The Teaching Mission and Transformation
Keynote address at the 1995 SpiritFest in San Obispo, California. The speaker discusses the early years of the celestial Teaching Mission which grew out of Urantia Papers study groups.
by Duane Faw
Greetings. May the PEACE of CHRIST MICHAEL be upon us. Our topic for this lesson is the Teaching Mission itself: What it is, Why it is, and How it is involved in TRANSFORMATION. It is as simple as this: the Teaching Mission is an integral and necessary part of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. And the Fifth Epochal Revelation is destined to Transform the World—URANTIA—into the age of Light and Life.
The in-terim period is called The Correcting Time.
I know that the Teaching Mission is a part of the Fifth Epochal Revelation because Jesus, Himself, said so. The Urantia Book records that the day following His triumphal entry into Jerusalem Jesus talked with His apostles about the soon-to- happen destruction of Jerusalem, and about His promise some day to return. Because they viewed these events against a Jewish paradigm, the apostles equated the destruction of Jerusalem to the end of the world and the establishment of a “new Jerusalem” with Jesus as its king to His promise to return.
“And so will my Father continue to manifest and show forth His love, even to this dark and evil world.”
Peter asked: “How shall we know when you will return to bring all this about?”
Jesus was thoughtful for some time, and then, with a tone of disappointment and resignation, said: “You ever err since you always try to attach the new meaning to the old; you are determined to misunderstand all my teaching; you insist on interpreting the gospel in accordance with your established beliefs. Nevertheless, I will try to enlighten you.” (1914:3-9)
“Why do you still look for the Son of Man to sit upon the throne of David and expect that the material dreams of the Jews will be fulfilled? Have I not told you all these years that my kingdom is not of this world? The things which you now look down upon are coming to an end, but this will be a new beginning out of which the gospel of the kingdom will go to all the world and this salvation will spread to all peoples.”
Then Jesus said something that is very meaningful to our topic. He foretold the Fifth Epochal Revelation. He said: “And when the kingdom shall have come to its full fruition, be assured that the Father in heaven will not fail to visit you with an enlarged revelation of truth and an enhanced demonstration of righteousness.”
I see the Urantia Papers as the enlarged revelation of truth. I see the Teaching Mission as the enhanced demonstration of righteousness. These two work together as the Fifth Epochal Revelation. This is confirmed as He continues the sentence: “Even as He has already bestowed upon this world him who became the prince of darkness,” which, of course, was Caligastia, the First Epochal Revelation, “ and then Adam,” the Second Epochal Revelation, “ who was fol-lowed by Melchizedek,” the Third Epochal Revelation, “and in these days, the Son of Man.” the Fourth Epochal Revelation.
He continued: “And so will my Father continue to manifest and show forth His love, even to this dark and evil world.” (1914:26-38)
This prophesy is being fulfilled in our day and before our very eyes! The Urantia Papers and the Teaching Mission ARE the continuing, but upstepped, manifestation of our Father’s Love as foretold by Jesus on this occasion. We all know of the giving of the Urantia Papers, published in book form in 1955. At the time of publication the forum was told by the revelators that the book was generations ahead of its time. Meanwhile, they should occupy them-selves with publishing and preserving the purity of the text of the Book, organizing study groups, and making translations into other languages. It is a matter of opinion as to how wisely and well these injunctions were followed, but the Celestial Government did not wait.
The Announcement:
On February 1, 1992, an ascending mortal and spiritual Teacher named HAM formally and publicly announced to about 150 people, including General Councilors of the FELLOWSHIP:
1. That the Lucifer rebellion is officially ended in Nebadon;
2. That Machiventa Melchizedek, duly inaugurated as acting Planetary Prince of Urantia, an assignment he accepted from Michael, has arrived on this planet;
3. That the system circuits (the loss of which had isolated Urantia) are being reopened;
4. That the time has arrived for an “expanded level of truth,” the beginning of the Correcting Time;
In order to achieve this expanded level of truth, HAM revealed the Teaching Mission by announcing that he is one of many teachers commissioned to bring the light of truth and the understanding of our Father to Urantia. He said they are desirous of placing “many teachers among you.”
From the teachers we learn:
1. That the case of Gabriel vs. Lucifer has been finally adjudicated and the archrebels annihilated: they are as if they never were;
2. That the Urantia Book, is to be the principal text of the Fifth Epochal Revelation, and is remarkably correct for the time when it was written;
3. That the Teaching Mission is to provide the human component (more about this later) of the Fifth Epochal Revelation; and
4. That now is the Correctiing Time to help URANTIA make up for the deficiencies caused by experiments of the Life Carriers on a decimal planet having gone awry, the Lucifer rebellion, the Adamic default; and the brutal murder of the Son of Man & Son of God on His seventh Bestowal Mission,
5. That neither the Teachers nor the human transmitter-receivers are infallible, making the specifics of their messages suspect, particularly in respect to future human activities;
6. That they cannot, and do not, interfere with human free-will, and are careful not to overawe or bedazzle impressionable minds; and
7. That their mission is spiritual: to upstep the moral and spiritual fiber of the planet to where it approximates that of a normal planet. They do this by personal contact with human students who then become the “enhanced demonstration of righteousness” mentioned by Jesus. They do this by their conduct.
