PAPER 193 – FINAL APPEARANCES AND ASCENSION

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  • #11192
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

    Welcome to The OPAD Online Study Session

    Today’s Presentation

    Paper 193 – Final Appearances and Ascension

    [INTRODUCTION]

       THE sixteenth morontia manifestation of Jesus occurred on Friday, May 5, in the courtyard of Nicodemus, about nine o’clock at night. On this evening the Jerusalem believers had made their first attempt to get together since the resurrection. Assembled here at this time were the eleven apostles, the women’s corps and their associates, and about fifty other leading disciples of the Master, including a number of the Greeks. This company of believers had been visiting informally for more than half an hour when, suddenly, the morontia Master appeared in full view and immediately began to instruct them. Said Jesus:

    (2052.2)193:0.2“Peace be upon you. This is the most representative group of believers — apostles and disciples, both men and women — to which I have appeared since the time of my deliverance from the flesh. I now call you to witness that I told you beforehand that my sojourn among you must come to an end; I told you that presently I must return to the Father. And then I plainly told you how the chief priests and the rulers of the Jews would deliver me up to be put to death, and that I would rise from the grave. Why, then, did you allow yourselves to become so disconcerted by all this when it came to pass? and why were you so surprised when I rose from the tomb on the third day? You failed to believe me because you heard my words without comprehending the meaning thereof.

    (2052.3)193:0.3“And now you should give ear to my words lest you again make the mistake of hearing my teaching with the mind while in your hearts you fail to comprehend the meaning. From the beginning of my sojourn as one of you, I taught you that my one purpose was to reveal my Father in heaven to his children on earth. I have lived the God-revealing bestowal that you might experience the God-knowing career. I have revealed God as your Father in heaven; I have revealed you as the sons of God on earth. It is a fact that God loves you, his sons. By faith in my word this fact becomes an eternal and living truth in your hearts. When, by living faith, you become divinely God-conscious, you are then born of the spirit as children of light and life, even the eternal life wherewith you shall ascend the universe of universes and attain the experience of finding God the Father on Paradise.

    (2052.4)193:0.4“I admonish you ever to remember that your mission among men is to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom — the reality of the fatherhood of God and the truth of the sonship of man. Proclaim the whole truth of the good news, not just a part of the saving gospel. Your message is not changed by my resurrection experience. Sonship with God, by faith, is still the saving truth of the gospel of the kingdom. You are to go forth preaching the love of God and the service of man. That which the world needs most to know is: Men are the sons of God, and through faith they can actually realize, and daily experience, this ennobling truth. My bestowal should help all men to know that they are the children of God, but such knowledge will not suffice if they fail personally to faith-grasp the saving truth that they are the living spirit sons of the eternal Father. The gospel of the kingdom is concerned with the love of the Father and the service of his children on earth.

    (2053.1)193:0.5“Among yourselves, here, you share the knowledge that I have risen from the dead, but that is not strange. I have the power to lay down my life and to take it up again; the Father gives such power to his Paradise Sons. You should the rather be stirred in your hearts by the knowledge that the dead of an age entered upon the eternal ascent soon after I left Joseph’s new tomb. I lived my life in the flesh to show how you can, through loving service, become God-revealing to your fellow men even as, by loving you and serving you, I have become God-revealing to you. I have lived among you as the Son of Man that you, and all other men, might know that you are all indeed the sons of God. Therefore, go you now into all the world preaching this gospel of the kingdom of heaven to all men. Love all men as I have loved you; serve your fellow mortals as I have served you. Freely you have received, freely give. Only tarry here in Jerusalem while I go to the Father, and until I send you the Spirit of Truth. He shall lead you into the enlarged truth, and I will go with you into all the world. I am with you always, and my peace I leave with you.”

    (2053.2)193:0.6 When the Master had spoken to them, he vanished from their sight. It was near daybreak before these believers dispersed; all night they remained together, earnestly discussing the Master’s admonitions and contemplating all that had befallen them. James Zebedee and others of the apostles also told them of their experiences with the morontia Master in Galilee and recited how he had three times appeared to them.

     

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    [Each OPAD presentation is copied from The Urantia Book published by Urantia Foundation. Questions and comments related to the Paper under discussion are welcome and encouraged. In-depth questions and related topics may be studied in branch threads in the OPAD, or other subforums, as you require. Thank you for studying with us.]

    Richard E Warren

    #11193
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

      

    .

    Greetings Fellow Students, Forum Friends, Members and Visitors!

    WELCOME to the OPAD presentation of Paper 193. This Paper has seven pages and six Sections. It covers a two week period of Jesus’ morontia transition, right here on Urantia, from 9 Friday night May 5, to noon Thursday, May 18, 30 AD.

    Overview of: Paper 193: Final Appearances and Ascension

    1. The Appearance at Sychar
    2. The Phoenician Appearance
    3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem
    4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall
    5. The Master’s Ascension
    6. Peter Calls a Meeting

    This group of papers [121-196] was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director. The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

    ***

    From the introduction–today’s reading:

    …THE sixteenth morontia manifestation of Jesus occurred on Friday, May 5, in the courtyard of Nicodemus, about nine o’clock at night…. (2052.1)193:0.1

    JESUS’ MORONTIA APPEARANCES

    map-38-735px.jpg?1402518595

    MAP SOURCE

    Here Jesus is referring to an epochal resurrection:

    “…You should the rather be stirred in your hearts by the knowledge that the dead of an age entered upon the eternal ascent soon after I left Joseph’s new tomb….” (2053.1)193:0.5

    The Midwayers gave some of the details of this resurrection in Paper 189:

    …When the vast host of the seraphim and the cherubim concerned in this great event had been marshaled in proper formation, the morontia Michael appeared before Gabriel, saying: “As my Father has life in himself, so has he given it to the Son to have life in himself. Although I have not yet fully resumed the exercise of universe jurisdiction, this self-imposed limitation does not in any manner restrict the bestowal of life upon my sleeping sons; let the roll call of the planetary resurrection begin….”(2024.3)189:3.1

    There are other revelations about these dispensational resurrections. From Paper 52:

    …Before the days of Christ Michael on Urantia all souls slept on until the dispensational or special millennial resurrections…. (596.3)52:5.5

    Matthew 27 has a line about the dispensational resurrection:

    52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose…

    John, chapter 5, has this about raising the sleeping ones:

    25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

    26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

    27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

    28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice…

    ***

    Some of Jesus’ words, and his final instruction to wait in Jerusalem for bestowal of the SoT, in today’s reading:

    “…Only tarry here in Jerusalem while I go to the Father, and until I send you the Spirit of Truth….” (2053.1)193:0.5

    …were recalled and recorded in the Gospels. From Luke 24:

    44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

    45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

    46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

    47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

    48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

    49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

    …also in the Book of Acts, chapter 1:

    To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

    And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

    Synopsis of Paper 193:

    Jesus appeared in the courtyard of Nicodemus’s home where the apostles, the women’s corps, and about fifty other disciples were gathered. He commented on the diversity of believers this gathering represented and reminded them that the gospel was about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men. Jesus warned them not to adjust their message because of the resurrection.

