Q: I am a Christian who has had some rather marvellous encounters with Our Lord Jesus over the last four years.
I happened to stumble across the Truth Book site a few weeks ago and I have been downloading it, deleting it…. downloading and deleting it! I am torn between feeling like a Heretic or someone who has stumbled across a deeper truth! :-) I have spent many hours reading Christian research that discredits The Urantia Book, but I find myself constantly drawn back to the teachings time and again.
I have a few questions for you:
1. The Urantia Book states that Jesus is in fact known as Michael in heaven. I have an associate who has been at loggerheads with me for three years as she would like me to join her cult who worship lord maitreya. I felt complete resistance to this rise in my spirit and have avoided becoming involved with her on this level. However, my curiosity leads me to ask if you in fact know Our Lord Jesus by this same name (lord maitreya), or has He always been known as Michael? I feel a warning in my spirit when it comes to the teachings that she professes to have received from lord maitreya.
2. In regard to the place where satan/lucifer and other rebels are being kept, is that not equated to hell? Are there people on earth who choose to worship satan/lucifer? Will those people be sent to the place where all rebels are detained?
3. I really became nervous when reading about satania….my Christian hackles rose up in protest and that is part of the reason why I deleted my research time and time again. The name satania brings a sense of horror to my spirit.
A: Thank you for your note to TruthBook.com and we’re pleased that you’ve found our site and The Urantia Book. Before getting to your questions I’d just like to say that The Urantia Book isn’t required reading… it’s not for everyone. Someone such as you who has a personal relationship with Jesus has already made the greatest discovery. However, if you still have questions, still want to know more, still seek for greater understanding of the cosmos and your place in it then discovering The Urantia Book is of equal import to having discovered Jesus. Just as Jesus’ life and teachings are an epochal revelation of truth to the people of the world, so too is The Urantia Book an epochal revelation of truth – -Jesus’ life and teachings were the fourth, The Urantia Book is the fifth planetary epochal revelation of truth.
1. Yes, The Urantia Book does state that Jesus is also known as Michael. However, Michael is a title—Jesus is a name. Jesus had an identity before coming here and has an identity since he left. We don’t know his real name other than the name he went by, the name given by Gabriel to Mary, when he lived among us and The Urantia Book gives us his number but not his name. A Michael is an order of divine Sons of God, Creator Sons – -Jesus is the Michael Son, the Creator Son, responsible for the life in our local universe.
On another level the titles Adam and Eve are just that too, titles that delineate an order of celestial beings. Perhaps that was also their names, but, like Michaels, there are many Adam and Eves – -we recognize the Adam and Eve who lived here as unique just as Jesus is unique.
There are numerous teachers on the world – -many are simply perceptive humans and some may be inspired humans. There are no divine beings, nor have there been, since the days Jesus walked among us. Maitreya may be a figment of a collective imagination or an inspired human – -often the source of inspired teaching doesn’t matter since God continues to speak to you, to me, to all who will listen. It’s a misnomer to think of Maitreya as Michael – -as I mentioned above, Michael is the title of a specific order of celestial being. We confuse the term because of its non-specific mention in the Bible so for those jostling for spiritual preference here Michael a convenient term to latch onto since it seems to add spiritual weight. This is similar to people assuming the title of Melchizedek to indicate that they’re spiritual teachers – -Melchizedek is again a title that defines a specific order of celestial beings not human beings.
The warnings you feel of the spirit are as meaningful to your understanding as is the still small voice – -whatever their source it is beneficial to heed them. You don’t need a Maitreya, you have Jesus. That’s as good as it gets.
2. The Urantia Book only says that Satan and Lucifer are interred while their case is being adjudicated. There is no hell, no place of torment. Yes, there are people on earth who choose to worship Satan and Lucifer, just like there are people on earth who choose to deny the reality of God. I suspect that most of them have at one time or another bumped up against organized religion and have found it lacking so in their immaturity and ignorance they decided that bogus religion equated with bogus God.
Since the worship instinct is strong in human beings those without God may worship sports stars, movie stars, politicians, Satan, Lucifer, trees, whatever. God does not punish his children, even his ignorant ones. Unless a person has consciously chosen to not participate in God’s plan – -even if they think they’re worshiping Satan, they’re still striving to worship something greater than themselves – -everyone will awaken on the mansion worlds where they will then become capable of making an informed decision whether to strive for eternal life or to become as if they never were… no hell, just annihilation.
3. Many balk at the name Satania. If that curls your toes how about this statement:
“Your world is called Urantia, and it is number 606 in the planetary group, or system, of satania.” 15.14.5
The 606 often reminds people of 666 which can also conjure up horror to the spirit. Our local universe, the portion of creation administered by our Michael Son, Jesus, is administratively sectioned into 1, 000 systems, each of which will eventually have 1, 000 inhabited worlds. At the time of the writing of the Urantia Revelation it is mentioned that there are 617 inhabited worlds in the division named Satania which was locally administered by the divine being, Satan. (Since our world became registered as a life implantation world about 950 years ago (57:8.6) and was number 606 it has taken somewhere around 950 million years of evolution in order for the further addition of those 11 more inhabited worlds.)
Perhaps it was the being Satan who was named after the system being evolved – -the name Satania may have been applied to the system and then given to its administrator those billions of years ago. But consider that this system, and others like it, have been around for billions of years and the spiritual beings responsible for their administration were all high spiritual beings loyal to God and to Michael. It wasn’t until recently, 300, 000 years ago, that they defaulted and that our world felt the repercussions and that the name Satan took on its sinister meaning.
Discomfort is a good condition for us earthlings (sorry that sounds so sci fi). As human beings we are the lowest order of free will creatures in the universe – -we start at the very bottom of the ladder, not even able to easily reach the first rung, and we have the potential of reaching the very top, to meet God and to obtain eternal life. No other creatures in all of creation have such potential. So, by default we’re ignorant and sinful but by perseverence and struggle we become better and better. With Jesus and his Spirit of Truth as your guide you’re on the right path, so accept your discomfort willfully. If you choose to continue to learn more of what The Urantia Book has to offer we’ll be glad to be of assistance. If you decide that it’s not for you that’s fine too. You should be able to rest assured that with trust in Jesus you have all that’s necessary at this point in your eternal career.
The only further insights I can offer is that if you’d like to know more about The Urantia Book, how it has changed the lives of its readers, what it teaches then please spend some time with our website – -it’s intended to help people new to the teachings of The Urantia Book learn what the Book is about. Our FAQ contains many answers to the kinds of questions people usually have, How The Urantia Book Changed My Life is a wonderful video, Answers to Life’s Toughest Questions are Urantia related answers to people’s questions.
May I also recommend that if you’re not already signed up that you consider subscribing to the Quote of the Day. It’s a free service from our site that offers a daily quote from the incomparable teachings of this marvelous Book with an audio clip and a beautiful and inspiring image, a great way to start one’s day as well as to begin to understand the teachings of the Book. To subscribe click on the Quote of the Day link on the left side of our home page and follow the instructions.