We should not be surprised at these developments. From the Urantia Book, published two generations before the recent events (‘92), we learned:
1. That the Lucifer rebellion will be terminated by the annihilation of the archrebels, followed by a reopening of the system circuits. (pp. 529:11-18; 611:34-46)
2. That our Vicegerent Planetary Prince, MACHIVENTA MELCHIZEDEK, may some day move his headquarters to Urantia. (pp. 1025:1-23; 1251:15-29)
3. That it is not unusual for a Planetary Prince to be accompanied on his mission by volunteer ascending mortal beings. This was the source of the Caligastia one hundred. (pp. 742:18-21; 855:22-25)
4. That celestial and super-mortal beings can communicate with mortals . It is the source of all revelation. Indeed, that is how the Urantia Book, itself, came into being.
“There will be many outside the Teaching Mission who dedicate themselves to the cause of Transforming the world into a planet of Light and Life. Jesus, Himself, tells us that in spiritual matters, “he who is not against us is for us.”
It is entirely logical that the Fifth Epochal Revelation, like the first four, has both an informational and a personal component. It differs from earlier Epochal Revelations only in the order in which they appear.
In each of the first four Epochal Revelations the personal component came first, through whom the informational component came later. In this instance, because of the value of the written word in our culture, the informational component came first, followed by the personal component. The Teaching Mission is designed to provide humans for this component.
Those who attend teaching groups do so for many reasons ranging from skepticism, through mere curiosity, to sincere truth-seekers. Not all attendees accept the teachings as real, some fall away. This is to be expected. It is true of all other religious activities.
The mere fact that the Teaching Mission may attract some self-deluded, self-serving, or otherwise unsavory human personalities, or even generate local hysteria, is not a cause for alarm. Every religion on the face of the globe has attracted its share of charlatans, kooks, and hysterical people. There is no reason why this Teaching Mission should be spared.
We have the common sense, the privilege, indeed the duty, to select between the genuine and the fraudulent. We also have a test: “by their fruits shall you know them.” And we retain the free will to pick and choose only those teachings which have “the ring of truth” in our hearts.
Neither should the fact that others, who follow a different spiritual path, reject the Teaching Mission for any reason give us pause. Our concern is whether or not they display an “enhanced demonstration of righteousness.”
There will be many outside the Teaching Mission who dedicate themselves to the cause of Transforming the world into a planet of Light and Life. Jesus, Himself, tells us that in spiritual matters, “he who is not against us is for us.” Just as Jesus picked common persons as Apostles, the Teaching Mission is directed to the common person. Becoming a transmitter / receiver (T/R) is not a mark of spiritual attainment, nor is it a higher order of service, rather it is because the person both can and is willing to do so. “... you have an equal opportunity to actually BE that “en-hanced demonstration of righteousness” which Jesus fore-told...” The true lessons are NOT those of the T/R; they are of the teacher. In some instances the concepts expressed are contrary to the views of the T/R.
Most lessons are given by teachers who are ascending mortal beings, hence not celestial. Yet the messages (lessons) themselves are of a high moral and ethical plane. They not only teach, they inspire. Those who attend them (students) are generally motivated to take a higher spiritual path than before— and many do so. It is at this point that the critical role of the Teaching Mission becomes apparent.
—The Urantia Book IS the foretold “enlarged revelation of truth.” New truth is spelled out page after page for those with enquiring minds and hearts.
—But it IS NOT the foretold “enhanced demonstration of righteousness.” This task is given the HUMAN STUDENTS OF THE INVISIBLE TEACHING CORPS, and those who are inspired by their enhanced demonstrations of righteous-ness.
—Success or failure of the Teaching Mission will depend upon how many lives will be transformed as a result of it.
—This is the chosen way to achieve an expanded level of truth which leads toward Light and Life.
I see every human student of every superhuman or celestial teacher as having an opportunity to be a living part of this human component of the Fifth Epochal Revelation IF they freely choose to do so.
It makes no difference whether or not you are a transmitter/ receiver or a silent student, you have an equal opportunity to actually BE that “enhanced demonstration of righteous-ness” which Jesus foretold shortly before His death. Realization of this factor should give us great comfort as well as great challenge. We each, personally, have an opportunity, if not a duty, to actually BE that “enhanced demonstration of righteousness!”
In a very real sense, we are an integral part of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. It is not just the book. The Urantia Book contains the true teachings of Jesus. The teachings of Jesus must be realized (made REAL), actualized (made ACTUAL), by human beings before they can transform the world into the age of Light and Life.
We are the first students of the Teaching Mission. We have matriculated into one of the Melchizedek Universities. Some of us are freshmen, some sophomores, and a few juniors. Some day we will all be alumnae. No matter whether we complete the course or drop out along the way, we are alumnae. We will never be the same. We will all have a good experience.
The Urantia Papers say:
An experience is good when it heightens the appreciation of beauty, augments the moral will, enhances the discernment of truth, enlarges the capacity to love and serve one’s fellows, exalts the spiritual ideals, and unifies the supreme human motives of time with the eternal plans of the indwelling Adjuster, all of which lead directly to an increased de-sire to do the Father’s will, thereby fostering the divine passion to find God and to be more like him. [1458:8-15)
These are the building blocks of Spiritual TRANSFORMATION. They are a necessary and integral part of the Correcting Time which must precede Light and Life. When judged by this standard, participating in the Teaching Mission in any capacity must be rated “outstanding.”
END