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The 5th Epochal Revelation
Paper 93
MACHIVENTA MELCHIZEDEK
93:0.1
THE Melchizedeks are widely known as emergency
Sons, for they engage in an amazing range of
activities on the worlds of a local universe.
When any extraordinary problem arises, or when
something unusual is to be attempted, it is
quite often a Melchizedek who accepts the
assignment. The ability of the Melchizedek Sons
to function in emergencies and on widely
divergent levels of the universe, even on the
physical level of personality manifestation, is
peculiar to their order. Only the Life Carriers
share to any degree this metamorphic range of
personality function.
93:0.2
The Melchizedek order of universe sonship has
been exceedingly active on Urantia. A corps of
twelve served in conjunction with the Life
Carriers. A later corps of twelve became
receivers for your world shortly after the
Caligastia secession and continued in authority
until the time of Adam and Eve. These twelve
Melchizedeks returned to Urantia upon the
default of Adam and Eve, and they continued
thereafter as planetary receivers on down to the
day when Jesus of Nazareth, as the Son of Man,
became the titular Planetary Prince of Urantia.
1. THE MACHIVENTA INCARNATION
93:1.1
Revealed truth was threatened with extinction
during the millenniums which followed the
miscarriage of the Adamic mission on Urantia.
Though making progress intellectually, the human
races were slowly losing ground spiritually.
About 3000 B.C. the concept of God had grown
very hazy in the minds of men.
93:1.2
The twelve Melchizedek receivers knew of
Michael's impending bestowal on their planet,
but they did not know how soon it would occur;
therefore they convened in solemn council and
petitioned the Most Highs of Edentia that some
provision be made for maintaining the light of
truth on Urantia. This plea was dismissed with
the mandate that "the conduct of affairs on 606
of Satania is fully in the hands of the
Melchizedek custodians." The receivers then
appealed to the Father Melchizedek for help but
only received word that they should continue to
uphold truth in the manner of their own election
"until the arrival of a bestowal Son," who
"would rescue the planetary titles from
forfeiture and uncertainty."
93:1.3
And it was in consequence of having been thrown
so completely on their own resources that
Machiventa Melchizedek, one of the twelve
planetary receivers, volunteered to do that
which had been done only six times in all the
history of Nebadon: to personalize on earth as a
temporary man of the realm, to bestow himself as
an emergency Son of world ministry. Permission
was granted for this adventure by the Salvington
authorities, and the actual incarnation of
Machiventa Melchizedek was consummated near what
was to become the city of Salem, in Palestine.
The entire transaction of the materialization of
this Melchizedek Son was completed by the
planetary receivers with the co-operation of the
Life Carriers, certain of the Master Physical
Controllers, and other celestial personalities
resident on Urantia.
2. THE SAGE OF SALEM
93:2.1
It was 1,973 years before the birth of Jesus
that Machiventa was bestowed upon the human
races of Urantia. His coming was unspectacular;
his materialization was not witnessed by human
eyes. He was first observed by mortal man on
that eventful day when he entered the tent of
Amdon, a Chaldean herder of Sumerian extraction.
And the proclamation of his mission was embodied
in the simple statement which he made to this
shepherd, "I am Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon,
the Most High, the one and only God."
93:2.2
When the herder had recovered from his
astonishment, and after he had plied this
stranger with many questions, he asked
Melchizedek to sup with him, and this was the
first time in his long universe career that
Machiventa had partaken of material food, the
nourishment which was to sustain him throughout
his ninety-four years of life as a material
being.
93:2.3
And that night, as they talked out under the
stars, Melchizedek began his mission of the
revelation of the truth of the reality of God
when, with a sweep of his arm, he turned to
Amdon, saying, "El Elyon, the Most High, is the
divine creator of the stars of the firmament and
even of this very earth on which we live, and he
is also the supreme God of heaven."
