© 2007 Carmelo Martínez, Eduardo Altuzarra
© 2007 Urantia Association of Spain
By various authors
Participants:
- Carmelo Martínez
- Eduardo Altuzarra
Eduardo: When I read paper 46 for the first time, I had many doubts about its interpretation and I said to myself: well, since it’s so badly translated, who knows. When I developed the schematics, I also had to invest time and I didn’t really understand certain things either. Now I have spent much more time and there are my unknowns.
I do not understand very well the Mount Serafin or Seraf, so I invite you to read it and advise me on the matter. I understand that it is the place where the seraphim leave in their transports. Then it says: “Transports arrive on the crystal field, the so-called sea of glass”. UB 46:2.9 Is it the same mount? Do they enter and exit through the same place? I interpret that they are the same.
But of course, a posteriori he says: “Around this area are the receiving stations for the various orders of beings who traverse space by seraphic transport. Near the polar crystal receiving station” UB 46:2.9 What station is that, if you say there are several? Or is the seraphic mount only used for “depart” and these types of stations are used for the “arrival” and are located in another place?
Carmelo: It’s funny but in English “seraphim” is plural; the singular is “seraph.” Although some dictionaries say that it can be considered both singular and plural. However, there is only one place in the entire text where the singular expression is used and it is precisely to give the aforementioned mountain its name. Thus, the name in Spanish is “Monte Serafín”. Many of the 324 times that the word “seraphim” appears in the English text can be read in the singular and in the plural without changing the meaning too much, but there are several that must be necessarily singular or necessarily plural, and yet the expression is always used plural. Because?
Two examples (my underlining):
“If an ascending pilgrim met defeat in the Deity adventure while traversing Havona in the company of an ascending seraphim, the guardian angel of the mortal career, she would elect to accompany her mortal associate. These seraphim always volunteer and are permitted to accompany their long-time mortal comrades back to the service of time and space.” (UB 25:8.10)
The literal translation of the underlined section would be “en compañía de un seraph ascendente” something clearly incorrect in Spanish,… and yet in English it is borderline; it is strange, forced, but correct.
“These headquarters worlds are among the magnificent realms of Nebadon; the seraphic estates are characterized by both beauty and vastness. Here each seraphim has a real home, and “home” means the domicile of two seraphim; they live in pairs.” (UB 38:4.2)
Again the translation would be “every seraphim,” which is how it will sound to the English.
The revelators used the English language in a very unique way at times; this is one of them. They must have had a reason. They forced the language to better express their concepts.
But let’s go back to what Eduardo raises. For me, the transports leave Mount Serafín and arrive at the sea of glass (two different places), specifically at one of the receiving stations. They come out of Mount Serafin precisely because it is the highest point on the planet, so less energy is needed to escape (linear) gravity. (It is curious, non-material beings also subject to linear gravity.) Apparently there are seasons surrounding the sea of glass for the different orders of beings, although I suppose that the same station will serve several orders. I imagine them as a landing zone (runway?) with a building where the transported are de-energized. I don’t know if they will have luggage straps, checkpoints, and one-liter transparent bags for liquids (just kidding). As for the ‘polar’ thing, there is a translation problem in my opinion. I put the original, the translation of 93, the one from 2002 and mine, in this order:
“Near the polar crystal receiving station for student visitors. . .”
“Cerca de la estación de recepción en el extremo polar del campo de cristal para los estudiantes visitantes…”
“Cerca de la estación polar receptora de cristal, destinada a los visitantes estudiantiles…”
“Cerca de la estación de recepción del vidrio polar correspondiente a los estudiantes visitantes…” (UB 46:2.9)
What is polar is the glass, not the station, which is the one dedicated to the reception and disentanglement of visiting students. The sea of glass is at one of the planet’s poles. I will return to this topic later.
Eduardo: I don’t quite understand the transmissions (section 3). He says that they are received through the technique in which polar glass, the sea of glass, is involved. I suppose that these types of stations are different from the previous ones. However, the UB calls them both “receivers.” One for transport and the other for communications despite the fact that both have a common denominator, polar glass, sea of glass or polar glass. We are told that they are “tricircular” and also that: “All these transmissions are displayed automatically so that they are perceptible to all types of beings present in the central amphitheater of the transmissions” For later, a paragraph followed say: This receiving station for Jerusem transmissions is surrounded by an enormous amphitheater built… with seats for more than five billion beings… Why do you continue to express yourself as “this”, having three groups? This I do not finish interpreting. And what if I manage to interpret fairly is that each receiving station consists of an outdoor amphitheater, for people, then three concentric circles of buildings, whose shape is not very well known, and in the center another amphitheater for visualizations. Or is it not?
