The Appearance at Sychar

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Arie

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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:"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."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. ***Excerpt from the Urantia Book, paper 193
 

Fox

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The Urantia Book... Isn't that one of those 1950s cults like Scientology? I have a few disagreements with its teachings, in particular its assertion that Yeshua's crucifixion did not stand as atonement for our sins, but was just a "dude, s*** happens" kinda political deal; that Yeshua was not the Messiah, G-d made flesh, but instead the human incarnation of Michael of Nebadon, and that the resurrection was irrelevant. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this, however
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Arie

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Greetings.In the Urantia Book it states many, many times that real religion is a personal experience between the individual and God. "Always keep in mind: True religion is to know God as your Father and man as your brother." Therefore it wasn't meant to be a written centerpiece for a religious group, the book is all-inclusive with the truth in all faiths and religious works. Yes, there have been a few strange groups that have evolved around the UB, but there is no "formal" religion.In regards to the atonement doctrine, yes, it does say that it isn't true. But that doesn't mean that the crucifixion had no meaning, this is some of what it has to say from paper 188, Section 5 entitled "Lessons from the Cross"....188:5.6 "The triumph of the death on the cross is all summed up in the spirit of Jesus' attitude toward those who assailed him. He made the cross an eternal symbol of the triumph of love over hate and the victory of truth over evil when he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." That devotion of love was contagious throughout a vast universe; the disciples caught it from their Master. The very first teacher of his gospel who was called upon to lay down his life in this service, said, as they stoned him to death, "Lay not this sin to their charge."
 

betchevy

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www.urantia.orgThis is the official site for urantia ..it give an explanation of who wrote and when this book and thinking came into being.Arie I am glad to have you here and think it is nice you desire to share with us these beliefs of yours with us...For myself, I believe that for God to speak to me through the pages of a book it will be the Holy Bible which has proven itself through the ages... It fortold of the coming of Messiah throughout the times and events of the Children of Israel and their prophets. Then Messiah came and fullfilled these prophesies over thousands of years.. Today we are awaiting the end of days , which the Word of God again taught us about thousand of years ago through the prophets..The antichrist will be here in this generation. We are all preparing for that time. I for one cannot suddenly "change" my book, God has proved His book to me... I have the leading of the Holy Spririt on the earth... But It always tell be to go get THE BOOK to answer my questions, to give me guidance and help me to resolve myself to the world.Do you know THE BOOK? Have you studied it? Do you know how to prepare for the life that will come after this life? I will look at the site above so I can communicate with you on this site based on what you believe. Will you look at my BOOK? So you can understand me and where I am coming from? I
 

Arie

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Hello Betchevy,I am familiar with the Bible. My father is an elder at his church and I have had innumerable discussions about biblical beliefs with him over the years. I also grew up as a catholic and went to a private religious school for over eight years. I found the urantia book as a senior in high school which is when my beliefs were 'supplemented.' :pray3: In my opinion, to prepare for the next life we just have to live the best life we can live. In the Urantia Book it states that the striving for perfection is an ongoing process, during this life and after. 1:04 "This possibility of the attainment of divine perfection is the final and certain destiny of all man's eternal spiritual progress."1Kings8:61 "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."
 

betchevy

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In reading from the above site I noticed right away that Michael is a creator? This is not the way that my Bible teaches... My God is the only creator.... Micheal is an archangel and trusted of God but to call anyone creator other than Father is blasphemy. Salvation and perfection come through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, NOT by anything I do.I too was raised in a church and have a father who is a deacon and founder of that church. I noticed at a young age that their words and actions did not match and I rebelled from the Church and began to read the Word and live my life according to the way it read and not how men taught it. If you use a Stong's concordance and look at what was originally written. You will find a big difference from that which we were taught as children. For example: Adam and Eve were not having a conversation with a snake who convinced them to eat an apple and therefore "sin" came into the world. God created the races on the sixth day and HaAdam on the eighth. There are not 3 heavens but three ages of heavan and earth. I would like to share these teachings with you not those teaching your father's church taught you.I understand your need to have spirituallity, your need to rebel from the untruth taught you as a child, but to blaspheme God by disposing of His proven Word to believe in something not only unproven but opposed to the Word of God is dangerous. Many of us here have rebelled against the way we were thaught by our fathers. But we didn't throw out the baby with the bath water. The urantia was written in 1955. The Word of God was being written thousand of years ago and each word has been proven through time and the phophecies that have come to pass. How about learning the TRUTH of the Word of God ? I'd love to share it with you.
 

betchevy

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#11 PAGE 119 states "Father is always to be found as this central location. Did He move universal pandemonium would be preciptated."WELL, my Bible states in Ezk. chapters 1 and2 a desciption of God and His Throne along with his Archangels coming here to the Earth to visit and talk to the phophet Ezekiel... HE DID MOVE>>> doesn't this prove an opposition to the Urantia and the Word of God the Bible ? How can that be an addition to your faith if it contradicts it?
 