    On May 13th Jesus appeared to Nalda and seventy-five Samaritans near Jacob’s well at Sychar.

    On May 16th Jesus appeared at Tyre in Phoenicia at the close of a meeting of believers; these believers carried the story to Sidon, Antioch, and Damascus.

    On May 18th the Master made his final appearance on earth to the eleven apostles in the home of John Mark. Jesus led the apostles to the Mount of Olives where they looked out over Jerusalem. As the men knelt about Jesus in a circle he spoke his final instructions to them.

    “I bade you tarry in Jerusalem until you were endowed with power from on high. I am now about to take leave of you; I am about to ascend to my Father, and soon, very soon, will we send into this world of my sojourn the Spirit of Truth; and when he has come, you shall begin the new proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom, first in Jerusalem and then to the uttermost parts of the world. Love men with the love wherewith I have loved you and serve your fellow mortals even as I have served you. By the spirit fruits of your lives impel souls to believe the truth that man is a son of God, and that all men are brethren. Remember all I have taught you and the life I have lived among you. My love overshadows you, my spirit will dwell with you, and my peace shall abide upon you. Farewell.”

    Jesus vanished from sight. He went to Edentia by way of Jerusem, where the Most Highs released him from morontia form and returned him to sovereignty on Salvington.

    Peter called a meeting for disciples in Jerusalem that same morning. After Peter described their final meeting with the Master, the disciples began to pray in preparation for the reception of the promised Spirit of Truth.

    SYNOPSIS SOURCE

     

    The_Urantia_Book_Word_Cloud_193_375.jpg

    WORD CLOUD OF PAPER 193

     

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    In tomorrow’s reading, Section 1. The Appearance at Sychar, the morontia Jesus makes his 17th post-resurrection visit, this one to the same woman he encountered at Jacob’s well three years earlier, Nalda. She, along with 75 other Samaritans, witnessed this appearance.

    Listen toPaper 193: (click the speaker icon at the top of the page)

    Thanks for reading. Members’ thoughts, reflections, insights, observations, comments, corrections and questions about today’s OPAD presentation are invited.

    Much love, Rick/OPAD host.

      

    Richard E Warren

    #11201
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

    Welcome to The OPAD Online Study Session

    Today’s Presentation

    Paper 193 – Final Appearances and Ascension

    1. The Appearance at Sychar

       About four o’clock on Sabbath afternoon, May 13, the Master appeared to Nalda and about seventy-five Samaritan believers near Jacob’s well, at Sychar. The believers were in the habit of meeting at this place, near where Jesus had spoken to Nalda concerning the water of life. On this day, just as they had finished their discussions of the reported resurrection, Jesus suddenly appeared before them, saying:

    (2053.4)193:1.2 “Peace be upon you. You rejoice to know that I am the resurrection and the life, but this will avail you nothing unless you are first born of the eternal spirit, thereby coming to possess, by faith, the gift of eternal life. If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish. The gospel of the kingdom has taught you that all men are the sons of God. And this good news concerning the love of the heavenly Father for his children on earth must be carried to all the world. The time has come when you worship God neither on Gerizim nor at Jerusalem, but where you are, as you are, in spirit and in truth. It is your faith that saves your souls. Salvation is the gift of God to all who believe they are his sons. But be not deceived; while salvation is the free gift of God and is bestowed upon all who accept it by faith, there follows the experience of bearing the fruits of this spirit life as it is lived in the flesh. The acceptance of the doctrine of the fatherhood of God implies that you also freely accept the associated truth of the brotherhood of man. And if man is your brother, he is even more than your neighbor, whom the Father requires you to love as yourself. Your brother, being of your own family, you will not only love with a family affection, but you will also serve as you would serve yourself. And you will thus love and serve your brother because you, being my brethren, have been thus loved and served by me. Go, then, into all the world telling this good news to all creatures of every race, tribe, and nation. My spirit shall go before you, and I will be with you always.”

    (2054.1)193:1.3 These Samaritans were greatly astonished at this appearance of the Master, and they hastened off to the near-by towns and villages, where they published abroad the news that they had seen Jesus, and that he had talked to them. And this was the seventeenth morontia appearance of the Master.

     

    ***

    [Each OPAD presentation is copied from The Urantia Book published by Urantia Foundation. Questions and comments related to the Paper under discussion are welcome and encouraged. In-depth questions and related topics may be studied in branch threads in the OPAD, or other subforums, as you require. Thank you for studying with us.]

    Richard E Warren

    #11202
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

      

     

    Good Day nelsong, Bonita, Bradly, Rick B, Keryn, Alina, Carolyn, Carola, Fellow Students, Forum Friends, Members and Guests,

    Michael_Dudash_Living_Water_700.jpg

    IMAGE SOURCE

    The Master and Nalda had met when he and the apostles were touring Samaria, three years before.

    From today’s reading:

    …The believers were in the habit of meeting at this place, near where Jesus had spoken to Nalda concerning the water of life…. (2053.3)193:1.1

    From Paper 143:

    “…whosoever drinks of the water of the living spirit shall never thirst. And this living water shall become in him a well of refreshment springing up even to eternal life….” (1613.1)143:5.3

     

    ***

    Many, many times Jesus and the authors tell us being born of the spirit is necessary to comprehend spirit realities. From the Master in today’s reading:

     “…You rejoice to know that I am the resurrection and the life, but this will avail you nothing unless you are first born of the eternal spirit, thereby coming to possess, by faith, the gift of eternal life….” (2053.4)193:1.2

    From Paper 141:

    “…When you enter the kingdom, you are reborn. You cannot teach the deep things of the spirit to those who have been born only of the flesh; first see that men are born of the spirit before you seek to instruct them in the advanced ways of the spirit. Do not undertake to show men the beauties of the temple until you have first taken them into the temple….” (1592.6)141:6.4

     

