Chapter 1 – In Darkness
Invisible Talking Heads
It sounds a bit like paranoia or what the crazy guy down the street might say, but it is possible that invisible beings are speaking to us. First I will present a scenario having some bearing on this topic.
Imagine we meet a friend who is all excited. This friend tells us about a new restaurant and the great food they had at this place. We have a dialog about it, discussing what kind of food they serve, where it is, how expensive it is and other such topics. Based on this conversation we decide to try it out. This is an ordinary discussion, nothing unusual has happened. Our friend did not need to coerce us or go into our mind to convince us to try this new eating establishment. Now imagine for a moment our friend is invisible and we do not hear words but rather thoughts appear in our mind. We might think this internal discussion is between two viewpoints within our own mind and these are all our thoughts; we would have no idea this is a two way conversation with another being who is invisible.
Haven’t we all had some strange stray thought enter our mind and wonder where it came from? Perhaps it was an impulse to do some violent act or to make a suggestive advance totally against our character. It may be easy to say that the devil made us do it but in the final analysis our personal decision declares the action. We cannot be coerced by anybody, but we can be given quiet suggestions, little hints of a better way if we only follow what this internal voice tells us to do.
We are no longer suggesting the conversation is with a friend but rather with our fallen planetary prince and his supporters. Caligastia and the rebels are invisible to mortals.[1] We also know that they cannot enter our minds unless we invite them in: Caligastia, your apostate Planetary Prince, is still free on Urantia to prosecute his nefarious designs, but he has absolutely no power to enter the minds of men, neither can he draw near to their souls to tempt or corrupt them unless they really desire to be cursed with his wicked presence.[2]
Caligastia and his rebel followers cannot enter the minds of men unless they are invited in. If persons desire to “be cursed with his wicked presence” there must be some means for us to communicate with the rebels to give them permission to enter our mind. There is also an implication the rebels can somehow suggest such an invitation to us, how else could the mortal know to grant them this permission? Therefore some sort of exchange of ideas can take place between mortals and invisible rebels.
As we have seen above, Caligastia may not need to actually enter our minds to influence us; he could merely remain outside and offer suggestions. The best way to counteract these suggestions is to be focused upon doing the will of our Heavenly Father. We must consider the possible implications and outcomes of any proposed action; seek to determine: is it God’s will or not?
It is important to remember Caligastia and company are not physical beings; they do not have any physical appearance and they do not make physical sounds. If they speak to us, we will therefore not hear physical sounds in our ear; rather we may become aware of stray thoughts in our mind.
As we have stated, the rebels have been here for two hundred millennia since the rebellion and they are free “to prosecute his nefarious designs.” The reason for allowing them to remain is to extinguish all sympathy for the rebels.[3] This means that they are definitely not merely sitting around idly twiddling their thumbs, if they have thumbs. They do have plans and are seeking to accomplish something; to defeat truth. At this point we must read the signs of the times.[4] Forces of separation, alienation, fear and downright hatred seem to be everywhere on our planet; the international rise of authoritarian leaders is part of this process and this may be the last gasp of the forces of darkness but they will not easily step aside; it is up to us to show them we want nothing to do with them.
We must always choose between the various choices we are presented with. On the one hand are the suggestions of those who oppose truth and on the other are the decisions of righteousness. This choice can be a severe trial between what we feel is the right thing, what is good, and something presented as being fun or sexy or a real thrill. These trials, these tests are all the more troublesome because we have not been prepared for them; we may have no clue what is at stake: our eternal future and the freedom of everyone on this planet.
Jesus was repeatedly tested, for example: No youth of Urantia will ever be called upon to pass through more testing conflicts or more trying situations than Jesus himself endured during those strenuous years from fifteen to twenty.[5] Jesus was certainly tested. The apostles were also tested, for instance in the second half of the year AD 26 as they alternated more than five months between fishing and personal work in the surrounding region.[6] Likewise if we wish to follow after Jesus we shall also be tested in many ways, even by stray thoughts in our own minds. Actually it does not matter how a questionable thought may have originated, the important thing is to examine it and determine if it will lead us closer to God or take us away from Him and then we must act according to our highest values.
A subtle and seemingly innocent suggestion gradually introduced to Eve was a direct cause of the fall of the Garden of Eden. The forces of our fallen prince twist facts in ways to make their offerings seem acceptable, even preferable. They can make us want them so much we invite them into our minds. We should be careful when we are tested so we do not to fall into the traps of sophistry appearing before us. It does not matter if the source of these thoughts is our own subconscious mind or the forces working against truth. What does matter is our own free will decision; do we embrace evil or truth?
There are only three individuals mentioned in the revelation who are still here working against truth: Caligastia, his assistant Daligastia,[7] and their chief executive Abaddon.[8] The rebel angels (Seraphim and Cherubim) are now in confinement[9] but not the former planetary prince and his assistants. If there are only three beings working against truth our world would not be nearly as bad as we observe today.