Arie

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In respect to salvation, I agree with you: "When you know that you are saved by faith, you have real peace with God.And all who follow in the way of this heavenly peace are destined to be sanctified to the eternal service of the ever-advancing sons of the eternal God. Henceforth, it is not a duty but rather your exalted privilege to cleanse yourselves from all evils of mind and body while you seek for perfection in the love of God."In regards to the term Michael, that is the name of their divine Order... they are the local divine Creators and Rulers, Jesus is our local Father for our universe.21:0.1 THE Creator Sons are the makers and rulers of the local universes of time and space. These universe creators and sovereigns are of dual origin, embodying the characteristics of God the Father and God the Son. But each Creator Son is different from every other; each is unique in nature as well as in personality; each is the "only-begotten Son" of the perfect deity ideal of his origin.Also, in regards to changing your Book, I found this passage which I thought you may like:147:7.3 Then the Master proceeded to warn his hearers against entertaining the notion that all olden teaching should be replaced entirely by new doctrines. Said Jesus: "That which is old and also true must abide. Likewise, that which is new but false must be rejected. But that which is new and also true, have the faith and courage to accept. Remember it is written: `Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him. As new wine, so is a new friend; if it becomes old, you shall drink it with gladness.'"You can always share with me truths in the Bible, I am not against it.
 

Arie

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Hey Betchevy,Well, in my opinion faith is a living reality, it isn't a group of beliefs. 102:6.4 Faith transforms the philosophic God of probability into the saving God of certainty in the personal religious experience.In regards to God moving, this may clarify it.1:5.5 In the local creations God has no personal or residential manifestation aside from the Paradise Creator Sons who are the fathers of the inhabited worlds and the sovereigns of the local universes. If the faith of the creature were perfect, he would assuredly know that when he had seen a Creator Son he had seen the Universal Father; in seeking for the Father, he would not ask nor expect to see other than the Son. Mortal man simply cannot see God until he achieves completed spirit transformation and actually attains Paradise.11:0.1 PARADISE is the eternal center of the universe of universes and the abiding place of the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, the Infinite Spirit, and their divine co-ordinates and associates. This central Isle is the most gigantic organized body of cosmic reality in all the master universe.
 

Fox

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Here are some things I think should put this book into context
Leviticus 19:31 “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits”Leviticus 20:6 “And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”

The Bible explains that the Holy Spirit through its authors have given us G-d's word for all time. It is complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and perfect. The apostle warns of anyone giving any other gospel that counters the Bible (Galatians 1:8-10)

The Urantia book is nothing less than new age gnostic enlightenment with a space age twist. It attracts the pride of man. It is deceptive in its approach by claiming to correct all religious books, as well as challenging G-d as the author and keeper of His truth found in the Bible. Shaul preached the gospel “not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross be made of no effect.” (1 Corinthians 1:17) “The world through Wisdom did not come to know G-d.” (verse 21) The Urantia’s revelation proposes in the place of the Bibles revelation extra-Biblical and contradictory information, opposing the core doctrines of Christianity.

Galatians 1:8 “but even though we, or an angel from heaven, would preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” This book and its authors are cursed according to the Bible. And those who follow its teachings are according to the apostle Shaul. The real issue comes down to authority. One trusting a book whose authors are unknown who claim superior knowledge of past events changing the people and places to be what they want. Or do we trust the eyewitnesses and the authors of the accounts of Jesus with its accurate history kept by the Holy Spirit of G-d. Is it any wonder the Urantia book calls them "holy spirit adjusters", since this other spirit wants to revision everything G-d has said.

Reliability of Scripture is denied and challenged. (P. 838) We know who was the challenger of the word G-d spoke in the beginning, the same one who has challenged G-d in this book. Time has not changed his ways.

Since the Urantia book presents a Jesus that is not the same as the Bible, it cannot be G-d inspired nor accurate on what it adds to the Bible.
I note also that Arie is a member of the Urantia Association, and moderates TruthBook, its forum.
 