93:2.4
Within a few years Melchizedek had gathered
around himself a group of pupils, disciples, and
believers who formed the nucleus of the later
community of Salem. He was soon known throughout
Palestine as the priest of El Elyon, the Most
High, and as the sage of Salem. Among some of
the surrounding tribes he was often referred to
as the sheik, or king, of Salem. Salem was the
site which after the disappearance of
Melchizedek became the city of Jebus,
subsequently being called Jerusalem.
93:2.5
In personal appearance, Melchizedek resembled
the then blended Nodite and Sumerian peoples,
being almost six feet in height and possessing a
commanding presence. He spoke Chaldean and a
half dozen other languages. He dressed much as
did the Canaanite priests except that on his
breast he wore an emblem of three concentric
circles, the Satania symbol of the Paradise
Trinity. In the course of his ministry this
insignia of three concentric circles became
regarded as so sacred by his followers that they
never dared to use it, and it was soon forgotten
with the passing of a few generations.
93:2.6
Though Machiventa lived after the manner of the
men of the realm, he never married, nor could he
have left offspring on earth. His physical body,
while resembling that of the human male, was in
reality on the order of those especially
constructed bodies used by the one hundred
materialized members of Prince Caligastia's
staff except that it did not carry the life
plasm of any human race. Nor was there available
on Urantia the tree of life. Had Machiventa
remained for any long period on earth, his
physical mechanism would have gradually
deteriorated; as it was, he terminated his
bestowal mission in ninety-four years long
before his material body had begun to
disintegrate.
93:2.7
This incarnated Melchizedek received a Thought
Adjuster, who indwelt his superhuman personality
as the monitor of time and the mentor of the
flesh, thus gaining that experience and
practical introduction to Urantian problems and
to the technique of indwelling an incarnated Son
which enabled this spirit of the Father to
function so valiantly in the human mind of the
later Son of God, Michael, when he appeared on
earth in the likeness of mortal flesh. And this
is the only Thought Adjuster who ever functioned
in two minds on Urantia, but both minds were
divine as well as human.
93:2.8
During the incarnation in the flesh, Machiventa
was in full contact with his eleven fellows of
the corps of planetary custodians, but he could
not communicate with other orders of celestial
personalities. Aside from the Melchizedek
receivers, he had no more contact with
superhuman intelligences than a human being.
3. MELCHIZEDEK'S TEACHINGS
93:3.1
With the passing of a decade, Melchizedek
organized his schools at Salem, patterning them
on the olden system which had been developed by
the early Sethite priests of the second Eden.
Even the idea of a tithing system, which was
introduced by his later convert Abraham, was
also derived from the lingering traditions of
the methods of the ancient Sethites.
93:3.2
Melchizedek taught the concept of one God, a
universal Deity, but he allowed the people to
associate this teaching with the Constellation
Father of Norlatiadek, whom he termed El Elyon
-- the Most High. Melchizedek remained all but
silent as to the status of Lucifer and the state
of affairs on Jerusem. Lanaforge, the System
Sovereign, had little to do with Urantia until
after the completion of Michael's bestowal. To a
majority of the Salem students Edentia was
heaven and the Most High was God.
93:3.3
The symbol of the three concentric circles,
which Melchizedek adopted as the insignia of his
bestowal, a majority of the people interpreted
as standing for the three kingdoms of men,
angels, and God. And they were allowed to
continue in that belief; very few of his
followers ever knew that these three circles
were emblematic of the infinity, eternity, and
universality of the Paradise Trinity of divine
maintenance and direction; even Abraham rather
regarded this symbol as standing for the three
Most Highs of Edentia, as he had been instructed
that the three Most Highs functioned as one. To
the extent that Melchizedek taught the Trinity
concept symbolized in his insignia, he usually
associated it with the three Vorondadek rulers
of the constellation of Norlatiadek.