    From Paper 142:

    …Jesus said: “Nevertheless, I declare to you, except a man be born of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. But you should not marvel that I said you must be born from above. When the wind blows, you hear the rustle of the leaves, but you do not see the wind — whence it comes or whither it goes — and so it is with everyone born of the spirit. With the eyes of the flesh you can behold the manifestations of the spirit, but you cannot actually discern the spirit….” (1602.4)142:6.5

    ***

    This idea that we must, “worship God in spirit and truth”, in today’s text:

    “…The time has come when you worship God neither on Gerizim nor at Jerusalem, but where you are, as you are, in spirit and in truth….” (2053.4)193:1.2

    …is repeated by Jesus in Paper 143:

    “…God is spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth….” (1613:4) 143:5:6

    …and twice in John 4:

    23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

    24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

    ***

    Also mentioned many times throughout the UB are the fruits of the Spirit. From today’s reading:

    “…while salvation is the free gift of God and is bestowed upon all who accept it by faith, there follows the experience of bearing the fruits of this spirit life as it is lived in the flesh….” (2053.4)193:1.2

    Those fruits are listed in several places. This quote is in Paper 34, quoting the Bible:

    “…for the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance….” (381.7)34:6.13

    Jesus created this list of spirit fruits that appears in tomorrow’s reading, Section 2 of 193:

    “…loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace….” (2054.3)193:2.2

    ***

    As have so many others, Jew and gentile, Nalda and her Samaritan group also receive the “Great Commission”, to go out and give all the world the Gospel message of the Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of humanity. From today’s reading:

    “…Go, then, into all the world telling this good news to all creatures of every race, tribe, and nation. My spirit shall go before you, and I will be with you always…” (2053.4)193:1.2

    Compare the above with the last two verses of Matthew 28:

    19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

    20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

    ***

    In tomorrow’s reading, Section 2. The Phoenician Appearance, the morontia Jesus moves up the Mediterranean coastline about 100 miles, to Tyre, where there are many believers who had heard the apostles and the human Jesus speak the year before.

    Overview of Paper 193: Final Appearances and Ascension

    1. The Appearance at Sychar
    2. The Phoenician Appearance
    3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem
    4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall
    5. The Master’s Ascension
    6. Peter Calls a Meeting

    This group of papers [121-196] was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director. The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

    Listen toPaper 193: (click the speaker icon at the top of the page)

    Thanks for reading. Members’ thoughts, reflections, insights, observations, comments, corrections and questions about today’s OPAD presentation are invited.

    Much love, Rick/OPAD host.

      

    Richard E Warren

    #11214
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

    Welcome to The OPAD Online Study Session

    Today’s Presentation

    Paper 193 – Final Appearances and Ascension

    2. The Phoenician Appearance

       The Master’s eighteenth morontia appearance was at Tyre, on Tuesday, May 16, at a little before nine o’clock in the evening. Again he appeared at the close of a meeting of believers, as they were about to disperse, saying:

    (2054.3)193:2.2“Peace be upon you. You rejoice to know that the Son of Man has risen from the dead because you thereby know that you and your brethren shall also survive mortal death. But such survival is dependent on your having been previously born of the spirit of truth-seeking and God-finding. The bread of life and the water thereof are given only to those who hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness — for God. The fact that the dead rise is not the gospel of the kingdom. These great truths and these universe facts are all related to this gospel in that they are a part of the result of believing the good news and are embraced in the subsequent experience of those who, by faith, become, in deed and in truth, the everlasting sons of the eternal God. My Father sent me into the world to proclaim this salvation of sonship to all men. And so send I you abroad to preach this salvation of sonship. Salvation is the free gift of God, but those who are born of the spirit will immediately begin to show forth the fruits of the spirit in loving service to their fellow creatures. And the fruits of the divine spirit which are yielded in the lives of spirit-born and God-knowing mortals are: loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace. If professed believers bear not these fruits of the divine spirit in their lives, they are dead; the Spirit of Truth is not in them; they are useless branches on the living vine, and they soon will be taken away. My Father requires of the children of faith that they bear much spirit fruit. If, therefore, you are not fruitful, he will dig about your roots and cut away your unfruitful branches. Increasingly, must you yield the fruits of the spirit as you progress heavenward in the kingdom of God. You may enter the kingdom as a child, but the Father requires that you grow up, by grace, to the full stature of spiritual adulthood. And when you go abroad to tell all nations the good news of this gospel, I will go before you, and my Spirit of Truth shall abide in your hearts. My peace I leave with you.”

    (2054.4)193:2.3 And then the Master disappeared from their sight. The next day there went out from Tyre those who carried this story to Sidon and even to Antioch and Damascus. Jesus had been with these believers when he was in the flesh, and they were quick to recognize him when he began to teach them. While his friends could not readily recognize his morontia form when made visible, they were never slow to identify his personality when he spoke to them.

     

     

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    [Each OPAD presentation is copied from The Urantia Book published by Urantia Foundation. Questions and comments related to the Paper under discussion are welcome and encouraged. In-depth questions and related topics may be studied in branch threads in the OPAD, or other subforums, as you require. Thank you for studying with us.]

    Richard E Warren

    #11215
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

     

    Greetings Bradly, Bonita, nelsong, Keryn, Rick B, Alina, Carolyn, Carola, Fellow Students, Forum Friends, Members and Visitors,

    It’s interesting to compare the content and number of words he spoke at each appearance. Most of Jesus’ morontia appearances before large groups began with “Peace be upon you” and many ended with “My peace I leave with you“.

