.13) Such is the conjecture on Uversa.
Speaking to a Mithraic priest Jesus once said: “Mind can function independently of the concept of the space-relatedness of material objects.” And, “Space is not empty. . . Space is relatively and comparatively finite to all beings of creature status.” But then he, too, blows our feeble minds with, “The nearer consciousness approaches the awareness of seven cosmic dimensions, the more does the concept of potential space approach ultimacy. But the space potential is truly ultimate only on the absolute level.” (UB 130:7.6)
The very next paragraph completes our mindal demolition, “It must be apparent that universal reality has an expanding and always relative meaning on the ascending and perfecting levels of the cosmos. Ultimately, surviving mortals achieve identity in a seven-dimensional universe.” (UB 130:7.7)
These appear to be the only references in the book to a seven dimensional universe. Do they really imply seven dimensions of space or space-time?
I have trouble with even a four dimensional space-time concept. Seven dimensions is beyond the limits of my imagination, though symbols for them may be easy to write and manipulate in a set of equations. Physicists handle these extra dimensions without any trouble at all. They simply roll them up in cylinders so tightly that they disappear—rather like the trick in calculus where unwanted terms are made so small they disappear.
It may be that Jesus’ statement to the priest does not imply seven space-time dimensions. On UB 112:1.9 we find, “The type of personality bestowed upon Urantia mortals has a potentiality of seven dimensions of self-expression or person-realization. These dimensional phenomena are realizable as three on the finite level, three on the absonite level, and one on the absolute level. On subabsolute levels this seventh or totality dimension is experiencible as the fact of personality. This supreme dimension is an associable absolute and, while not infinite, is dimensionally potential for subinfinite penetration of the absolute.” What is the relation of these seven dimensions to Jesus’ seven dimensions? I’ll leave that to the experts to ponder upon.
One last thought. Time without space does exist though, practically, it exists only in mind at the Paradise level of function. Presumably this is spirit-perceived time which, we are told, is our “insight into our motion Godwards.” (UB 12:5.8) Some day, in the far distant future, we will be spirits and we will attain Paradise. And then “we will know even as we are known.” (1 Cor.13) So Paul also was puzzled!
If it is any consolation then perhaps there is comfort in the knowledge that our animal cousins can know only the past and live in the present (UB 12:5.10) whereas we spirit-indwelt beings have the power of insight or prevision—we can consciousize the future and since we have the gift of personality we can actually be causative of events so consciousized. And this is possible only because of God’s gift of free will. We can make things happen—deliberately. We are not machines. Alleluia!
[Note: Despite any appearance to the contrary, the author really does not know what he is talking about—Ed.]
While to deny the existence of an unseen kingdom is bad, to pretend that we know more about it than its bare existence is no better.
Samuel Butler