© 2019 Ralph Zehr
© 2019 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
This question has been asked for a long time. A number of students of the book have concluded that the answer to this question is not contained in its contents. Another reader was of the opinion that the time required to complete the ascension career was on the order of 200 billion years. His reasoning was based on two widely separated statements in The Urantia Book, the first of which is associated with the discussion of the Mighty Messengers (22:2,4), where we are told “And the last group of this order (Mighty Messengers) to qualify for Paradise embrace ascending pilgrims from the local universe of Nebadon.”
“The senior Mighty Messengers were chosen from those ascendant mortals of time and space who were among the earlier Paradise arrivals, many having traversed Havona in the times of Grandfanda. But the first trinitizing of Mighty Messengers was not effected until the candidate corps contained representatives from each of the seven superuniverses. And the last group of this order to qualify on Paradise embraced ascendant pilgrims from the local universe of Nebadon.” (UB 22:2.4)
The second statement indicates that mortals appeared in the universe of Nebadon approximately 200 billion years ago.
200,000,000,000 years ago witnessed the progression of contraction and condensation with enormous heat generation in the Andronover central cluster, or nuclear mass. Relative space appeared even in the regions near the central mother-sun wheel. The outer regions were becoming more stabilized and better organized; some planets revolving around the newborn suns had cooled sufficiently to be suitable for life implantation. The oldest inhabited planets of Nebadon date from these times. (UB 57:3.10)
Based on these two statements, one can conclude, as this reader did, that the ascension career for mortals in the universe of Nebadon can be achieved in 200 billion years or less.
However, the Mighty Messengers are not your average ascending mortals. One must meet specific criteria to join the Mighty Messengers and once trinitized, they will be assigned to large, but specific tasks for which they are uniquely qualified. Let us examine the relevant statements relating to this subject. Let us examine the evidence together.
Mighty Messengers belong to the ascendant group of the Trinitized Sons. They are a class of perfected mortals who have been rebellion tested or otherwise equally proved as to their personal loyalty; all have passed through some definite test of universe allegiance. At some time in their Paradise ascent they stood firm and loyal in the face of the disloyalty of their superiors, and some did actively and loyally function in the places of such unfaithful leaders. (UB 22:2.1)
This indicates that to meet the criteria of a Mighty Messenger one must have demonstrated “loyalty in the face of disloyalty displayed by their superiors” indicating that one must have experienced life in a region of the universe that was in a state of rebellion. We can be quite certain that our experience on this world of confusion and rebellion has provided sufficient tests of rebellion to become Mighty Messengers.
You mortals who read this message may yourselves ascend to Paradise, attain the Trinity embrace, and in remote future ages be attached to the service of the Ancients of Days in one of the seven superuniverses, and sometime be assigned to enlarge the revelation of truth to some evolving inhabited planet, even as I am now functioning on Urantia. (UB 22:4.7)
The Mighty Messengers of the local universe of Nebadon who were embraced by the Trinity with the “last one such group to qualify for Paradise” must have begun their Paradise ascent during one of the three rebellions (UB 45:2.1) that took place in Nebadon. The first rebellion was about 850 million years ago, the second, about 700 million years ago, and the third, the Lucifer rebellion, about 200 thousand years ago. UB 50:6.5
It should not be forgotten that for two hundred thousand years all the worlds of Satania remained spiritually banished from Norlatiadek as a result of the Lucifer rebellion. And it will take ages and ages to make up for the resulting handicaps of sin and secession. Your world continues to pursue an irregular and vicissitudes-filled career because of its double tragedy of a rebellious Planetary Prince and a failed Material Son. Even the bestowal of Christ Michael on Urantia did not immediately remove the temporal consequences of these grave failings in the previous administration of this world. UB 50:6.5
The timing of the first two rebellions in the Nebadon universe has been provided to us together with the record of seven bestowals of Jesus.
