© 2011 Linda Buselli
© 2011 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| The Power of The Name of Jesus | Volume 11, Number 2, 2011 (Summer) — Index | “Nearer, My God, to Thee” Getting Closer to God |
_The following was presented as a workshop at the Fellowship Summer Study Session, July 7-9, 2006, at Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois. _
Machiventa Melchizedek is one of the most mysterious and fascinating personalities in The Urantia Book. His presence on Urantia for ninety-four years was the third epochal revelation to this planet; yet even the information given to us by The Urantia Book is only partial, and leaves many intriguing details, and admittedly perhaps speculations, to be discovered in other sources. In the following, I will attempt to explore not only what we have learned from the book, but also some interesting bits of information I have found in other references. My research has uncovered some very intriguing possibilities to consider, although much of what I present will be speculative since Machiventa hasn’t been seen in almost 3900 years.
We know that Melchizedek is mentioned only three times in the Bible, in Genesis 14:18-20, Psalm 110, and Hebrews 7:1-3. This is a simplification because many scholars believe that he is indirectly referred to elsewhere in the Bible. That he was a priest/king and had no father or mother is generally accepted, but there is very little other information. He has been confused with God, and has had the term Lord applied to him in reference to his talks with Abraham and Sarah. Some believe Jesus to be a reincarnation of Melchizedek, which I find interesting since both of them enjoyed the services of the same Thought Adjuster. The names of Michael and Melchizedek have been linked, usually both of them being thought of as angels. Many brotherhoods and priesthoods have grown up around Machiventa’s mystique, each of them interpreting him and his purpose in its own way. We who have The Urantia Book have been told so much more, and yet the mysteries remain. Let’s review some of what the book has given us.
The Melchizedeks as an order are particularly useful to the universe as ‘emergency sons,’ because they are “. . . naturally at the mid-point of the great personality descent, by origin being just about midway between the highest Divinity and the lowest creature life of will endowment. They thus become the natural intermediaries between the higher and divine levels of living existence and the lower, even the material, forms of life on the evolutionary worlds. The seraphic orders, the angels, delight to work with the Melchizedeks; in fact, all forms of intelligent life find in these Sons understanding friends, sympathetic teachers, and wise counselors.” [UB 35:2.1]
They “were all created within one millennial period of standard time.” [UB 35:1.3] This represents approximately 5,000 years of Urantia time, and during this period “upward of ten million” of them came into being, our very own Machiventa among them. Their creation followed the completion of the physical plan of our local universe which took a long time by our standards, and this order of Melchizedek sons has likely been in existence for many billions of years.
Only six times in all the history of Nebadon had a Melchizedek personalized on a planet as a temporary man of the realm. The twelve Melchizedek receivers of Urantia, knowing that Michael had chosen Urantia as the world of his terminal bestowal, and that revealed truth was threatened with extinction due to the miscarriage of the Adamic bestowal, petitioned the Most Highs on Edentia and the Father Melchizedek that some provision be made to maintain the light of truth on Urantia. They were given permission to uphold truth in the manner of their own election until Michael should come. The result was Machiventa volunteering as an emergency Son of world ministry.
It was 1,973 years before the birth of Jesus that Machiventa was bestowed upon the human races of Urantia. He was first observed by mortal man…when he entered the tent of Amdon, a Chaldean herder of Sumerian extraction. And the proclamation of his mission was embodied in the simple statement which he made to this shepherd, ‘I am Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon, the Most High, the one and only God. [UB 93:2.1]
In personal appearance, Melchizedek resembled the then blended Nodite and Sumerian peoples, being almost six feet in height and possessing a commanding presence. He spoke Chaldean and a half dozen other languages. He dressed much as did the Canaanite priests except that on his breast he wore an emblem of three concentric circles, the Satania symbol of the Paradise Trinity. In the course of his ministry this insignia of three concentric circles became regarded as so sacred by his followers that they never dared to use it, and it was soon forgotten with the passing of a few generations. [UB 93:2.5]
In artwork throughout history, Machiventa is generally depicted as an old man. However, if he had appeared at the beginning of his bestowal as an old man, wouldn’t it be likely that the people around him would have begun to suspect that he was divine much earlier than the book indicates they did? I think he might have looked much younger when he first appeared, old enough to be a high priest, but definitely not elderly. He might then have allowed his physical appearance to age slowly.