Arie

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I am a moderator of the forum, but I am not a member of any associations.The Talk With NathanielAnd then went Jesus over to Abila, where Nathaniel and his associates labored. Nathaniel was much bothered by some of Jesus' pronouncements which seemed to detract from the authority of the recognized Hebrew scriptures. Accordingly, on this night, after the usual period of questions and answers, Nathaniel took Jesus away from the others and asked: "Master, could you trust me to know the truth about the Scriptures? I observe that you teach us only a portion of the sacred writings -- the best as I view it -- and I infer that you reject the teachings of the rabbis to the effect that the words of the law are the very words of God, having been with God in heaven even before the times of Abraham and Moses. What is the truth about the Scriptures?" When Jesus heard the question of his bewildered apostle, he answered:"Nathaniel, you have rightly judged; I do not regard the Scriptures as do the rabbis. I will talk with you about this matter on condition that you do not relate these things to your brethren, who are not all prepared to receive this teaching. The words of the law of Moses and the teachings of the Scriptures were not in existence before Abraham. Only in recent times have the Scriptures been gathered together as we now have them. While they contain the best of the higher thoughts and longings of the Jewish people, they also contain much that is far from being representative of the character and teachings of the Father in heaven; wherefore must I choose from among the better teachings those truths which are to be gleaned for the gospel of the kingdom."These writings are the work of men, some of them holy men, others not so holy. The teachings of these books represent the views and extent of enlightenment of the times in which they had their origin. As a revelation of truth, the last are more dependable than the first. The Scriptures are faulty and altogether human in origin, but mistake not, they do constitute the best collection of religious wisdom and spiritual truth to be found in all the world at this time."Many of these books were not written by the persons whose names they bear, but that in no way detracts from the value of the truths which they contain. If the story of Jonah should not be a fact, even if Jonah had never lived, still would the profound truth of this narrative, the love of God for Nineveh and the so-called heathen, be none the less precious in the eyes of all those who love their fellow men. The Scriptures are sacred because they present the thoughts and acts of men who were searching for God, and who in these writings left on record their highest concepts of righteousness, truth, and holiness. The Scriptures contain much that is true, very much, but in the light of your present teaching, you know that these writings also contain much that is misrepresentative of the Father in heaven, the loving God I have come to reveal to all the worlds."Nathaniel, never permit yourself for one moment to believe the Scripture records which tell you that the God of love directed your forefathers to go forth in battle to slay all their enemies -- men, women, and children. Such records are the words of men, not very holy men, and they are not the word of God. The Scriptures always have, and always will, reflect the intellectual, moral, and spiritual status of those who create them. Have you not noted that the concepts of Yahweh grow in beauty and glory as the prophets make their records from Samuel to Isaiah? And you should remember that the Scriptures are intended for religious instruction and spiritual guidance. They are not the works of either historians or philosophers."The thing most deplorable is not merely this erroneous idea of the absolute perfection of the Scripture record and the infallibility of its teachings, but rather the confusing misinterpretation of these sacred writings by the tradition-enslaved scribes and Pharisees at Jerusalem. And now will they employ both the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures and their misinterpretations thereof in their determined effort to withstand these newer teachings of the gospel of the kingdom. Nathaniel, never forget, the Father does not limit the revelation of truth to any one generation or to any one people. Many earnest seekers after the truth have been, and will continue to be, confused and disheartened by these doctrines of the perfection of the Scriptures."The authority of truth is the very spirit that indwells its living manifestations, and not the dead words of the less illuminated and supposedly inspired men of another generation. And even if these holy men of old lived inspired and spirit-filled lives, that does not mean that their words were similarly spiritually inspired. Today we make no record of the teachings of this gospel of the kingdom lest, when I have gone, you speedily become divided up into sundry groups of truth contenders as a result of the diversity of your interpretation of my teachings. For this generation it is best that we live these truths while we shun the making of records."Mark you well my words, Nathaniel, nothing which human nature has touched can be regarded as infallible. Through the mind of man divine truth may indeed shine forth, but always of relative purity and partial divinity. The creature may crave infallibility, but only the Creators possess it."But the greatest error of the teaching about the Scriptures is the doctrine of their being sealed books of mystery and wisdom which only the wise minds of the nation dare to interpret. The revelations of divine truth are not sealed except by human ignorance, bigotry, and narrow-minded intolerance. The light of the Scriptures is only dimmed by prejudice and darkened by superstition. A false fear of sacredness has prevented religion from being safeguarded by common sense. The fear of the authority of the sacred writings of the past effectively prevents the honest souls of today from accepting the new light of the gospel, the light which these very God-knowing men of another generation so intensely longed to see."But the saddest feature of all is the fact that some of the teachers of the sanctity of this traditionalism know this very truth. They more or less fully understand these limitations of Scripture, but they are moral cowards, intellectually dishonest. They know the truth regarding the sacred writings, but they prefer to withhold such disturbing facts from the people. And thus do they pervert and distort the Scriptures, making them the guide to slavish details of the daily life and an authority in things nonspiritual instead of appealing to the sacred writings as the repository of the moral wisdom, religious inspiration, and the spiritual teaching of the God-knowing men of other generations."Nathaniel was enlightened, and shocked, by the Master's pronouncement. He long pondered this talk in the depths of his soul, but he told no man concerning this conference until after Jesus' ascension; and even then he feared to impart the full story of the Master's instruction.***excerpt from UB, paper 159
 

Arie

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On fetishes..."In olden times the fetish word of authority was a fear-inspiring doctrine, the most terrible of all tyrants which enslave men. A doctrinal fetish will lead mortal man to betray himself into the clutches of bigotry, fanaticism, superstition, intolerance, and the most atrocious of barbarous cruelties. Modern respect for wisdom and truth is but the recent escape from the fetish-making tendency up to the higher levels of thinking and reasoning. Concerning the accumulated fetish writings which various religionists hold as sacred books, it is not only believed that what is in the book is true, but also that every truth is contained in the book. If one of these sacred books happens to speak of the earth as being flat, then, for long generations, otherwise sane men and women will refuse to accept positive evidence that the planet is round.""The practice of opening one of these sacred books to let the eye chance upon a passage, the following of which may determine important life decisions or projects, is nothing more nor less than arrant fetishism. To take an oath on a "holy book" or to swear by some object of supreme veneration" is a form of refined fetishism."From paper 88, section 2
 

Arie

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53:8.4 The Son of Man was confident of success, and he knew that his triumph on your world would forever settle the status of his agelong enemies, not only in Satania but also in the other two systems where sin had entered. There was survival for mortals and security for angels when your Master, in reply to the Lucifer proposals, calmly and with divine assurance replied, "Get you behind me, Satan." That was, in principle, the real end of the Lucifer rebellion. True, the Uversa tribunals have not yet rendered the executive decision regarding the appeal of Gabriel praying for the destruction of the rebels, but such a decree will, no doubt, be forthcoming in the fullness of time since the first step in the hearing of this case has already been taken.P610:1, 53:8.5 Caligastia was recognized by the Son of Man as the technical Prince of Urantia up to near the time of his death. Said Jesus: "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast down." And then still nearer the completion of his lifework he announced, "The prince of this world is judged." And it is this same dethroned and discredited Prince who was once termed "God of Urantia."
 

Fox

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The book lures people into believing that it is revealing secret knowledge for the initiative of this gnosis. "The secrets of Sonarington include the secret of the incarnation of the divine Sons. When a Son of God becomes a Son of Man, is literally born of woman, as occurred on your world nineteen hundred years ago, it is a universal mystery. It is occurring right along throughout the universes, and it is a Sonarington secret of divine sonship. The Adjusters are a mystery of God the Father. The incarnation of the divine Sons is a mystery of God the Son; it is a secret locked up in the seventh sector of Sonarington, a realm penetrated by none save those who have personally passed through this unique experience."(p.145) They teach this act of virgin birth is repeated in the universe in many different times. Again it attacks the unique Son of G-d.The Bible's message of Yeshua Ha'Moshiach as the unique Son of G-d is challenged, as are the authors:The Gospel of Yochanan "John did not write it" (p.1342:5, 121:8.10) This goes against the Scripture where it says he did, making him a liar:John 20:31 "but these are written that you may believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of G-d, and that believing you may have life in His name."Yochanan speaking of himself says in John 21:24 "This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true."All things considered one has to deal with the clear words written from Yochanan himself:1 John 1:1-4 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Yeshua Ha'Moshiach. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."1 John 2:7 "Brethren, I write no new commandment to you"1 John 2:21 "I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth." One must make a choice if what the Urantia book says is true or if the Bible is true...1 John 2:26 "These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you." These words of Yochanan need to be heeded by those who believe the Urantia book's message.1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of G-d, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of G-d."Yochanan is told by Yeshua personally in Revelation 1:19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this"Shaul writes in Galatians 6:11 "See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!"The Urantia Book portrays the Bible as a flawed book that is in need of correction by the Urantia book. However, this Bible verse and many others like it make it clear that G-d was fully aware during Biblical times that false doctrines like the Urantia book were in our future. Therefore, He gave us warnings like this in scriptures so that we wouldn't be deceived by them: I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)One thing all cults get wrong is who Yeshua is, and what his role or purpose is in our salvation. The Urantia book is no exception. The Yeshua of the Urantia book is not the same Yeshua of the Bible. In fact they are polar opposites. If ha'satan can simply get us to believe in a false, repackaged Yeshua, he can effectively lure us away from being saved through faith in the real Yeshua of the Bible.ha'satan plays on our fears in the Urantia book by soothing us with lying reassurances that judgement does not exist, and by focusing on G-d's love and mercy while distracting us away from G-d's judgment and wrath against those who do not accept Yeshua as their savior. He plays to our pride and or desire for power by telling us that those who study the Urantia book are more highly evolved and enlightened than those who believe in that allegedly outdated book, the Bible. He exploits our desire to trust by false reassurances that these extra-Biblical revelations compliment the Bible. He plays to our desire to be loved by mixing in messages of love with the poison that will ultimately lead to a spiritual death in Hell.
 

Arie

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I understand your concerns. Let me give you a few passages on what you bring up.On the Justice of God....2:3.2 How futile to make puerile appeals to such a God to modify his changeless decrees so that we can avoid the just consequences of the operation of his wise natural laws and righteous spiritual mandates! "Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap." True, even in the justice of reaping the harvest of wrongdoing, this divine justice is always tempered with mercy. Infinite wisdom is the eternal arbiter which determines the proportions of justice and mercy which shall be meted out in any given circumstance. The greatest punishment (in reality an inevitable consequence) for wrongdoing and deliberate rebellion against the government of God is loss of existence as an individual subject of that government. The final result of wholehearted sin is annihilation. In the last analysis, such sin-identified individuals have destroyed themselves by becoming wholly unreal through their embrace of iniquity. The factual disappearance of such a creature is, however, always delayed until the ordained order of justice current in that universe has been fully complied with.More on Sonarington....13:1.7 2. SONARINGTON. This sphere is the "bosom of the Son," the personal receiving world of the Eternal Son. It is the Paradise headquarters of the descending and ascending Sons of God when, and after, they are fully accredited and finally approved. This world is the Paradise home for all Sons of the Eternal Son and of his co-ordinate and associate Sons. There are numerous orders of divine sonship attached to this supernal abode which have not been revealed to mortals since they are not concerned with the plans of the ascension scheme of human spiritual progression through the universes and on to Paradise.On the uniqueness of the Sons of God...21:1.2 Each Creator Son is the only-begotten and only-begettable offspring of the perfect union of the original concepts of the two infinite and eternal and perfect minds of the ever-existent Creators of the universe of universes.On gospel of John....121:8.10 4. The Gospel according to John relates much of Jesus' work in Judea and around Jerusalem which is not contained in the other records. This is the so-called Gospel according to John the son of Zebedee, and though John did not write it, he did inspire it. Since its first writing it has several times been edited to make it appear to have been written by John himself. When this record was made, John had the other Gospels, and he saw that much had been omitted; accordingly, in the year A.D. 101 he encouraged his associate, Nathan, a Greek Jew from Caesarea, to begin the writing. John supplied his material from memory and by reference to the three records already in existence. He had no written records of his own. The Epistle known as "First John" was written by John himself as a covering letter for the work which Nathan executed under his direction.On hell.... 86:4.7 Early man entertained no ideas of hell or future punishment. The savage looked upon the future life as just like this one, minus all ill luck. Later on, a separate destiny for good ghosts and bad ghosts -- heaven and hell -- was conceived. But since many primitive races believed that man entered the next life just as he left this one, they did not relish the idea of becoming old and decrepit. The aged much preferred to be killed before becoming too infirm.P953:7, 86:4.8 Almost every group had a different idea regarding the destiny of the ghost soul. The Greeks believed that weak men must have weak souls; so they invented Hades as a fit place for the reception of such anemic souls; these unrobust specimens were also supposed to have shorter shadows. The early Andites thought their ghosts returned to the ancestral homelands. The Chinese and Egyptians once believed that soul and body remained together. Among the Egyptians this led to careful tomb construction and efforts at body preservation. Even modern peoples seek to arrest the decay of the dead. The Hebrews conceived that a phantom replica of the individual went down to Sheol; it could not return to the land of the living. They did make that important advance in the doctrine of the evolution of the soul.