    The first three appearances were to Mary and the women, then James. The fourth appearance was before David and others at Lazarus’, Mary’s and Martha’s home. Jesus said:

    “…Peace be upon you. Greetings to those once near me in the flesh and fellowship for my brothers and sisters in the kingdom of heaven. How could you doubt? Why have you lingered so long before choosing to follow the light of truth with a whole heart? Come, therefore, all of you into the fellowship of the Spirit of Truth in the Father’s kingdom….” (2032.4)190:2.6

    At the fifth appearance, before the women believers, he said:

     “…Peace be upon you. In the fellowship of the kingdom there shall be neither Jew nor gentile, rich nor poor, free nor bond, man nor woman. You also are called to publish the good news of the liberty of mankind through the gospel of sonship with God in the kingdom of heaven. Go to all the world proclaiming this gospel and confirming believers in the faith thereof. And while you do this, forget not to minister to the sick and strengthen those who are fainthearted and fear-ridden. And I will be with you always, even to the ends of the earth….” (2033.1)190:3.1

    The sixth was before the Greeks at Flavius’ home:

    “…Peace be upon you. While the Son of Man appeared on earth among the Jews, he came to minister to all men. In the kingdom of my Father there shall be neither Jew nor gentile; you will all be brethren — the sons of God. Go you, therefore, to all the world, proclaiming this gospel of salvation as you have received it from the ambassadors of the kingdom, and I will fellowship you in the brotherhood of the Father’s sons of faith and truth….” (2033.4)190:4.1

    The seventh appearance was to the Emmaus brothers. The eighth was before Peter. The ninth appearance was in front of the apostles:

    “…Peace be upon you. Why are you so frightened when I appear, as though you had seen a spirit? Did I not tell you about these things when I was present with you in the flesh? Did I not say to you that the chief priests and the rulers would deliver me up to be killed, that one of your own number would betray me, and that on the third day I would rise? Wherefore all your doubtings and all this discussion about the reports of the women, Cleopas and Jacob, and even Peter? How long will you doubt my words and refuse to believe my promises? And now that you actually see me, will you believe? Even now one of you is absent. When you are gathered together once more, and after all of you know of a certainty that the Son of Man has risen from the grave, go hence into Galilee. Have faith in God; have faith in one another; and so shall you enter into the new service of the kingdom of heaven. I will tarry in Jerusalem with you until you are ready to go into Galilee. My peace I leave with you….” (2040.2)191:2.1

    The tenth was at Philadelphia, before Abner’s flock:

    “…Peace be upon you. You all know that we have one Father in heaven, and that there is but one gospel of the kingdom — the good news of the gift of eternal life which men receive by faith. As you rejoice in your loyalty to the gospel, pray the Father of truth to shed abroad in your hearts a new and greater love for your brethren. You are to love all men as I have loved you; you are to serve all men as I have served you. With understanding sympathy and brotherly affection, fellowship all your brethren who are dedicated to the proclamation of the good news, whether they be Jew or gentile, Greek or Roman, Persian or Ethiopian. John proclaimed the kingdom in advance; you have preached the gospel in power; the Greeks already teach the good news; and I am soon to send forth the Spirit of Truth into the souls of all these, my brethren, who have so unselfishly dedicated their lives to the enlightenment of their fellows who sit in spiritual darkness. You are all the children of light; therefore stumble not into the misunderstanding entanglements of mortal suspicion and human intolerance. If you are ennobled, by the grace of faith, to love unbelievers, should you not also equally love those who are your fellow believers in the far-spreading household of faith? Remember, as you love one another, all men will know that you are my disciples.

    “Go, then, into all the world proclaiming this gospel of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men to all nations and races and ever be wise in your choice of methods for presenting the good news to the different races and tribes of mankind. Freely you have received this gospel of the kingdom, and you will freely give the good news to all nations. Fear not the resistance of evil, for I am with you always, even to the end of the ages. And my peace I leave with you….” (2041.6)191:4.3&4

    The 11th was another before the apostolic group:

    “…Peace be upon you. For a full week have I tarried that I might appear again when you were all present to hear once more the commission to go into all the world and preach this gospel of the kingdom. Again I tell you: As the Father sent me into the world, so send I you. As I have revealed the Father, so shall you reveal the divine love, not merely with words, but in your daily living. I send you forth, not to love the souls of men, but rather to love men. You are not merely to proclaim the joys of heaven but also to exhibit in your daily experience these spirit realities of the divine life since you already have eternal life, as the gift of God, through faith. When you have faith, when power from on high, the Spirit of Truth, has come upon you, you will not hide your light here behind closed doors; you will make known the love and the mercy of God to all mankind. Through fear you now flee from the facts of a disagreeable experience, but when you shall have been baptized with the Spirit of Truth, you will bravely and joyously go forth to meet the new experiences of proclaiming the good news of eternal life in the kingdom of God. You may tarry here and in Galilee for a short season while you recover from the shock of the transition from the false security of the authority of traditionalism to the new order of the authority of facts, truth, and faith in the supreme realities of living experience. Your mission to the world is founded on the fact that I lived a God-revealing life among you; on the truth that you and all other men are the sons of God; and it shall consist in the life which you will live among men — the actual and living experience of loving men and serving them, even as I have loved and served you. Let faith reveal your light to the world; let the revelation of truth open the eyes blinded by tradition; let your loving service effectually destroy the prejudice engendered by ignorance. By so drawing close to your fellow men in understanding sympathy and with unselfish devotion, you will lead them into a saving knowledge of the Father’s love. The Jews have extolled goodness; the Greeks have exalted beauty; the Hindus preach devotion; the faraway ascetics teach reverence; the Romans demand loyalty; but I require of my disciples life, even a life of loving service for your brothers in the flesh.”

     When the Master had so spoken, he looked down into the face of Thomas and said: “And you, Thomas, who said you would not believe unless you could see me and put your finger in the nail marks of my hands, have now beheld me and heard my words; and though you see no nail marks on my hands, since I am raised in the form that you also shall have when you depart from this world, what will you say to your brethren? You will acknowledge the truth, for already in your heart you had begun to believe even when you so stoutly asserted your unbelief. Your doubts, Thomas, always most stubbornly assert themselves just as they are about to crumble. Thomas, I bid you be not faithless but believing — and I know you will believe, even with a whole heart.”

     When Thomas heard these words, he fell on his knees before the morontia Master and exclaimed, “I believe! My Lord and my Master!” Then said Jesus to Thomas: “You have believed, Thomas, because you have really seen and heard me. Blessed are those in the ages to come who will believe even though they have not seen with the eye of flesh nor heard with the mortal ear.”

      And then, as the Master’s form moved over near the head of the table, he addressed them all, saying: “And now go all of you to Galilee, where I will presently appear to you….” (2043)191:5

     

    The twelfth was in Alexandria, to Rodan’s group:

    “…Peace be upon you. That which my Father sent me into the world to establish belongs not to a race, a nation, nor to a special group of teachers or preachers. This gospel of the kingdom belongs to both Jew and gentile, to rich and poor, to free and bond, to male and female, even to the little children. And you are all to proclaim this gospel of love and truth by the lives which you live in the flesh. You shall love one another with a new and startling affection, even as I have loved you. You will serve mankind with a new and amazing devotion, even as I have served you. And when men see you so love them, and when they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven, and they will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your lives, to the finding of eternal salvation.

