Meredith Sprunger's Synopsis of The Urantia Book
Synopsis of Paper 114
SERAPHIC PLANETARY GOVERNMENT
1. The Most Highs rule in the kingdoms of men through many celestial forces and agencies but chiefly through the ministry of seraphim...The angels, ably assisted by the midwayers, function on Urantia as the actual supermaterial ministers who execute the mandates of the resident governor general and all his associates and subordinates.
2. Urantia is not without power and effective supervision from the system, constellation, and universe rulers. But the planetary government is unlike that of any other world in the Satania system, even in all Nebadon.
3. Subsequent to the downfall of Prince Caligastia, at the time of the Lucifer rebellion, Urantia had no sure and settled relationship with the local universe and its administrative divisions until the completion of Michael's bestowal in the flesh, when he was proclaimed by the Union of Days, Planetary Prince of Urantia. Such a proclamation in surety and in principle forever settled the status of your world, but in practice the Sovereign Creator Son made no gesture of personal administration of the planet aside from the establishment of the Jerusem commission of twenty‑four former Urantians with authority to represent him in the government of Urantia and all other quarantined planets in the system. One of this council is now always resident on Urantia as resident governor general.
4. Vicegerent authority to act for Michael as Planetary Prince has been recently vested in Machiventa Melchizedek, but this Son of the local universe has made not the slightest move toward modifying the present planetary regime of the successive administrations of the resident governors general.
5. Some believe that Machiventa will not come to take personal direction of Urantian affairs until the end of the current dispensation. Others hold that the vicegerent Prince may not come, as such, until Michael sometime returns to Urantia as he promised when still in the flesh. Still others, including this narrator, look for Melchizedek's appearance any day or hour.
6. Since the times of Michael's bestowal on your world the general management of Urantia has been intrusted to a special group on Jerusem of twenty‑four one‑time Urantians...This board of planetary directors is especially concerned with the supervision of those activities on this world which result from the fact that Michael here experienced his terminal bestowal.
7. At the present time one John, known to you as “the Baptist," is chairman of this council when it is in session on Jerusem...The members of this same commission of former Urantians also act as advisory supervisors of the thirty‑six other rebellion‑isolated worlds of the system...These twenty‑four counselors make frequent trips as individuals to each of the quarantined planets, especially to Urantia.
8. No one knows how long these twenty‑four Urantia counselors will continue in their present status ...The present resident governor general of Urantia seems inclined to the opinion that all but Machiventa may be released for Paradise ascension the moment the system of Satania is restored to the constellation circuits. But other opinions are also current.
9. Every one hundred years of Urantia time, the Jerusem corps of twenty‑four planetary supervisors designate one of their number to sojourn on your world to act their executive representative, as resident governor general. During the times of the preparation of these narratives this executive officer was changed, the nineteenth so to serve being succeeded by the twentieth.
10. He acts as the co‑coordinator of superhuman administration and is the respected head and universally recognized leader of the celestial beings functioning on Urantia. All orders of angelic hosts regard him as their co‑ordinating director, while the united midwayers, since the departure of 1‑2‑3 the first to become one of the twenty‑four counselors, really look upon the successive governors general as their planetary fathers.
11. Although the governor general does not possess actual and personal authority on the planet, he hands down scores of rulings and decisions each day which are accepted as final by all personalities concerned. He is much more of a fatherly adviser than a technical ruler. In certain ways he functions as would a Planetary Prince, but his administration much more closely resembles that of the Material Sons.
12. There are certain groups of planetary problems which are still under the control of the Most Highs of Edentia. Jurisdiction over them having been seized at the time of the Lucifer rebellion. Authority in these matters is exercised by a Vorondadek Son, the Norlatiadek observer, who maintains very close advisory relations with the planetary supervisors.
13. In a crisis the actual and sovereign head of the government, excepting in certain purely spiritual matters, would be this Vorondadek Son of Edentia now on observation duty ...A Most High observer is empowered, at his discretion, to seize the planetary government in times of grave planetary crisis, and it is of record that this has happened thirty‑three times in the history of Urantia...Vorondadek regencies are not peculiar to rebellion‑isolated planets, for the Most Highs may intervene at any time in the affairs of the inhabited worlds, interposing the superior wisdom of the constellation rulers in the affairs of the kingdoms of men.
14. The actual administration of Urantia is indeed difficult to describe ...The twenty‑four counselors come the nearest to being the legislative branch of the planetary government. The governor general is a provisional and advisory chief executive with the veto power resident in the Most High observer. And there are no absolutely authoritative judicial powers operative on the planet—only the conciliating commissions.
15. Technically, the planet is still spiritually isolated in the Norlatiadek circuits, but in an emergency this handicap can now be circumvented through utilization of the archangels' circuit. Planetary isolation is, of course, of little concern to individual mortals since the pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh nineteen hundred years ago.