It is interesting that hundreds of years later, the Jewish high priests wore a “breast plate,” in their case with twelve semi-precious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel.1 Remember, the concentric circles motif had been forgotten. This breast plate was about nine or ten inches square, and was actually a pocket containing the ‘urin’ and the ‘thummin,’ two stones believed to have mystical powers.[1]
The first Jewish high priest was Moses’ brother, Aaron. “The members of the family of Katro, with whom Melchizedek lived for more than thirty years, knew many of these higher truths and long perpetuated them in their family, even to the days of their illustrious descendant Moses, who thus had a compelling tradition of the days of Melchizedek handed down to him on this, his father’s side, as well as through other sources on his mother’s side.” [UB 93:3.5]
All of the Jewish priests wore long white robes, but only the high priest also wore a blue tunic over his robe, an apron type of garment called the ‘ephod’ over the tunic, and the breast plate over all. The urin and the thummin were used to gain knowledge and forecast events by mystical means. Machiventa established his headquarters at Salem, which later became the city of Jebus, and finally became known as Jerusalem. “The ceremonies of the Salem worship were very simple.” [UB 93:4.1] But as The Urantia Book tells us, even as simple as this creed was, it was “altogether too much and too advanced for the men of those days.” [UB 93:4.5]
To the rank and file of his followers he made no effort to present teachings beyond the fact of the rulership of the Most Highs of Edentia—Gods of Urantia. But to some, Melchizedek taught advanced truth, embracing the conduct and organization of the local universe, while to his brilliant disciple Nordan the Kenite and his band of earnest students he taught the truths of the superuniverse and even of Havona. [UB 93:3.4]
The Urantia Book gives us a recap of how the Melchizedek teachings affected religions in both the Occident and the Orient, but that’s not the whole story. It seems the revelators left some things for us to find, namely, that some of these ‘advanced’ teachings regarding the superuniverse and Havona may be found today in different cultures.
In Paper 131, in the excerpts of faith from the Hindu religion, The Urantia Book states: “Our God wears the heavens as a mantle; he also inhabits the other six wide-spreading universes.” [UB 131:4.5] How did the Hindus thousands of years ago know about the seven superuniverses? Melchizedek’s missionaries perhaps?
Not quite as obvious as the above, but fascinating nonetheless, is the following statement from a discussion of the seven circles of Havona in Paper 14, ‘The Central and Divine Universe.’ “It is from these arrangements in the central universe that the circles of progress in the human mind have been designated.” [UB 14:5.4] Some years ago I read a book called Anatomy of the Spirit by Dr. Caroline Myss. It described a seven-level spiritual progression that is a part of Judaism, Christianity (Roman Catholicism), and the eastern religions. (See following page.) In all three religious beliefs, the meanings of the corresponding levels, including those of the seven psychic circles, particularly circles seven, three, and one, as described by the authors of The Urantia Book, are very much the same, in some places virtually identical. The terminology differs slightly, but as in circle seven, for example, all three refer to the entry of the individual into the spiritual community. This would hold true for a child who has just made his first moral decision, thereby becoming a potential universe citizen. The requirements may be different in each case, but the basic symbolism is the same. Why didn’t the revelators give us information about the other levels? I suspect, as they pointed out, that circle achievement is unique with each individual.