    “As the Father sent me into this world, even so now send I you. You are all called to carry the good news to those who sit in darkness. This gospel of the kingdom belongs to all who believe it; it shall not be committed to the custody of mere priests. Soon will the Spirit of Truth come upon you, and he shall lead you into all truth. Go you, therefore, into all the world preaching this gospel, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the ages….” (2044.3)191:6.2&3

    The thirteenth was breakfast with the apostles, personal visits with them, two and two. The 14th was to the apostles at the hill of ordination, no text is given. The 15th appearance was to the largest group (500), to whom he gave the shortest speech of all:

    “…Peace be upon you, and my peace I leave with you….” (2050.6)192:4.3

    At the 16th, he gave perhaps his longest speech, at the home of Nicodemus. Here too beginning and ending with peace blessings:

    “…Peace be upon you. This is the most representative group of believers — apostles and disciples, both men and women — to which I have appeared since the time of my deliverance from the flesh. I now call you to witness that I told you beforehand that my sojourn among you must come to an end; I told you that presently I must return to the Father. And then I plainly told you how the chief priests and the rulers of the Jews would deliver me up to be put to death, and that I would rise from the grave. Why, then, did you allow yourselves to become so disconcerted by all this when it came to pass? and why were you so surprised when I rose from the tomb on the third day? You failed to believe me because you heard my words without comprehending the meaning thereof.

    “And now you should give ear to my words lest you again make the mistake of hearing my teaching with the mind while in your hearts you fail to comprehend the meaning. From the beginning of my sojourn as one of you, I taught you that my one purpose was to reveal my Father in heaven to his children on earth. I have lived the God-revealing bestowal that you might experience the God-knowing career. I have revealed God as your Father in heaven; I have revealed you as the sons of God on earth. It is a fact that God loves you, his sons. By faith in my word this fact becomes an eternal and living truth in your hearts. When, by living faith, you become divinely God-conscious, you are then born of the spirit as children of light and life, even the eternal life wherewith you shall ascend the universe of universes and attain the experience of finding God the Father on Paradise.

    “I admonish you ever to remember that your mission among men is to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom — the reality of the fatherhood of God and the truth of the sonship of man. Proclaim the whole truth of the good news, not just a part of the saving gospel. Your message is not changed by my resurrection experience. Sonship with God, by faith, is still the saving truth of the gospel of the kingdom. You are to go forth preaching the love of God and the service of man. That which the world needs most to know is: Men are the sons of God, and through faith they can actually realize, and daily experience, this ennobling truth. My bestowal should help all men to know that they are the children of God, but such knowledge will not suffice if they fail personally to faith-grasp the saving truth that they are the living spirit sons of the eternal Father. The gospel of the kingdom is concerned with the love of the Father and the service of his children on earth.

    “Among yourselves, here, you share the knowledge that I have risen from the dead, but that is not strange. I have the power to lay down my life and to take it up again; the Father gives such power to his Paradise Sons. You should the rather be stirred in your hearts by the knowledge that the dead of an age entered upon the eternal ascent soon after I left Joseph’s new tomb. I lived my life in the flesh to show how you can, through loving service, become God-revealing to your fellow men even as, by loving you and serving you, I have become God-revealing to you. I have lived among you as the Son of Man that you, and all other men, might know that you are all indeed the sons of God. Therefore, go you now into all the world preaching this gospel of the kingdom of heaven to all men. Love all men as I have loved you; serve your fellow mortals as I have served you. Freely you have received, freely give. Only tarry here in Jerusalem while I go to the Father, and until I send you the Spirit of Truth. He shall lead you into the enlarged truth, and I will go with you into all the world. I am with you always, and my peace I leave with you….” (2053)193:0


    The 17th, to the Samaritans:

    “…Peace be upon you. You rejoice to know that I am the resurrection and the life, but this will avail you nothing unless you are first born of the eternal spirit, thereby coming to possess, by faith, the gift of eternal life. If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish. The gospel of the kingdom has taught you that all men are the sons of God. And this good news concerning the love of the heavenly Father for his children on earth must be carried to all the world. The time has come when you worship God neither on Gerizim nor at Jerusalem, but where you are, as you are, in spirit and in truth. It is your faith that saves your souls. Salvation is the gift of God to all who believe they are his sons. But be not deceived; while salvation is the free gift of God and is bestowed upon all who accept it by faith, there follows the experience of bearing the fruits of this spirit life as it is lived in the flesh. The acceptance of the doctrine of the fatherhood of God implies that you also freely accept the associated truth of the brotherhood of man. And if man is your brother, he is even more than your neighbor, whom the Father requires you to love as yourself. Your brother, being of your own family, you will not only love with a family affection, but you will also serve as you would serve yourself. And you will thus love and serve your brother because you, being my brethren, have been thus loved and served by me. Go, then, into all the world telling this good news to all creatures of every race, tribe, and nation. My spirit shall go before you, and I will be with you always….” (2053.4)193:1.2

    From today’s reading, his 18th, at Tyre:

    “…Peace be upon you. You rejoice to know that the Son of Man has risen from the dead because you thereby know that you and your brethren shall also survive mortal death. But such survival is dependent on your having been previously born of the spirit of truth-seeking and God-finding. The bread of life and the water thereof are given only to those who hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness — for God. The fact that the dead rise is not the gospel of the kingdom. These great truths and these universe facts are all related to this gospel in that they are a part of the result of believing the good news and are embraced in the subsequent experience of those who, by faith, become, in deed and in truth, the everlasting sons of the eternal God. My Father sent me into the world to proclaim this salvation of sonship to all men. And so send I you abroad to preach this salvation of sonship. Salvation is the free gift of God, but those who are born of the spirit will immediately begin to show forth the fruits of the spirit in loving service to their fellow creatures. And the fruits of the divine spirit which are yielded in the lives of spirit-born and God-knowing mortals are: loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace. If professed believers bear not these fruits of the divine spirit in their lives, they are dead; the Spirit of Truth is not in them; they are useless branches on the living vine, and they soon will be taken away. My Father requires of the children of faith that they bear much spirit fruit. If, therefore, you are not fruitful, he will dig about your roots and cut away your unfruitful branches. Increasingly, must you yield the fruits of the spirit as you progress heavenward in the kingdom of God. You may enter the kingdom as a child, but the Father requires that you grow up, by grace, to the full stature of spiritual adulthood. And when you go abroad to tell all nations the good news of this gospel, I will go before you, and my Spirit of Truth shall abide in your hearts. My peace I leave with you….” (2054.3)193:2.2


    sidtyre.gif

    MAP SOURCE

    The risen Master wanted to prepare his believers for what was soon to come, his Spirit of Truth. There are no less than nine mentions of it in his 19 appearances. And the next two Papers are all about its bestowal which occurred very shortly after his ascension. But he had long been preparing them. This is from Paper 180:

