by Barry Culligan

It is curious that Lucifer was designated as number 37 of his order 53:0.1 (601.1), and that in the rebellion 37 Planetary Princes joined him (53:7.1 (607.2)). We are taught that his rebellion was the most widespread of all those instigated by the Primary Lanonandeks, of which there were three. If we were to apply the Pareto Principle and presume that the planets lost to the Lucifer rebellion were 80% of all those lost, that would suggest that the other three comprised 20% of the total. We could round these numbers up to an even fifty. So, that means, out of ten million inhabited planets only 50 are rebellion tested. This would suggest that of all the planets in a Local System only 0.000005% produce Agondonters.

It is believed that our universe has had so much trouble with Lanonandeks because our Michael has endowed them with “such a large degree of personal liberty.” 35:9.8 (393.8) This would suggest that other local universes probably have considerably less than 0.000005%. This would place our planet in an exceptionally unique position in universe affairs: not only has it suffered rebellion compounded by Adamic defaults, but our Creator Son chose this sphere as his nativity sphere. It’s hard to appreciate the significance of this from within.

There’s another thing worth considering: rebellion planets offer incredibly unique opportunities for testing divine values. One thing I’ve noticed in reading the text is (what seemed to me at least) remarkable naivety. For the angelic orders, used to countless eons of stability and order, rebellion must be profoundly unsettling–unimaginably so. You detect their naivety in barely concealed elitism, and turns of phrase that indicate beings of high and delicate culture–which ignorant grunts like us could little appreciate which is undoubtedly true but, I’ll admit, fairly riles me up!

In contrast, for us (and our brethren on the fallen worlds) rebellion is all we have ever known. Indeed, the writers never grow weary of telling us that rebellion so distorts reality that we couldn’t imagine life on a normal planet. We learn that the angelic orders are subject to an incredibly long testing: age upon age, world upon world, system upon system; on and on and on it goes with no let up, while our destinies are settled in a relatively short amount of time. In reading The Urantia Book one can imagine how there might be some substance to the myths of angels being jealous of mortals. Not only is our fate sealed fairly quickly, our post-Paradise careers range the universe of universes and even on into the exploration of the master universe (though this comes with its own cost), while such a destiny is open to relatively few of the angelic orders. One can see how Lucifer might be able to curry resentment and foment rebellion from such seemingly unfair structural arrangements.

I am often asked about the level of sin on this world and how difficult it is to believe in God under such circumstances. The Urantia Book talks about the testing of the virtues and how this necessitates confronting realities that are less than ideal. It would seem on most worlds these challenges are never too extreme but on rebellion planets the deities are really asked to put their money where their mouths are. People are not risking merely their lives but their very souls. Jesus didn’t just talk about love; he loved imperfect creatures. He didn’t just talk about forgiveness; he forgave those who literally crucified him. He was beaten and spat upon, had his beard pulled, endured every indignity heaped upon his blessed head, and in the midst of all this foul treatment displayed the unsettling majesty of a man consecrated to doing the will of the Father.

The hosts of heaven stared agog at this mystical and bewildering spectacle of commingled human wickedness and divine triumph. We can never appreciate the true impact this life had upon the celestial hosts, at least not this side of the grave.

Lucifer challenged the gods to show themselves and the response of Jesus was a display of divine love such as had never been seen in this universe before. That display ended the rebellion in all the sincere-of-heart who witnessed it. And today, even throughout all future time, this divine human spectacle will bring peace and salvation to all who by faith witness this tremendous work and consecrate themselves to carrying it on.

by Barry Culligan

The rebellion papers have long fascinated me. When I think of the carnage on my world, the pain, the horror, the abuse, I want to lay the bill for all this suffering at the feet of Lucifer. I have often wondered if we’d be allowed to visit the world of the Father and gaze upon the rebels, as one might observe animals in a zoo. I’d be very interested in seeing the face of the one who “led the worlds astray,” and who “drew down a third of the stars of Heaven.” There are a great many lessons to be drawn from this episode, and it is far from over yet.

One thing we are taught is that rebellion planets are very special, and give birth to a unique class: the Agondonters. It is easy to believe in God when everything is going well and things seem to fall almost effortlessly into your lap, but it is an altogether different thing to maintain faith when the spiritual order on a planet seems to be in reverse: a world in which the wicked prosper and the righteous are crushed. It is easy to get confused and lose one’s way, to entertain, and even get lost in spiritual doubt.