16. The direct administrative cabinet of the governor general consists of twelve seraphim, the acting chiefs of the twelve groups of special angels functioning as the immediate superhuman directors of planetary progress and stability.
17. The twelve corps of the master seraphim of planetary supervision are functional on Urantia as follows:
1. The epochal angels
2. The progress angels
3. The religious guardians
4. The angels of nation life
5. The angels of the races
6. The angels of the future
7. The angels of enlightenment
8. The angels of health
9. The home seraphim
10. The angels of industry
11. The angels of diversion
12. The angels of superhuman ministry18. But aside from these many means of positive action, the master seraphim insure planetary progress against vital jeopardy through the mobilization, training, and maintenance of the reserve corps of destiny. The chief function of.these reservists is to insure against breakdown of evolutionary progress; they are the provisions which the celestial forces have made against surprise; they are the guarantees against disaster.
19. The reserve corps of destiny consists of living men and women who have been admitted to the special service of the superhuman administration of world affairs ...All reservists have self‑conscious Adjusters, and most of them function in the higher cosmic circles of intellectual achievement and spiritual attainment.
20. Mortals of the realm are chosen for service in the reserve corps of destiny on the inhabited worlds because of:
1. Special capacity for being secretly rehearsed for numerous possible emergency missions in the conduct of various activities of world affairs.
2. Wholehearted dedication to some special social, economic, political, spiritual, or other cause, coupled with willingness to serve without human recognition and rewards.
3. The possession of a Thought Adjuster or extraordinary versatility and probably pre‑Urantia experience in coping with planetary difficulties and contending with impending world emergency situations.
21. The average inhabited world employs seventy separate corps of destiny, which are intimately connected with the superhuman current conduct of world affairs. On Urantia there are twelve reserve corps of destiny, one for each of the planetary groups of seraphic supervision.
22. This combined corps now consists of 962 persons. The smallest corps numbers 41 and the largest 172. With the exception of less than a score of contact personalities, the members of this unique group are wholly unconscious of their preparation for possible function in certain planetary crises.
23. The men and women of these reserve corps of destiny thus have various degrees of contact with their Adjusters through the intervening ministry of the midway creatures; but these same mortals are little known to their fellows except in those rare social emergencies and spiritual exigencies wherein these reserve personalities function for the prevention of the breakdown of evolutionary culture or the extinction of the light of living truth. On Urantia these reservists of destiny have seldom been emblazoned on the pages of human history.
24. The reservists unconsciously act as conservators of essential planetary information. Many times, upon the death of a reservist, a transfer of certain vital data from the mind of the dying reservist to a younger successor is made by a liaison of the two Thought Adjusters. The Adjusters undoubtedly function in many other ways unknown to us, in connection with these reserve corps.
25. The Urantia reserve corps had its largest membership in the days of the Adamites and Andites, steadily declining with the dilution of the violet blood and reaching its low point around the time of Pentecost, since which time reserve corps membership has steadily increased.
26. (The cosmic reserve corps of universe‑conscious citizens on Urantia now numbers over one thousand mortals whose insight of cosmic citizenship far transcends the sphere of their terrestrial abode, but I am forbidden to reveal the real nature of the function of this unique group of living human beings.)
27. The Nebadon Melchizedeks are inclined to the opinion that little change will occur in the planetary government and administration until Michael's second personal arrival on Urantia. Undoubtedly at this time, if not before, sweeping changes will be effected in planetary management. But as to the nature of such modifications of world administration, no one seems to be able even to conjecture. There is no precedent for such an episode in all the history of the inhabited worlds of the universe of Nebadon. Among the many things difficult to understand concerning the future government of Urantia, a prominent one is the location on the planet of a circuit and divisional headquarters of the archangels.
28. Your isolated world is not forgotten in the counsels of the universe. Urantia is not a cosmic orphan stigmatized by sin and shut away from divine watchcare by rebellion. From Uversa to Salvington and on down to Jerusem, even in Havona and on Paradise, they all know we are here; and you mortals now dwelling on Urantia are just as lovingly cherished and just as faithfully watched over as if the sphere had never been betrayed by a faithless Planetary Prince, even more so. It is eternally true, "the Father himself loves you..",
Discussion Questions
1. How will knowledge of the vast numbers of seraphim on our world effect the thinking and acting of civic and religious institutions?
2. When do you think Machiventa Melchizedek will assume his appointment as Vicegerent Planetary Prince?
3. What might have been the crisis of our world the times when the most High Observer seized control of planetary supervision?
4. Why are the race commissioners very active on our world?
5. Are the replacement of group Master Seraphim of Planetary Supervision related to greater progress needs in these areas?
6. Why is the nature of the function of the reserve corps of universe-conscious citizens not revealed?
7. At what stage in our history do you think Michael will return to our world?
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The Urantia Book Fellowship