But there is a detail that does not go unnoticed. In that same section the same stations are named, I suppose: receiving station, transmitting station and transmitting station. What does this mean? Or is “this” that you refer to as a transmitter unique and located at the opposite pole of the sphere?
Carmelo: I understand that these stations are recipients of messages and broadcasts in general (come on, TV). They are different from the previous transport reception. And I understand that the sea of glass is necessary to receive these broadcasts and that, therefore, the receiving stations for broadcasts are in the sea of glass itself (not surrounding it as before). I also understand that there are, in addition to different gadgets to receive what comes from outside the local universe, three groups of stations to receive what comes from within the local universe (worlds, constellation headquarters and universe headquarters). All of it (pots plus stations) is in the sea of glass, possibly at its center (at the pole?) and is surrounded by a huge amphitheatre. Eduardo, I think that the drawing you have done reflects what I want to say. There is not an amphitheater for each receiving station, but a single huge one, and in its center the stations and the pots. I also understand that what are tricircular are the receiving stations themselves.
The poles is reinforced by what is said in UB 46:3.4: “The Jerusem sending station is located at the opposite pole of the sphere”. All of this suggests that there are several receiving stations at one pole (where the sea of glass and the immense amphitheatre are) and a sending station at the opposite pole.
Eduardo: Well, now come the famous areas, which by the way the translation of 93 calls “arrangements”. As you know they are designed in four different ways. I do not finish interpreting the shape of the circles, because it speaks of style and size but not of shape. What shape can those circular buildings have? As for the rest, I don’t think I have any doubts except what kind of design these “walls” that serve as a public walkway could have. There is a very curious thing written in UB 46:5.22 in which it says: “The seventh circle is the sphere…” What happens, that the shape of the buildings in concentric circles is spherical? Personally, since I didn’t know what shape to give it, I have designed spheres, but they may well have another shape.
Carmelo: The word “arrangements” wants to be the (bad) translation of “arrangements”, but for me they are “provisions”. This is my translation of UB 46:4.6:
“This arrangement of the system activities into circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles is common to all the system capitals of Nebadon. In another universe an entirely different arrangement might prevail. These are matters determined by the diverse plans of the Creator Sons.” UB 46:4.6
Eduardo: Well, here are my drawings. Later we will talk about squares, rectangles and triangles.
Carmelo: As for the drawings… a real treat! I have reviewed what the text says with the drawings in front and everything fits me. The key for me is to interpret “successively elevated” starting from the inside and not from the outside as I had done previously. I see the walk clearly. Even the glass wall that surrounds each circle of the Children can be easily located. I also visualize the monument to Michael in the central area of the seven circles of the Sons (the lowest “plaza”). It should not be forgotten that the size of these structures is colossal and that the morontia senses are much more acute so that it is possible to morontia-see, morontia-hear and morontia-whatever-it is from far away.
All the different circles are surrounded by an immense promenade, and in particular the group of seven circles of angels. Paragraph 46:5.23 says:
“These seven circles are surrounded by the exhibit panorama of Jerusem, five thousand standard miles in circumference, which is devoted to the presentation of the advancing status of the peopled worlds of Satania and is constantly revised so as to truly represent up-to-date conditions on the individual planets. I doubt not that this vast promenade overlooking the circles of the angels will be the first sight of Jerusem to claim your attention when you are permitted extended leisure on your earlier visits.” (UB 46:5.23)
Five thousand standard kilometers of circumference suppose a diameter of about 1,590 standard kilometers, that is, about 17,500 kilometers of ours. Remember that the diameter of the Earth is about 12,700 kilometers.
As for the ‘sphere’, perhaps it should not be interpreted literally. The DRAE says of ‘sphere’ in its fifth meaning: “Scope, space to which the virtue of an agent extends or reaches, the faculties and mission of a person, etc.”
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/