The book does say that Caligastia came to our planet with the usual corps of assistants and administrative helpers.[10] Unfortunately we have no idea what this usual number might be. They also say: The planetary staff included a large number of angelic co-operators and a host of other celestial beings assigned to advance the interests and promote the welfare of the human races.[11] Presumably the angelic co-operators would be seraphim and therefore those who followed the rebellion would be in confinement but the nature of this “host” of other celestial beings is not otherwise identified. It could be these types of beings are not revealed to us in the revelation.[12] The term “host” may simply refer to any big number, but a literal host of angels is more than five million individuals.[13] The Urantia Book is always very specific with language;[14] therefore the literal meaning is the most likely. If a majority if these celestial beings went into rebellion, as is likely, there may be a truly significant number of these rebels, perhaps even a few million. After giving this tantalizing information they leave us hanging and quickly change the subject to discuss the corporeal staff.
One further tidbit of information is that Abaddon remains the chief executive of the rebels.[15] While we do not know if there are a few dozen or multiple millions of rebels working against truth today, there are a significant number of them. The book of Revelation in the Bible states Abaddon is the king of the “locusts” emerging from the bottomless pit (interesting number in this reference).[16] This reference does not state how many there are, but a large number is implied; locusts generally swarm in very large numbers indeed. These locusts are allowed to wreak havoc on the people of Earth. Abaddon has a large number of followers.
These rebels have been on Earth since the rebellion 200,000 years ago and they are still not confined; it is certain they have plans and schemes for furthering their rebellion. We must not be so naive as to think we are unopposed in our quest to become bringers of truth, spreading the good news of the true gospel of Jesus among our sisters and brothers.
Why has our fallen planetary prince been allowed to remain free on our planet? Any replacement planetary leader will not be installed until the results of insurrection are partially overcome and removed by the remedial measures adopted by the Melchizedeks and other ministering personalities.[17] This means some progress in removing the effects of the rebellion on our planet must take place before any replacement will be installed. It is my opinion these rebels will remain free to work their mischief until we as a global society defeat them and their teachings. Every citizen of Urantia must decide if they follow truth or if they follow falsehood. In chapter 6 we discuss asserting global sovereignty, which will be part of this process. Only after this has happened can the planetary quarantine be lifted.
Van, who was a loyal member of the corporeal staff,[18] assumed leadership of those who remained loyal after Caligastia declared for the rebellion. For seven years he rallied those loyal to Michael and sought to convince the undecided. During this period there was no higher authority on this planet and it remained thus until every one of the planetary staff arrived at a final decision concerning the rebellion.
But at last the final decision of the last personality was made, and then, but only then, did a Most High of Edentia arrive with the emergency Melchizedeks to seize authority on Urantia. The Caligastia panoramic reign-records on Jerusem were obliterated, and the probationary era of planetary rehabilitation was inaugurated.[19]
The Melchizedeks[20] arrived and seized authority only after every supermortal personality connected with the Caligastia mission had made a final decision. Today, that is the case with mortals; we must make the decision between Jesus and Lucifer. Each evolutionary personality on our planet must decide before the rebels are fully confined; the vast majority of our fellow Urantians are oblivious to the importance of deciding between good and evil. This decision not only is a major factor in determining the possibility of eternal life for the individual but it is also an important factor in determining the spiritual progress of our entire planet, Urantia.
Again, these rebels have been here for a very long time and they were instrumental in bringing about the default of Adam and Eve. They also worked to defeat Jesus but failed.[21] Jesus defeated Caligastia and the rebels but they are still free to work their mischief. And since they are free we can be certain they are seeking to bring to a halt any spread of the truth contained in The Urantia Book. What else would you expect them to be doing?
We must always choose between the various choices presented to us in any situation. On the one hand are the suggestions of those who oppose truth and on the other are the decisions of righteousness. This choice can be a severe trial between what we feel is the right thing, what is good, and something presented as being fun or sexy or a real thrill. These trials, these tests are all the more troublesome because we have not been prepared for them; we may have no clue what is at stake: our eternal future and the spiritual liberation of everyone on this planet.
We are certainly not alone in our struggle with dark forces. The Most Highs, the Melchizedeks and other spirit beings are working with us to bring peace and brotherhood. Also, this is the planet where our creator father Michael (Jesus) lived his life in the flesh; its rehabilitation is nearly certain.
In addition there are forces working to uplift our spiritual awareness; every thinking mortal on this planet has within a fragment of God. We have the Spirit of Truth showing us the way. There also are hopeful signs that a new, more spiritual day is about to dawn. The ways of God may be slow but they do grind exceedingly fine; God will certainly triumph; which side of the equation are you on? Or are you just sitting on the sidelines?
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All references are to The Urantia Book unless otherwise noted. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph 833.5 ↑
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610.2 ↑
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617.9 ↑
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1915.3 ↑
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1395.2 ↑
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1546.3-5 ↑
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742.2 ↑
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602.2 ↑
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510.3 ↑
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742.1 ↑
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742.3 ↑
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Many types of beings are not revealed, see for example 190.1 and 334.7 ↑
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421.5 ↑
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That is why the Forward of The Urantia Book is such a challenging read; they are attempting to define the language used. ↑
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602.2 ↑
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Bible, Revelation 9:11 ↑
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394.1 ↑
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See appendix 2, planetary prince section ↑
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757.3 ↑
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See appendix 2, Melchizedek section ↑
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602.1 and 1971.4 ↑