It was a solemn occasion on Salvington almost one billion years ago when the assembled directors and chiefs of the universe of Nebadon heard Michael announce that his elder brother, Immanuel, would presently assume authority in Nebadon while he (Michael) would be absent on an unexplained mission. No other announcement was made about this transaction except that the farewell broadcast to the Constellation Fathers, among other instructions, said: “And for this period I place you under the care and keeping of Immanuel while I go to do the bidding of my Paradise Father.” (UB 119:1.1)
For almost one hundred and fifty million years after the Melchizedek bestowal of Michael, all went well in the universe of Nebadon, when trouble began to brew in system 11 of constellation 37. This trouble involved a misunderstanding by a Lanonandek Son, a System Sovereign, which had been adjudicated by the Constellation Fathers and approved by the Faithful of Days, the Paradise counselor to that constellation, but the protesting System Sovereign was not fully reconciled to the verdict. After more than one hundred years of dissatisfaction he led his associates in one of the most widespread and disastrous rebellions against the sovereignty of the Creator Son ever instigated in the universe of Nebadon, a rebellion long since adjudicated and ended by the action of the Ancients of Days on Uversa. (UB 119:2.1)
The supreme council on Salvington had just finished the consideration of the call of the Life Carriers on planet 217 in system 87 in constellation 61 for the dispatch to their assistance of a Material Son. Now this planet was situated in a system of inhabited worlds where another System Sovereign had gone astray, the second such rebellion in all Nebadon up to that time. (UB 119:3.1)
The first opportunity for the recently trinitized Mighty Messengers of Nebadon to begin their ascension to Paradise would therefore have been approximately 850 million years ago. Based on the information provided, the ascension path for potential Mighty Messengers of Nebadon can be completed in 850 million years. The statement clearly indicates that a group of mortal ascenders from Nebadon were trinitized into the final class of Mighty Messengers on Paradise.
We are also told that upon ascension, agondontaries, mortal ascenders from quarantined planets, are rapidly given responsibilities due to their high degree of loyalty and trustworthiness, suggesting that they may be able to reach the required levels of morontia and spiritual maturation more quickly than average, thus possibly shortening the overall length of time required to reach Paradise.
On first thought it might appear that Urantia and its associated isolated worlds are most unfortunate in being deprived of the beneficent presence and influence of such superhuman personalities as a Planetary Prince and a Material Son and Daughter. But isolation of these spheres affords their races a unique opportunity for the exercise of faith and for the development of a peculiar quality of confidence in cosmic reliability which is not dependent on sight or any other material consideration. It may turn out, eventually, that mortal creatures hailing from the worlds quarantined in consequence of rebellion are extremely fortunate. We have discovered that such ascenders are very early intrusted with numerous special assignments to cosmic undertakings where unquestioned faith and sublime confidence are essential to achievement. (UB 50:7.1)
I think it appropriate, in view of the various opinions which have been associated with this subject in the past, to add a caveat at this point in the form of the following question. Can one be quite certain that the qualifying criteria for becoming a Mighty Messenger are absolutely limited to having experienced a major rebellion such as the three which have occurred in Nebadon? The statement “…proven to be unwilling to rebellion, or whose personal loyalty has been demonstrated in an equivalent manner…” seems to broaden the range of qualification, but the next sentences seem to narrow it once more to mortals tested by rebellion. The fact that several candidates from Nebadon have been inducted into the final class of trinitized Mighty Messengers suggests the possibility of a group having gained the requisite experience of the same rebellion.
It should also be noted that at the time of Lucifer’s rebellion, an emergency council was established to advise Gabriel regarding the “Wisdom of Delay” in judging rebels involved in the rebellion. Among those on the emergency council was a group of Mighty Messengers, described as “…glorified mortals who have had personal experience of similar situations…” (UB 54:5.12) This incident clearly indicates that the common experience possessed by Mighty Messengers is having been tested by the rebellion.
11. An emergency council of ex-mortals consisting of Mighty Messengers, glorified mortals who had had personal experience with like situations, together with their colleagues, was organized on Jerusem. They advised Gabriel that at least three times the number of beings would be led astray if arbitrary or summary methods of suppression were attempted. The entire Uversa corps of counselors concurred in advising Gabriel to permit the rebellion to take its full and natural course, even if it should require a million years to wind up the consequences. (UB 54:5.12)
It appears that the revelators have provided us with adequate pieces of the puzzle, which enable us to answer the proposed question in the affirmative. How many other pieces of the puzzle are still scattered throughout The Urantia Book awaiting assembly, which when brought together will result in new concepts, greater understanding, and new encouragement to climb the ladder of Paradise life?
Ralph Zehr, MD, (translated by Guy Perron)