     “…But I will not leave you alone in the world. Very soon, after I have gone, I will send you a spirit helper. You shall have with you one who will take my place among you, one who will continue to teach you the way of truth, who will even comfort you….” (1947.2)180:3.3

    Even from the beginning he was preparing the world for the reception of the SoT. This is from Paper 137, Jesus’ first public tour:

     “…The Father in heaven sends his spirit to indwell the minds of men, and when I shall have finished my work on earth, likewise shall the Spirit of Truth be poured out upon all flesh. And the spirit of my Father and the Spirit of Truth shall establish you in the coming kingdom of spiritual understanding and divine righteousness….” (1536.4)137:8.7


    Emmanuel, Michael’s brother, cited his responsibility to bestow the SoT even before the incarnation. From Paper 120:

    “…Pour out upon the planet of your bestowal the Spirit of Truth and thus make all normal mortals on that isolated sphere immediately and fully accessible to the ministry of the segregated presence of our Paradise Father, the Thought Adjusters of the realms….” (1328.3)120:2.6

    And it should be noted the Spirit of Truth is cited over 50 times in the first three Parts of the book.

    The Gospel of John, chapter 24, has this about the SoT:

    16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

    17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

    18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.


    In fact, the phrase “Spirit of Truth” appears only three times in the New Testament, all in John’s Gospel:

    John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

    John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
    .

    “Comforter” appears four times, also all in John’s Gospel record.

    John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

    John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

    John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

    John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

     

    ***

    Tomorrow’s reading Section 3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem, has the first part of his words delivered at the 19th, spoken to the eleven apostles.

    Overview of Paper 193: Final Appearances and Ascension


    1. The Appearance at Sychar
    2. The Phoenician Appearance
    3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem
    4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall
    5. The Master’s Ascension
    6. Peter Calls a Meeting

    This group of papers [121-196] was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director. The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

    Listen toPaper 193: (click the speaker icon at the top of the page)

    Thanks for reading. Members’ thoughts, reflections, insights, observations, comments, corrections and questions about today’s OPAD presentation are invited.

    Much love, Rick/OPAD host.


    Richard E Warren

    #11228
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

    Welcome to The OPAD Online Study Session

    Today’s Presentation

    Paper 193 – Final Appearances and Ascension

    3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem

       Early Thursday morning, May 18, Jesus made his last appearance on earth as a morontia personality. As the eleven apostles were about to sit down to breakfast in the upper chamber of Mary Mark’s home, Jesus appeared to them and said:

    (2055.2)193:3.2“Peace be upon you. I have asked you to tarry here in Jerusalem until I ascend to the Father, even until I send you the Spirit of Truth, who shall soon be poured out upon all flesh, and who shall endow you with power from on high.” Simon Zelotes interrupted Jesus, asking, “Then, Master, will you restore the kingdom, and will we see the glory of God manifested on earth?” When Jesus had listened to Simon’s question, he answered: “Simon, you still cling to your old ideas about the Jewish Messiah and the material kingdom. But you will receive spiritual power after the spirit has descended upon you, and you will presently go into all the world preaching this gospel of the kingdom. As the Father sent me into the world, so do I send you. And I wish that you would love and trust one another. Judas is no more with you because his love grew cold, and because he refused to trust you, his loyal brethren. Have you not read in the Scripture where it is written: ‘It is not good for man to be alone. No man lives to himself’? And also where it says: ‘He who would have friends must show himself friendly’? And did I not even send you out to teach, two and two, that you might not become lonely and fall into the mischief and miseries of isolation? You also well know that, when I was in the flesh, I did not permit myself to be alone for long periods. From the very beginning of our associations I always had two or three of you constantly by my side or else very near at hand even when I communed with the Father. Trust, therefore, and confide in one another. And this is all the more needful since I am this day going to leave you alone in the world. The hour has come; I am about to go to the Father.”

    (2055.3)193:3.3 When he had spoken, he beckoned for them to come with him, and he led them out on the Mount of Olives, where he bade them farewell preparatory to departing from Urantia. This was a solemn journey to Olivet. Not a word was spoken by any of them from the time they left the upper chamber until Jesus paused with them on the Mount of Olives.

     

    ***

     

    [Each OPAD presentation is copied from The Urantia Book published by Urantia Foundation. Questions and comments related to the Paper under discussion are welcome and encouraged. In-depth questions and related topics may be studied in branch threads in the OPAD, or other subforums, as you require. Thank you for studying with us.]

    Richard E Warren

    #11229
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

      

    Good Day nelsong, Bradly, Bonita, Rick B, Keryn, Alina, Carolyn, Carola, Fellow Students, Forum Friends, Members and Guests,

    It’s been 40 days since his resurrection on April 9. On May 18 he shows himself once more to his still confused apostles, to bid them farewell and then ascend to the Father.

    …As the eleven apostles were about to sit down to breakfast in the upper chamber of Mary Mark’s home, Jesus appeared to them…. (2055.1)193:3.1

    James_Tissot_Jesus_Appears_In_The_Midst_

    IMAGE SOURCE

    Interesting how many times 40 days appears in connection with spiritual doings, from our fusion experience (Paper 47):

    …Immediately upon the confirmation of Adjuster fusion the new morontia being is introduced to his fellows for the first time by his new name and is granted the forty days of spiritual retirement…. (538.3)47:8.5

    …to Jesus’ 40 days retirement, right after his baptism (Paper 136)

    …After his baptism he entered upon the forty days of adjusting himself to the changed relationships of the world and the universe occasioned by the personalization of his Adjuster…. (1512.6)136:3.2

    The term “40 days” appears in more than 20 paragraphs throughout the book, the majority of which are in Paper 136.

     

    ***

    Strange to report that somehow the 40 days between resurrection and ascension was lengthened to 50 in certain Christian traditions. Indeed the word Pentecost implies the number 50 in the Greek language. From Wikipedia:

    Pentecost, “the fiftieth [day]”) is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks, a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai. This feast is still celebrated in Judaism as Shavuot. Later, in the Christian liturgical year, it became a feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ (120 in all), as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described by some Christians today as the “Birthday of the Church”.