Even the authors admit that looking upon Havona it is easy to conclude that it was created and is maintained by perfect beings. However, when confronted by the endless calamities and sufferings on a world such as ours, it would be equally reasonable to conclude that our world was not created and managed by all wise, all powerful, and loving beings–and that is putting it kindly.

We are taught that there is more rejoicing among the angels over one sinner that repents than of ninety nine that have no need of repentance, and the “righteous” might be understandably aggrieved that their obedience and faithfulness is not greeted with similar delight, much as was the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son. The return and redemption of the wayward son is reflected somewhat in the return and redemption of the wayward planets.

No doubt, there might be cosmic resentment among some that such lengths have been undertaken to save the fallen planets. Satania’s isolation from universe circuits is said to be a source of embarrassment. Quarantine creates a stigma. In a sense, the fallen worlds represent the wrong side of the cosmic tracks. Things are loose and dangerous there. The values that prosper on such worlds are not such as would be acceptable among the more polite societies in the more illumined worlds.

Their (the Agondonters) love for the Father is forged in darkness and cruelty, with a minimum of guidance and support. When they speak of the Father and salvation it is with a force and eloquence seldom heard even among the angelic orders. Their love is fierce, their faith invincible, their courage sublime, their loyalty beyond question, their service inspiring. It is that way because it had to be. Nothing less would have enabled them to survive and thrive on isolated and sin-darkened spheres. The spiritual fruit borne on such worlds is sweet, but carries undertones of bitterness.

When such worlds are finally returned to the Father’s fold there is an understandable, sublime and divine ecstasy among the heavenly hosts that have for countless eons been consecrated to its redemption and restoration. Against the odds, a lost one has been found and returned safely, there to recommence its destiny of divinity attainment. It could have died but it didn’t. Thus saved, that world will become a font of everlasting glory to the Father.

The Rebellion and the Creator Son

by Barry Culligan

The rebellion worlds present a real challenge to a Creator Son, in almost every conceivable way. We are taught that Creator Sons must earn their universe, must earn sovereignty, and one of the ways they do this is by living in the universe of their own creation and as a creature of their own devising. One has to admire this policy. A creator that creates a universe and expects all of his created beings to prosper in it might, technically, have unrealistic notions about the reality that he has created. Had he not personally experienced such things he could well have been exposed to the angsty teenager’s cry: “You don’t know my life!” But, through the life of Jesus, we know our creator most definitely has had such an experience.

It is not a coincidence that Michael chose a rebellion planet for his final bestowal. Almost every other planet in his universe is running as it should be. We’re talking approximately 9,999,950 planets, all behaving pretty much as they should (not that all these worlds have been created yet, but I’m pretty sure that Michael's performance has ended the appetite for such intoxicating delusions in the future). Given the normal sequence of events Michael could have opted for a world progressing along more ideal lines. However, if he did he might have been exposed to an accusation that he was a coward who was afraid of attempting life on worlds that were in chaos. After all, if he is going to allow worlds to be turned upside down by sin then shouldn’t he know what it feels like to try to live on such worlds? Shouldn’t he know firsthand how difficult it is to believe under such circumstances?

Technically, he’d be free to incarnate on any world of his choosing and, undoubtedly, it would be just as perfect, but in the back of peoples’ minds, especially the minds of those that hail from rebellion planets, would be: those worlds are easy. Show us what you’ve really got. Incarnate in a cosmic war zone, where the wicked appear to prosper and the poor of the world are victims of endless injustice. Let’s see you be sweet when you’re on the receiving end of cruelty and injustice. Instead of incarnating on a world where you are welcomed as a God-King, on which whole nations bend their knees eager and honored to carry out your bidding, let’s see you endure poverty and turn the other cheek when the ignorant, powerful, and cruel spit in your face. It is easy to spit out righteous edicts from your ivory tower in Salvington, but try to live by them on “real” worlds; then we’ll see what you’re really made of.

Many readers may not have realized but when Michael incarnated on our world as Jesus he became an Agondonter. No doubt, after  his sublime portrayal of God and Man, not only did he forever silence any secret doubters and scoffers, every Mansonia Agondonter bent the knee and voluntarily worshiped him and glorified God that his Son had the courage to become one of them. Jesus is the God and brother of Agondonters and that is one cool accolade.

