SpiritualFamily.Net

Answer   Jesus Christ was the New Revelation to the world 2000 years ago and his followers were loyal to him even to death. According to the Urantia Book the New 5th Epochal Revelation for this generation: Should we be just as loyal to the Fifth Epochal Revelation? Even willing to suffer humiliation, persecution and death?

The question of loyalty to the Fifth Epochal Revelation (as presented in The Urantia Book) in the same way that early Christians were loyal to Jesus—even unto death—is profound and requires careful consideration of the nature of revelation, spiritual commitment, and the role of truth in human progress. Here’s how The Urantia Book itself might frame the answer:

1. The Purpose of Epochal Revelations

According to The Urantia Book, epochal revelations are divine gifts designed to elevate human understanding of God at critical junctures in history. Each revelation:

• Adapts to the spiritual and intellectual capacity of its era.
• Is partial and progressive (never final or infallible).
• Calls for living faith, not blind allegiance.

Jesus’ followers were loyal because they recognized a living truth in him—not because they worshipped a book or institution. Similarly, the Fifth Epochal Revelation is meant to illuminate truth, not demand martyrdom for its own sake.

2. Loyalty to Truth, Not a Text

The Urantia Book repeatedly warns against bibliolatry—worshipping a text instead of seeking God directly. It states:

"Revelation is a technique of time; truth is unchanging and eternal." 

• Jesus’ followers died for the living truth he embodied, not for doctrines about him.
• Likewise, loyalty to the Fifth Epochal Revelation should mean living its truths (fatherhood of God, brotherhood of man, service, love), not dogmatically defending the book itself.

Key distinction: Early Christians suffered for witnessing to Jesus’ love and kingdom—not for insisting others accept a specific text.

3. Suffering for Righteousness vs. Seeking Martyrdom

Jesus taught:

"Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake" (Matthew 5:10),

but he never encouraged seeking persecution. Similarly:

• The Urantia Book discourages fanaticism:
  "The great threat to revelation is when its students become dogmatic, forming sects that attack dissenters." 
• Suffering should only come as a natural consequence of living truth fearlessly, not as a test of loyalty.

4. Modern Context: Persecution Today

In many parts of the world, standing for truth, equality, and spiritual freedom can still bring ridicule or oppression. The Urantia Book suggests:

• Courageous loyalty means living its teachings (e.g., rejecting racism, serving others, fostering peace) even when unpopular.
• Wisdom and discretion are also virtues—Jesus sometimes withdrew to avoid premature conflict (John 7:1–10).

5. The Higher Calling: Forward-Looking Faith

The Fifth Epochal Revelation does not call for a "new religion" but for advancing spiritual maturity through the religion of the Spirit. The supernal experience of finding God for yourself, in yourself, and of yourself, and of doing all this as a fact in your own personal experience.

• Early Christians died for the future of Jesus’ message—not to preserve the status quo.
• Today’s challenge is living so compellingly that others see God’s love in action, not defending a text polemically.

"The proof of revelation is in its living fruits of the spirit: Does it produce better humans—more loving, wise, and free?" 

"

^195:10.5 In winning souls for the Master, it is not the first mile of compulsion, duty, or convention that will transform man and his world, but rather the second mile of free service and liberty-loving devotion that betokens the Jesusonian reaching forth to grasp his brother in love and sweep him on under spiritual guidance toward the higher and divine goal of mortal existence. Christianity even now willingly goes the first mile, but mankind languishes and stumbles along in moral darkness because there are so few genuine second-milers -- so few professed followers of Jesus who really live and love as he taught his disciples to live and love and serve."

Conclusion: Loyalty Without Fanaticism

Should we be as loyal as Jesus’ first followers? Yes—but in spirit, not literalism.

• Willing to suffer for truth? Yes, if necessary—but the goal is progress, not persecution.
• Willing to die for a book? No—the Fifth Epochal Revelation itself warns against idolizing any text.
• Willing to live its truths radically? Absolutely—this is the modern equivalent of apostolic courage.

As The Urantia Book says:

"The religion of Jesus is a living love, not a ritual to be preserved or a hill to die on." 

  ^196:3.31 The great challenge to modern man is to achieve better communication with the divine Monitor that dwells within the human mind. Man's greatest adventure in the flesh consists in the well-balanced and sane effort to advance the borders of self-consciousness out through the dim realms of embryonic soul-consciousness in a wholehearted effort to reach the borderland of spirit-consciousness -- contact with the divine presence. Such an experience constitutes God-consciousness, an experience mightily confirmative of the pre-existent truth of the religious experience of knowing God. Such spirit-consciousness is the equivalent of the knowledge of the actuality of sonship with God. Otherwise, the assurance of sonship is the experience of faith.

Final Answer: Be loyal to the Father’s love and human brotherhood—the core of all epochal revelations. Let that loyalty be so bold that, if tested, you stand firm—but let it be a light to the world, not a sword.