    In the Eastern church, Pentecost can also refer to the whole fifty (50) days between Easter and Pentecost, hence the book containing the liturgical texts for Paschaltide is called the Pentecostarion. The feast is also called White Sunday, or Whitsunday, especially in England, where the following Monday was traditionally a public holiday. Pentecost is celebrated fifty days (i.e. 49 days with the first day counted, seven weeks) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday (which falls 40 days after Easter).

    The Pentecostal movement of Christianity derives its name from the New Testament event.

    You can see there is some confusion of terminology. The Catholics celebrate “Ascension Thursday”, which is 40 days after his death. From Wikipedia:


    The Feast of the Ascension, also known as Ascension Thursday, Holy Thursday (only by some denominations; not to be confused with Thursday of Holy Week), or Ascension Day, commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical feasts (i.e., universally celebrated) of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter, and Pentecost. In the Catholic church it is also known as the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter (following the count given in Acts 1:3), although some Catholic provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday.


    ***

    Even at this auspicious moment when he is about to ascend, he patiently answers yet another thoughtless question from one of his apostles, this one from Simon Z, in today’s reading:

    “…Then, Master, will you restore the kingdom, and will we see the glory of God manifested on earth?” (2055.2)193:3.2

    Jesus must have foreseen his apostles were not going to get along after he left. Never the less he requested, in his final address, that they:

    “…would love and trust one another…Trust, therefore, and confide in one another….(2055.2)193:3.2

    It wasn’t long after he ascended that they began dispersing and going their separate ways. What happened to each apostle is detailed in Paper 139.

    ***

    The morontia Master went on for several sentences about the dangers of isolation and going it alone. The scriptures he refers to about being alone and being friendly are in Genesis 2:

    18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

    …and in Proverbs 18:

    24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

    Also mentioned in this last talk in the upper chamber is Judas Iscariot, and how his heart went unfriendly, hard, and cold. In tomorrow’s reading Section 4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall, the Midwayers delve deeply into the details and subtleties of that apostles’ warped values and consequent failures.

    Overview of Paper 193: Final Appearances and Ascension

    1. The Appearance at Sychar
    2. The Phoenician Appearance
    3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem
    4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall
    5. The Master’s Ascension
    6. Peter Calls a Meeting

    This group of papers [121-196] was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director. The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

    Listen toPaper 193: (click the speaker icon at the top of the page)

    Thanks for reading. Members’ thoughts, reflections, insights, observations, comments, corrections and questions about today’s OPAD presentation are invited.

    Much love, Rick/OPAD host.

      

    Richard E Warren

    #11235
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    nelsong
    Participant

    Spirit of Truth, who shall soon be poured out upon all flesh,

     

    Who, not that. I missed this in past reading.

    #11244
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

    Spirit of Truth, who shall soon be poured out upon all flesh, Who, not that. I missed this in past reading.

    Yeah, interesting. Here the author (Mighty Messenger) uses which:

     
    …This is the Spirit of Truth which is poured out upon a world…. 34:4:5

     

    And here Jesus refers to the SoT as he, a person:

     
    “…I have yet much to say to you, but you cannot stand any more just now. Albeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he shall eventually guide you into all truth as you pass through the many abodes in my Father’s universe….” 180:6:3

    Richard E Warren

    #11247
    Avatar
    nelsong
    Participant

    Well possibly if I take a step and try to visualize the Spirit of Truth as a product of the Creator Sons possibly even some sort of fragment then I can also imagine the attributes that could be part of it like personality, even mind. A Son spirit fragment with paralells to the Father fragment???? Why not.

    #11248
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

    Well possibly if I take a step and try to visualize the Spirit of Truth as a product of the Creator Sons possibly even some sort of fragment then I can also imagine the attributes that could be part of it like personality, even mind. A Son spirit fragment with paralells to the Father fragment???? Why not.

    Funny, was thinking about this today…Like God, the SoT must work both within and without. “He” is like an intermediary between our God Fragment and us, internally and externally, which is why he is indispensable, as in: ‘no one goes to the Father except thru me’.

     

    .

     

     

    Richard E Warren

    #11254
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

    Welcome to The OPAD Online Study Session

    Today’s Presentation

    Paper 193 – Final Appearances and Ascension

    4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall

       It was in the first part of the Master’s farewell message to his apostles that he alluded to the loss of Judas and held up the tragic fate of their traitorous fellow worker as a solemn warning against the dangers of social and fraternal isolation. It may be helpful to believers, in this and in future ages, briefly to review the causes of Judas’s downfall in the light of the Master’s remarks and in view of the accumulated enlightenment of succeeding centuries.

    (2055.5)193:4.2 As we look back upon this tragedy, we conceive that Judas went wrong, primarily, because he was very markedly an isolated personality, a personality shut in and away from ordinary social contacts. He persistently refused to confide in, or freely fraternize with, his fellow apostles. But his being an isolated type of personality would not, in and of itself, have wrought such mischief for Judas had it not been that he also failed to increase in love and grow in spiritual grace. And then, as if to make a bad matter worse, he persistently harbored grudges and fostered such psychologic enemies as revenge and the generalized craving to “get even” with somebody for all his disappointments.

    (2056.1)193:4.3 This unfortunate combination of individual peculiarities and mental tendencies conspired to destroy a well-intentioned man who failed to subdue these evils by love, faith, and trust. That Judas need not have gone wrong is well proved by the cases of Thomas and Nathaniel, both of whom were cursed with this same sort of suspicion and overdevelopment of the individualistic tendency. Even Andrew and Matthew had many leanings in this direction; but all these men grew to love Jesus and their fellow apostles more, and not less, as time passed. They grew in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. They became increasingly more trustful of their brethren and slowly developed the ability to confide in their fellows. Judas persistently refused to confide in his brethren. When he was impelled, by the accumulation of his emotional conflicts, to seek relief in self-expression, he invariably sought the advice and received the unwise consolation of his unspiritual relatives or those chance acquaintances who were either indifferent, or actually hostile, to the welfare and progress of the spiritual realities of the heavenly kingdom, of which he was one of the twelve consecrated ambassadors on earth.

    (2056.2)193:4.4 Judas met defeat in his battles of the earth struggle because of the following factors of personal tendencies and character weakness:

    1. He was an isolated type of human being. He was highly individualistic and chose to grow into a confirmed “shut-in” and unsociable sort of person.

    2. As a child, life had been made too easy for him. He bitterly resented thwarting. He always expected to win; he was a very poor loser.

    3. He never acquired a philosophic technique for meeting disappointment. Instead of accepting disappointments as a regular and commonplace feature of human existence, he unfailingly resorted to the practice of blaming someone in particular, or his associates as a group, for all his personal difficulties and disappointments.

    4. He was given to holding grudges; he was always entertaining the idea of revenge.

    5. He did not like to face facts frankly; he was dishonest in his attitude toward life situations.

    6. He disliked to discuss his personal problems with his immediate associates; he refused to talk over his difficulties with his real friends and those who truly loved him. In all the years of their association he never once went to the Master with a purely personal problem.

    7. He never learned that the real rewards for noble living are, after all, spiritual prizes, which are not always distributed during this one short life in the flesh.

    (2056.10)193:4.12 As a result of his persistent isolation of personality, his griefs multiplied, his sorrows increased, his anxieties augmented, and his despair deepened almost beyond endurance.

    (2057.1)193:4.13 While this self-centered and ultraindividualistic apostle had many psychic, emotional, and spiritual troubles, his main difficulties were: In personality, he was isolated. In mind, he was suspicious and vengeful. In temperament, he was surly and vindictive. Emotionally, he was loveless and unforgiving. Socially, he was unconfiding and almost wholly self-contained. In spirit, he became arrogant and selfishly ambitious. In life, he ignored those who loved him, and in death, he was friendless.

    (2057.2)193:4.14 These, then, are the factors of mind and influences of evil which, taken altogether, explain why a well-meaning and otherwise onetime sincere believer in Jesus, even after several years of intimate association with his transforming personality, forsook his fellows, repudiated a sacred cause, renounced his holy calling, and betrayed his divine Master.

    ***

    [Each OPAD presentation is copied from The Urantia Book published by Urantia Foundation. Questions and comments related to the Paper under discussion are welcome and encouraged. In-depth questions and related topics may be studied in branch threads in the OPAD, or other subforums, as you require. Thank you for studying with us.]

    Richard E Warren

    #11255
    Richard E Warren
    Richard E Warren
    Participant

     

     

    Greetings nelsong, Rick B, Keryn, Bonita, Bradly, Alina, Carolyn, Carola, Fellow Students, Forum Friends, Members and Visitors,

    On the surface, it might seem strange to interrupt the flow of the beautiful ascension story of a Creator Son just to review the ugliness of the faults and errors of the one who betrayed him. The Melchizedek revelatory director and Midwayers explain in the first paragraph of today’s reading:

    …It may be helpful to believers, in this and in future ages, briefly to review the causes of Judas’s downfall….   (2055.4)193:4.1

    The Midwayers use the word isolated several times to describe Judas.  In today’s parlance he would probably be labeled self-absorbed and self-centered, perhaps even a sociopath. More than once they say he was a spoiled child. Were his parents at fault? Do they bear some or all of the blame? They didn’t instruct him in dealing with disappointment, being a good loser, much less loving those who wronged you.

    The Midwayers point out that four other apostles somehow overcame their tendencies toward selfishness, isolation and revenge. From today’s text:

    …That Judas need not have gone wrong is well proved by the cases of Thomas and Nathaniel, both of whom were cursed with this same sort of suspicion and overdevelopment of the individualistic tendency. Even Andrew and Matthew had many leanings in this direction; but all these men grew to love Jesus and their fellow apostles more, and not less, as time passed…. (2056.1)193:4.3

    The Midwayers say Judas was both “well-intentioned” and “well meaning”. Yet he still, even in the presence of a living, breathing God for several years, utterly failed to take advantage of any phase of such a magnificent opportunity. But, maybe, after he had betrayed Jesus, he did realize he was in error. Otherwise he might have gone on living and bragging that it was he who brought Jesus to justice and a bitter end. Instead he tried to hang himself, and failed at that too. From Paper 186:

    …This onetime ambassador of the kingdom of heaven on earth now walked through the streets of Jerusalem, forsaken and alone. His despair was desperate and well-nigh absolute. On he journeyed through the city and outside the walls, on down into the terrible solitude of the valley of Hinnom, where he climbed up the steep rocks and, taking the girdle of his cloak, fastened one end to a small tree, tied the other about his neck, and cast himself over the precipice. Ere he was dead, the knot which his nervous hands had tied gave way, and the betrayer’s body was dashed to pieces as it fell on the jagged rocks below…. (1998.5) 186:1.7

     


    Judas Iscariot from Tarzhishte Monastery, Strupets, Bulgaria, 16th-century fresco

    IMAGE SOURCE

    This is the account of Judas’ suicide in Matthew 27:

    3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

    4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

    5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

    6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

    7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.

    8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

    9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;

    10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

    The secular and religious worlds rely on the traditional account of Judas’ end. From Wikipedia:

    There are a few descriptions of the death of Judas, two of which are included in the modern Biblical canon:

    • Matthew 27:310 says that Judas returned the money to the priests and committed suicide by hanging himself. They used it to buy the potter’s field. The Gospel account presents this as a fulfillment of prophecy.

    • The Acts of the Apostles says that Judas used the money to buy a field, but fell headfirst, and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. This field is called Akeldama or Field of Blood.

    • The non-canonical Gospel of Judas says Judas had a vision of the disciples stoning and persecuting him.

    • Another account was preserved by the early Christian leader, Papias: “Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out.”

    SOURCE/MUCH MORE

     


    …In life, he ignored those who loved him, and in death, he was friendless…. (2057.1)193:4.13

     

    ***

    Tomorrow’s reading, Section 5. The Master’s Ascension, has the ascending Master’s last words, spoken to his eleven apostles on the Mount of Olives just before he departs Urantia for the “right hand of the Father”.

    Overview of Paper 193: Final Appearances and Ascension


    1. The Appearance at Sychar
    2. The Phoenician Appearance
    3. Last Appearance in Jerusalem
    4. Causes of Judas’s Downfall
    5. The Master’s Ascension
    6. Peter Calls a Meeting

     

    This group of papers [121-196] was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director. The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

    Listen toPaper 193: (click the speaker icon at the top of the page)

    Thanks for reading. Members’ thoughts, reflections, insights, observations, comments, corrections and questions about today’s OPAD presentation are invited.

    Much love, Rick/OPAD host.

      

    Richard E Warren

    #11256
    Avatar
    nelsong
    Participant

    Saw a video of a woman walking down public street glued to her smart phone and walked into a light standard. How isolated can this be?

    At least she got some immediate feed-back, however I suppose there is a radar app that can help avoid such a problem.

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