The writers tell us that there is a strong salvation element to a Creator Son’s bestowal incarnations. Wherever chaos erupts they dare to rush in and endeavor to retrieve wayward systems and sons. I suspect that all Creator Sons volunteer to incarnate on the most backward of spheres for a wide variety of reasons. The darkness of a sin-tossed world is profound but this offers an excellent backdrop against which to contrast the light of divine love. Indeed, it makes it all the more startling to witness it; the living light of love is the ultimate act of defiance in a world engulfed in spiritual darkness. Selfless loving devotion to one’s fellows, family, and country is one of the truest expressions of worship and gratitude and is undoubtedly why the forces of darkness seek to extinguish this light.

However, we should take heart; there is no depth of darkness so great that the Father would not plunge into head first, that he might save a child lost in it. The God of Light is not afraid of the dark, nor should the children of light be discouraged and fearful because the night has descended for a time. Fear not; believe only; the dawn of a new and better day will soon be breaking. Indeed, the light revealed in the life of Jesus can never be extinguished and he will tend to this flame until the whole world is ablaze with it; even now he is building tinder.

            Your best days are ahead, they always were and they always will be. The endless seas of time are encompassed by the Almighty. In the finding of the Limitless One, the WHY upon which eternity is built and to which all temporal realities strive, the holy urge to everlasting service is also born which is everlasting consecration to the realisation and manifestation of ever expanding revelations of the Limitless God. Every epoch of destiny opens with new revelations each greater than the last, as the Limitless One entices His children from time into the supernal realisations of eternity, for He is the Dancer and we are the Danced.

Even as the more enduring substance and precious stones are forged using tremendous forces and pressure, so too is the everlasting soul subjected to equally tremendous spiritual testing. How many times are we destroyed and resurrected? How many times must we watch our dreams and hopes and loved ones smashed into a million pieces? As many as it takes! As many as it takes, to free us from bondage to temporal forms and ideas.

Our celestial guardians are not concerned with things temporal. They are concerned with releasing us from things temporal. As the finite children of time we are spiritually bewildered by the fact that our eternal nature is infused into and expressed through a temporal identity. We tend to view our temporal selves as our actual selves, we struggle to distinguish cause from effect [if we ever even try] – to discern the animated from the animator. The animator is the quickening spirit spark that inhabits the temples of clay that are our bodies, and literally brings them to life. Our challenge is to identify less with the temple, all the while maintaining it as a serviceable instrument of God, and more with the indwelling spirit. God lives in us, almost as one trapped – albeit trapped by hope, love, and selfless service, and so depends on our voluntary co-operation if His light is to be released into the world and his goodness made manifest.

The Great Father himself sends a spark of his Limitlessness to accompany and guide you in this life, and even throughout eternity, if you so will it. You are never truly alone. You have never been abandoned, not by him at least. Nor are you ever so lost that he does not know where you are. You may flail about in seemingly endless darkness but you are never so lost that he cannot, if you have faith enough to trust his guidance, lead you back into his realms of everlasting light.

In him we have everlasting hope. In him, through him and with him, we find true liberty, salvation, redemption, and sanctification and when the hurricanes of life batter the soul in him is found respite, consolation, inspiration and the strength to go on, to hold on to him even as you learn to let go of everything else. For even though we may lose everything else, if we gain him we have secured all that is of true value.

Life has its suffering but it also has its ecstasies, it has hidden depths and undiscovered heights, it is marred by ignorance and healed with wisdom, it is enslaved by selfishness and discovers liberty and joy through selflessness. As the sage of old taught: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  Psalm 30:5 Sorrows might be our lot for a time but they are not our whole lot. For, declares the Lord, “ I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '” — Jeremiah 29:11

Brethren, fear not believe only. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom, Luke 12:32-34. Let the eyes of the spirit pierce the darkness of uncertainty to find the spiritually nourishing light of the goodness of God.

The citadel of the spirit. When the flood tides of human adversity...

beat about the mortal soul, you may rest in the assurance that there is one inner bastion,

the citadel of the spirit, which is absolutely unassailable... 100:2.7

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