93:3.4
To the rank and file of his followers he made no
effort to present teaching beyond the fact of
the rulership of the Most Highs of Edentia --
Gods of Urantia. But to some, Melchizedek taught
advanced truth, embracing the conduct and
organization of the local universe, while to his
brilliant disciple Nordan the Kenite and his
band of earnest students he taught the truths of
the superuniverse and even of Havona.
93:3.5
The members of the family of Katro, with whom
Melchizedek lived for more than thirty years,
knew many of these higher truths and long
perpetuated them in their family, even to the
days of their illustrious descendant Moses, who
thus had a compelling tradition of the days of
Melchizedek handed down to him on this, his
father's side, as well as through other sources
on his mother's side.
93:3.6
Melchizedek taught his followers all they had
capacity to receive and assimilate. Even many
modern religious ideas about heaven and earth,
of man, God, and angels, are not far removed
from these teachings of Melchizedek. But this
great teacher subordinated everything to the
doctrine of one God, a universe Deity, a
heavenly Creator, a divine Father. Emphasis was
placed upon this teaching for the purpose of
appealing to man's adoration and of preparing
the way for the subsequent appearance of Michael
as the Son of this same Universal Father.
93:3.7
Melchizedek taught that at some future time
another Son of God would come in the flesh as he
had come, but that he would be born of a woman;
and that is why numerous later teachers held
that Jesus was a priest, or minister, "forever
after the order of Melchizedek."
93:3.8
And thus did Melchizedek prepare the way and set
the monotheistic stage of world tendency for the
bestowal of an actual Paradise Son of the one
God, whom he so vividly portrayed as the Father
of all, and whom he represented to Abraham as a
God who would accept man on the simple terms of
personal faith. And Michael, when he appeared on
earth, confirmed all that Melchizedek had taught
concerning the Paradise Father.
4. THE SALEM RELIGION
93:4.1
The ceremonies of the Salem worship were very
simple. Every person who signed or marked the
clay-tablet rolls of the Melchizedek church
committed to memory, and subscribed to, the
following belief:
93:4.2
1. I believe in El Elyon, the Most High God, the
only Universal Father and Creator of all things.
93:4.3
2. I accept the Melchizedek covenant with the
Most High, which bestows the favor of God on my
faith, not on sacrifices and burnt offerings.
93:4.4
3. I promise to obey the seven commandments of
Melchizedek and to tell the good news of this
covenant with the Most High to all men.
93:4.5
And that was the whole of the creed of the Salem
colony. But even such a short and simple
declaration of faith was altogether too much and
too advanced for the men of those days. They
simply could not grasp the idea of getting
divine favor for nothing -- by faith. They were
too deeply confirmed in the belief that man was
born under forfeit to the gods. Too long and too
earnestly had they sacrificed and made gifts to
the priests to be able to comprehend the good
news that salvation, divine favor, was a free
gift to all who would believe in the Melchizedek
covenant. But Abraham did believe halfheartedly,
and even that was "counted for righteousness."
93:4.6
The seven commandments promulgated by
Melchizedek were patterned along the lines of
the ancient Dalamatian supreme law and very much
resembled the seven commands taught in the first
and second Edens. These commands of the Salem
religion were:
93:4.7
1. You shall not serve any God but the Most High
Creator of heaven and earth.
93:4.8
2. You shall not doubt that faith is the only
requirement for eternal salvation.
93:4.9
3. You shall not bear false witness.
93:4.10
4. You shall not kill.
93:4.11
5. You shall not steal.
93:4.12
6. You shall not commit adultery.
93:4.13
7. You shall not show disrespect for your
parents and elders.