| Psychic Circle | Chakras | Sacraments | Sefirot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Adjuster Contact | Oneness with Spirit | Annointing of the Sick Preparing to face God at Death |
1 Keter - Divine Energy |
| 2 | 6 Mind, Clarity | Ordination | 3 & 2 Binah, Hokhmah Understanding, Wisdom |
| 3 Surrender Will to God | 5 Will | Reconcilliation - Giving Will to God |
5 & 4 Gevurah, Hesed Judgement & Mercy |
| 4 | 4 Love | Marriage | 6 Tiferet-Beauty |
| 5 | 3 Self | Confirmation - Honor Yourself - Honor Code |
8 & 7 Hod & Nezah Integrity & Endurance |
| 6 | 2 Personal Relationship | Communion - Honor One Another |
9 Yesed - Foundation |
| 7 Potential Universe Citizen | 1 Tribal - Community | Baptism - Family | 10 Sekhinah - Creation- Gaia |
I don’t think there is a Urantia Book reader who has not wondered in which circle he or she might be. Here is a possible answer. I strongly believe that we operate in all of them simultaneously, which is not the same thing as a mastery of any. I often think of this by picturing a small fir tree with increasingly larger levels of the branches as you go from top to bottom. Now visualize a bird landing on the top of the tree. The whole tree begins to shake until the energy of the bird’s landing is adjusted in every level of the branches. If you picture the bird as a new spiritual understanding coming from the Adjuster through the superconscious, you can imagine how this new level of spirituality will ‘shake’ all the circles below it until equilibrium is established. No new spiritual enlightenment is limited to only one circle; it must penetrate and readjust all the circles. Remember, The Urantia Book tells us:
The successful traversal of these new levels demands the harmonious functioning of the entire personality, not merely of some one phase thereof. The growth of the parts does not equal the true maturation of the whole; the parts really grow in proportion to the expansion of the entire self—material, intellectual, and spiritual. [UB 110:6.3]
Dr. Myss drew a line between the three lower and four upper levels to indicate her belief that the inward spiritual growth experiences of the upper four must be expressed in our experiences in the outer life of the lower three.
I firmly believe these seven levels of spiritual growth were taught to the Melchizedek missionaries, to be spread along with the basic teachings of Salem. As far as I know, no similar concepts have appeared where the missionaries did not go, as in the Americas, for example. Note how the concept of the seven levels changed as the information was carried outward to the world. Each culture modified the expressions of these spiritual phases somewhat, but the basic meanings remain virtually intact. All recognize these seven levels as markers of spiritual growth and maturity.
As a very good way to see how the different levels are incorporated into a human life, a study of the life of Jesus provides a perfect example. We can follow him through the levels and observe his adjustments on each level to the preceding ones.[2]
What else might he have taught? This next subject is highly speculative, but I’m going to suggest it anyway. A few years ago, I bought a book on the alphabet which stated that the first true alphabet appeared among the Semites in Palestine around 1900 BCE, which was precisely where and when Machiventa was conducting his school. Coincidence? Serendipity? Maybe. Listen to what two modern authors have to say. Both of them agree on several points.
The first alphabet emerged among the Semites in Palestine between 2000 and 1900 BCE. By 1800 BCE it was already in extensive use.
Egyptian symbols were used to some extent and new ‘letters’ were invented to express sounds.
The alphabet was most likely the brainchild of a single person, or possibly a small group.
Both authors use the term ‘genius’ to describe the individual responsible.
In the following quotation from John Man’s book, Alpha Beta, (Asiatics is the term used by Egyptians to denote anyone who came from east of Suez.) the author says, “It seems unlikely, given the sophistication of the surrounding society and the existence of the Egyptians’ own alphabetical signs, that a new set would emerge a sign at a time from the minds of different scribes. Perhaps a committee was involved, a council of scholarly Asiatics. But it wouldn’t have taken them long, once they had the idea to work on, and they could have been under the direction of a chairman—perhaps the same genius who came up with the idea in the first place.”[3]
David Sacks, in his book Letter Perfect says: “…the alphabet was an invention, a spectacularly successful one. Judged on longevity and extent of modern daily use, it compares with the wheel.”
He goes on to say: “…the alphabet was the most efficient writing system ever found, before or since. Like the wheel, it transformed the ancient world, and, like the wheel, it is still with us and has never been superseded.”[4]
What makes the invention of the alphabet so important? Sacks points out that it has one enormous advantage over other writing systems—it needs fewer symbols. It is adaptable to any language because the letters represent sounds rather than images. To take the English language as an example, from only twenty-six letters we have constructed approximately three-quarters of a million words. How many pictographs would it have taken to do the same?
The alphabet introduced in 1900 BCE was not the first one in existence. “Fad formulated the first alphabet and introduced a writing system. This alphabet contained twenty-five characters . . . But the alphabet and much more was subsequently lost to the world during the confusion attendant upon rebellion. The Caligasta defection destroyed the hope of the world for a universal language, at least for untold ages.” [UB 66:5.9-10]
We know that an alphabet was used by Van and his associates with the hope it would be adopted by the inhabitants of the Garden. Normally, the social and cultural advances would have been sponsored by the Adamic regime; but we no longer have an Adam and Eve. I think it is possible that Machiventa saw an opportunity to act in that capacity in this matter by once again introducing an alphabet to facilitate communication.
