Meredith Sprunger's Synopsis of The Urantia Book
Synopsis of Paper 53
THE LUCIFER REBELLION
1. Lucifer was a brilliant primary Lanonandek Son of Nebadon...he was designated as one of the one hundred most able and brilliant personalities in more than seven hundred thousand of his kind ...and now is numbered as one of three System Sovereigns in Nebadon who have succumbed to the urge of self and surrendered to the sophistry of spurious personal liberty.
2. Very little was heard of Lucifer on Urantia owing to the fact that he assigned his first lieutenant, Satan, to advocate his cause on your planet ...The "devil" is none other than Caligastia, the deposed Planetary Prince of Urantia...Abaddon was the chief of the staff of Caligastia. He followed his master into rebellion and has over since acted as chief executive of the Urantia rebels. Beelzebub was the leader of the disloyal midway creatures who allied themselves with the forces of the traitorous Caligastia. The dragon, eventually became the symbolic representation of all these evil personages.
3. There were no peculiar or special conditions in the system of Satania which suggested or favored rebellion. It is our belief that the idea took origin and form in Lucifer's mind, and that he might have instigated such a rebellion no matter where he might have been stationed ...Notwithstanding his silence, for more than one hundred years of standard time the Union of Days on Salvington had been reflectivating to Uversa that all was not at peace in Lucifer's mind…Throughout this period Lucifer became increasingly critical of the entire plan of universe administration but always professed wholehearted, loyalty to the Supreme Rulers.
4. It is very difficult to point out the exact cause or causes which finally culminated in the Lucifer rebellion ...At some point in this experience he became insincere, and evil evolved into deliberate and willful sin. That this happened is proved by the subsequent conduct of this brilliant executive. He was long offered opportunity for repentance, but only some of his subordinates ever accepted the proffered mercy.
5. Whatever the early origins of trouble in the hearts of Lucifer and Satan, the final outbreak took form as the Lucifer Declaration of Liberty. The cause of the rebels was stated under three heads:
1. The reality of the Universal Father. Lucifer charged that the Universal Father did not really exist...
2. The universe government of the Creator Son—Michael. Lucifer contended that the local systems should be autonomous...
3. The attack upon the universal plan of ascendant mortal training. Lucifer maintained that far too much time and energy were expended upon the scheme of so thoroughly training ascending mortals in the principles of universe administration.
6. He defied all his superiors; yet they apparently took no note of his doings. He was given a free hand to prosecute his seductive plan without let or hindrance... Gabriel was personally present throughout all these disloyal proceedings and only announced that he would, in due time, speak for Michael, and that all beings would be left free and unmolested in their choice; that the "government of the Sons for the Father desired only that loyalty and devotion which was voluntary, wholehearted., and sophistry‑proof."
7. Upon the outbreak of the Satania rebellion, Michael took counsel of his Paradise brother, Immanuel. Following this momentous conference, Michael announced that he would pursue the same policy which had characterized his dealings with similar upheavals in the past, an attitude of noninterference.
8. In the early days of the struggle Lucifer held. forth continuously in the planetary amphitheater, Gabriel conducted an unceasing exposure of the rebel sophistries from his headquarters taken up near at hand.. The various personalities present on the sphere who were in doubt as to their attitude would journey back and forth between these discussions until they arrived at a final decision.
9. There were many noble and inspiring acts of devotion and loyalty... the most thrilling of all these daring feats of devotion was the courageous conduct of Manotia, the second in command of the Satania headquarters' seraphim ...This angel is still in service on Urantia, functioning as associate chief of seraphim.
10. Thirty‑seven seceding Planetary Princes swung their world administrations largely to the side of the archrebel. Only on Panoptia did the Planetary Prince fail to carry his people with him ...And ever since have these loyal Panoptians served on the seventh Jerusem transition world as the caretakers and builders on the Father’s sphere and its surrounding seven detention worlds.
11. In many respects this rebellion was the most widespread and disastrous of all such occurrences in Nebadon. More personalities were involved in this insurrection than in both of the others ....The ascending mortals were vulnerable, but they withstood the sophistries of rebellion better than the lower spirits…it is recorded to the glory of the wisdom of the ascension scheme that not a single member of the Satania ascendant citizenship resident on Jerusem participated in the Lucifer rebellion.
12. It was over two years of system time from the beginning of the “war in heaven" until the installation of Lucifer's successor ...With the arrival of Lanaforge the archrebels were dethroned and shorn of all governing powers, though they were permitted freely to go about Jerusem, the morontia spheres, and even to the individual inhabited worlds...But in almost two hundred thousand Urantia years they have been unable to deceive another world.
13. The bestowal of Michael terminated the Lucifer rebellion in all Satania aside from the planets of the apostate Planetary Princes... There was survival for mortals and security for angels when your Master, in reply to the Lucifer proposals, calmly and with divine assurance replied, "Get you behind me, Satan." That was, in principle, the real end of the Lucifer rebellion. True, the Uversa tribunals have not yet rendered the executive decision regarding the appeal of Gabriel praying for the destruction of the rebels, but such a decree will, no doubt, be forthcoming in the fullness of time since the first step in the hearing of this case has already been taken.
14. The last act of Michael before leaving Urantia was to offer mercy to Caligastia and Daligastia, but they spurned his tender proffer.
15. Since the day of Pentecost this traitorous Caligastia and his equally contemptible associate, Daligastia, are servile before the divine majesty of the Paradise Thought Adjusters and the protective Spirit of Truth, the spirit of Michael, which has been poured out upon all flesh. But even so, no fallen spirit ever did have the power to invade the minds or to harass the souls of the children of God... In general, when weak and dissolute mortals are supposed to be under the influence of devils and demons, they are merely being dominated by their own inherent and debased tendencies... Caligastia has been comparatively impotent since the cross of Christ.
16. Upon Michael's becoming the settled head of the universe of Nebadon, Lucifer was taken into custody by the agents of the Uversa Ancients of Days and has since been a prisoner on satellite number one of the Father's group of the transition spheres of Jerusem.
17. Machiventa Melchizedek has since been proclaimed vicegerent Planetary Prince of Urantia, and the opening of the case of Gabriel vs. Lucifer has signalized the inauguration of temporary planetary regimes on all the isolated worlds... Satan is now unqualifiedly detained on the Jerusem prison worlds.
18. Since Michael’s final bestowal no one in all Satania has desired to go to the prison worlds to minister to the interned rebels...We await the flashing broadcast that will deprive these traitors of personality existence…But for ages the seven prison worlds of spiritual darkness in Satania have constituted a solemn warning to all Nebadon, eloquently and effectively proclaiming the great truth "that the way of the transgressor is hard"; "that within every sin is concealed the seed of its own destruction"; that "the wages of sin is death."
Discussion Questions
1. How do you think brilliance was related to Lucifer’s error and sin?
2. What do you think was the reason so many supermortals followed Lucifer when they had access to the advice of the Most Highs, Gabriel, and Michael?
3. Why didn’t all supermortals recognize that Lucifer had lost contact with reality?
4. Why do you think that Michael and the Ancients of Days did nothing to stop Lucifer’s rebel activities?
5. Why did ascending mortals withstand the sophistries of rebellion better than the lower spirits?
6. While it should be obvious to the rebels that their cause is doomed, why have they refused Michael’s offer of mercy?
7. How do you think we will be informed of the execution of the Satania rebels?
A Service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship