A:  That is a good question—the authors of The Urantia Book waste no glowing words when describing these rebels as they were before they decided to ignore God. In my opinion, I think they do this just to provide a vivid contrast upon which to view the enormity of their transgressions. They were all high and brilliant beings, capable of so much, and entrusted with so much—and yet, despite their high station, each of them succumbed to the all-too-familiar delusions of ego and self-interest. I find it a fascinating portrayal.

What I come away with is that no one is exempt from God’s rule, and no one can expect to escape the repercussions of knowingly and willingly going against God’s will, no matter how brilliant they may seem to be. We have a saying: “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” It seems to fit here…

At the same time, the authors also waste no words in describing their shortcomings, or the effects of their planet-changing decisions—on them and on us—and that is quite a contrast as well, when we realize just how far they fell. These once esteemed beings made a big mess for us here, and now, they are fallen so far that their very existence is threatened—by their own choices.

Perhaps another reason that we are told so much about their one-time brilliance is so that we, as mortals, are not tempted to glorify our own egos. By knowing more about how even such elevated beings such as Lucifer, Satan and Caligastia can fall from grace, we may be less tempted to think that we are immune from such folly ourselves—even in our lowly, mortal estate. It is something to think about…

I consider the case of Cano a bit differently, as it seems to me that he was something of an unwitting player in Eve’s default—indirectly encouraged by the wiles of Caligastia, through Serapatatia. He was deluded, but not as haughty in his transgression of the Father’s will as the others, as he seems to have truly thought, like Eve and Serapatatia, that he was doing a good thing. He was impatient for results, like Eve, and he was over-awed by the seeming brilliance of supposedly “higher” beings than himself. In the cases of Lucifer, Satan and Caligastia, their downfall seems to have sprung from their own arrogance, and I fault them as the instigators, preying on innocence to further their aims. We learn no more of Cano following his death, but I like to think that his transgressions have been forgiven.

We can all take a lesson in humility from these stories. We are led to infer that closeness to God, and sincerity of heart is of paramount importance, and that seeking, and doing, the Father’s will is always the best course of action, no matter what our limited minds may think.

And we can be sure by these contrasts, that God does not play favorites, or tolerate willing disobedience from any personality . But we also see that God’s love, forgiveness and mercy is ever available, even when we have done the wrong thing—another lesson which the rebels have yet to learn, apparently.

Thanks again for this great question. To find out more about the default of Adam and Eve, and the role that Caligastia, Cano, and Serapatatia played, please click HERE ”