I am familiar with this statement on page 1018 of The Urantia Book: “Like Jesus, Melchizedek attended strictly to the fulfillment of the mission of his bestowal. He did not attempt to reform the mores, to change the habits of the world, nor to promulgate even advanced sanitary practices of scientific truths. He came to achieve two tasks: to keep alive on earth the truth of the one God and to prepare the way for the subsequent mortal bestowal of a Paradise Son of that Universal Father.” [UB 93:4.15]
However, in the teaching of superuniverse truths he was, in a way, revealing scientific facts; although he may also have used the superuniverses as an example of the seven possible combinations of the persons of the Trinity. Nevertheless, if in fact he had something to do with the invention of the alphabet, it should not have hindered his spiritual mission. By improving man’s ability to communicate, transfer, and store information, an alphabet may have aided his mission—and his missionaries.
The descendants of Adamson, clustered about the shores of the lake of Van, were willing listeners to the Hittite teachers of the Salem cult. From this onetime Andite center teachers were dispatched to the remote regions of both Europe and Asia. Salem missionaries penetrated all Europe, even to the British Isles. One group went by way of the Faroes to the Andonites of Iceland, while another traversed China and reached the Japanese of the eastern islands. [UB 93:7.2]
A few years ago I saw a program on the PBS show, Nova, and immediately ordered the tape. It was called “The Mysterious Mummies of China” and described the discovery of beautifully preserved and decidedly European bodies buried at the edge of the Taklamakan desert on the western borders of China. From paintings on rock walls in the area and from the examination of the mummies themselves, we know these people had red or blond hair and blue or green eyes, and the bone structure is European. Their clothing reveals a very high order of weaving unknown in that area at the time they were buried around 1800 BCE, or about eighty years after Machiventa ended his bestowal.
This was interesting enough, but when they showed the petrified bread buried with the mummies and then presentday European-looking descendants baking bread the same way as their ancestors, I was astounded to see the women stamping three concentric circles into every piece of bread they baked. It would seem that these people may be the descendants of the very missionaries mentioned in The Urantia Book. Currently, this group known as the Uyghurs are struggling to maintain their ethnic identity and Turkic language amid a great influx of Han Chinese immigrants to the area.
In regard to those missionaries who reached Japan, there is a primitive race of people called the Ainu, who are thought to be the original inhabitants of the Japanese islands. They also look European and many have blue eyes. These may or may not be the descendants of the missionaries. In each of the above cases, the religion of the people became a mixture of many beliefs and superstitions, and apparently the original message of Salem was lost or absorbed into their current religious practices.
Machiventa had been associated with Urantia since the Caligastia secession for thousands of years before he incarnated in human form.
The Melchizedek order of universe sonship has been exceedingly active on Urantia. A corps of twelve served in conjunction with the Life Carriers. A later corps of twelve became receivers for your world shortly after the Caligastia secession and continued in authority until the time of Adam and Eve. These twelve Melchizedeks returned to Urantia upon the default of Adam and Eve, and they continued thereafter as planetary receivers on down to the day when Jesus of Nazareth, as the Son of Man, became the titular Planetary Prince of Urantia. [UB 93:0.2]
Machiventa ended his incarnation on Urantia in 1879 BCE, but he “continued to take a great interest in the affairs of the descendants of those men who had believed in his teachings when he was in the flesh. But the progeny of Abraham through Isaac as intermarried with the Kenites were the only line which long continued to nourish any clear concept of the Salem teachings.” [UB 93:10.3]
This same Melchizedek continued to collaborate throughout the nineteen succeeding centuries with the many prophets and seers, thus endeavoring to keep alive the truths of Salem until the fullness of the time for Michael’s appearance on earth. [UB 93:10.4]
When Machiventa incarnated in a human form on Urantia, he markedly changed the course of his universe career. He is uniquely associated with our world, not only with its past, but with its future. “Subsequently, he was attached to the Urantia service on Jerusem as one of the four and twenty directors, only just recently having been elevated to the position of personal ambassador on Jerusem of the Creator Son, bearing the title Vicegerent Planetary Prince of Urantia. It is our belief that, as long as Urantia remains an inhabited planet, Machiventa Melchizedek will not be fully returned to the duties of his order of sonship but will remain, speaking in the terms of time, forever a planetary minister representing Christ Michael.” [UB 93:10.5]
And Machiventa is still active in his ministry to Urantia. About one thousand years ago, he served as resident governor general for a period of one hundred years, “and if the present system of directing planetary affairs should continue, he will be due to return in the same capacity in a little over one thousand years.” [UB 93:10.10] Just as The Urantia Book is ready for an update, perhaps?
He has been deeply involved in our fifth epochal revelation. On February 11, 1924, he informed the Contact Commission of the significance of the project the Forum was undertaking. Actually the Forum didn’t hear about that until the following December when Doc Sadler inadvertently let the information slip out. Machiventa co-authored Paper 56, “Universal Unity,” with a Mighty Messenger. Both Machiventa and Gabriel were present on Urantia on Jesus’ birthday in 1951; and on February 11, 1952, he introduced the Melchizedek, Norson, the incoming regent of the acting planetary prince of Urantia, to the Contact Commission.[5] I have no doubt that he keeps a very close watch on the progress of our revelation to the world, and aids its development in many ways.
As for the future, this is what the book has to say:
As his was an emergency bestowal on Urantia, it does not appear from the records what Machiventa’s future may be. It may develop that the Melchizedek corps of Nebadon have sustained the permanent loss of one of their number. Recent rulings handed down from the Most Highs of Edentia, and later confirmed by the Ancients of Days of Uversa, strongly suggest that this bestowal Melchizedek is destined to take the place of the fallen Planetary Prince, Caligastia. If our conjectures in this respect are correct, it is altogether possible that Machiventa Melchizedek may again appear in person on Urantia and in some modified manner resume the role of the dethroned Planetary Prince, or else appear on earth to function as vicegerent Planetary Prince representing Christ Michael, who now actually holds the title Planetary Prince of Urantia. While it is far from clear to us as to what Machiventa’s destiny may be, nevertheless, events which have so recently taken place strongly suggest that the foregoing conjectures are probably not far from the truth.
We well understand how, by his triumph of Urantia, Michael became the successor of both Caligastia and Adam; how he became the planetary Prince of Peace and the second Adam. And now we behold the conferring upon this Melchizedek of the title Vicegerent Planetary Prince of Urantia. Will he also be constituted Vice Material Son of Urantia? Or is there a possibility that an unexpected and unprecedented event is to take place, the sometime return to the planet of Adam and Eve or certain of their progeny as representatives of Michael with the titles vicegerents of the second Adam of Urantia?
And all these speculations associated with the certainty of future appearances of both Magisterial and Trinity Teacher Sons, in con junction with the explicit promise of the Creator Son to return sometime, make Urantia a planet of future uncertainty and render it one of the most interest ing and intriguing spheres in all the universe of Nebadon. It is altogether possible that, in some future age when Urantia is approaching the era of light and life, after the affairs of the Lucifer rebellion and the Caligastia secession have been finally adjudicated, we may witness the presence on Urantia, simultaneously, of Machiventa, Adam, Eve, and Christ Michael, as well as either a Magisterial Son or even Trinity Teacher Sons.
It has long been the opinion of our order [Melchizedek] that Machiventa’s presence on the Jerusem corps of Urantia directors, the four and twenty counselors, is sufficient evidence to warrant the belief that he is destined to follow the mortals of Urantia on through the universe scheme of progression and ascension even to the Paradise Corps of the Finality. We know that Adam and Eve are thus destined to accompany their earth fellows on the Paradise adventure when Urantia has become settled in light and life. [UB 93:10.6-9]
I believe we can all look forward to meeting him on the Mansion worlds, and I, for one, can’t wait.
Linda Buselli found The Urantia Book in 1971 and has been active in various related activities ever since. She is currently a General Councilor of the Fellowship and the Publications Committee Chair.
| The Power of The Name of Jesus | Volume 11, Number 2, 2011 (Summer) — Index | “Nearer, My God, to Thee” Getting Closer to God |
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=ed3026hr3h3r?tname=urim-and-thummin ↩︎
For further studies and comparisons, contact Linda Buselli. ↩︎
John Man, Alpha Beta, John Wiley & Sons, 2000 ↩︎
David Sacks, Letter Perfect, Random House, 2003 ↩︎
Personal notes of Carolyn Kendall’s father, Clarence Bowman, Forum member ↩︎