93:4.14
While no sacrifices were permitted within the
colony, Melchizedek well knew how difficult it
is to suddenly uproot long-established customs
and accordingly had wisely offered these people
the substitute of a sacrament of bread and wine
for the older sacrifice of flesh and blood. It
is of record, "Melchizedek, king of Salem,
brought forth bread and wine." But even this
cautious innovation was not altogether
successful; the various tribes all maintained
auxiliary centers on the outskirts of Salem
where they offered sacrifices and burnt
offerings. Even Abraham resorted to this
barbarous practice after his victory over
Chedorlaomer; he simply did not feel quite at
ease until he had offered a conventional
sacrifice. And Melchizedek never did succeed in
fully eradicating this proclivity to sacrifice
from the religious practices of his followers,
even of Abraham.
93:4.15
Like Jesus, Melchizedek attended strictly to the
fulfillment of the mission of his bestowal. He
did not attempt to reform the mores, to change
the habits of the world, nor to promulgate even
advanced sanitary practices or scientific
truths. He came to achieve two tasks: to keep
alive on earth the truth of the one God and to
prepare the way for the subsequent mortal
bestowal of a Paradise Son of that Universal
Father.
93:4.16
Melchizedek taught elementary revealed truth at
Salem for ninety-four years, and during this
time Abraham attended the Salem school three
different times. He finally became a convert to
the Salem teachings, becoming one of
Melchizedek's most brilliant pupils and chief
supporters.
5. THE SELECTION OF ABRAHAM
93:5.1
Although it may be an error to speak of "chosen
people," it is not a mistake to refer to Abraham
as a chosen individual. Melchizedek did lay upon
Abraham the responsibility of keeping alive the
truth of one God as distinguished from the
prevailing belief in plural deities.
93:5.2
The choice of Palestine as the site for
Machiventa's activities was in part predicated
upon the desire to establish contact with some
human family embodying the potentials of
leadership. At the time of the incarnation of
Melchizedek there were many families on earth
just as well prepared to receive the doctrine of
Salem as was that of Abraham. There were equally
endowed families among the red men, the yellow
men, and the descendants of the Andites to the
west and north. But, again, none of these
localities were so favorably situated for
Michael's subsequent appearance on earth as was
the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The
Melchizedek mission in Palestine and the
subsequent appearance of Michael among the
Hebrew people were in no small measure
determined by geography, by the fact that
Palestine was centrally located with reference
to the then existent trade, travel, and
civilization of the world.
93:5.3
For some time the Melchizedek receivers had been
observing the ancestors of Abraham, and they
confidently expected offspring in a certain
generation who would be characterized by
intelligence, initiative, sagacity, and
sincerity. The children of Terah, the father of
Abraham, in every way met these expectations. It
was this possibility of contact with these
versatile children of Terah that had
considerable to do with the appearance of
Machiventa at Salem, rather than in Egypt,
China, India, or among the northern tribes.
93:5.4
Terah and his whole family were halfhearted
converts to the Salem religion, which had been
preached in Chaldea; they learned of Melchizedek
through the preaching of Ovid, a Phoenician
teacher who proclaimed the Salem doctrines in
Ur. They left Ur intending to go directly
through to Salem, but Nahor, Abraham's brother,
not having seen Melchizedek, was lukewarm and
persuaded them to tarry at Haran. And it was a
long time after they arrived in Palestine before
they were willing to destroy
all
of the household gods they had brought with
them; they were slow to give up the many gods of
Mesopotamia for the one God of Salem.
93:5.5
A few weeks after the death of Abraham's father,
Terah, Melchizedek sent one of his students,
Jaram the Hittite, to extend this invitation to
both Abraham and Nahor: "Come to Salem, where
you shall hear our teachings of the truth of the
eternal Creator, and in the enlightened
offspring of you two brothers shall all the
world be blessed." Now Nahor had not wholly
accepted the Melchizedek gospel; he remained
behind and built up a strong city-state which
bore his name; but Lot, Abraham's nephew,
decided to go with his uncle to Salem.
93:5.6
Upon arriving at Salem, Abraham and Lot chose a
hilly fastness near the city where they could
defend themselves against the many surprise
attacks of northern raiders. At this time the
Hittites, Assyrians, Philistines, and other
groups were constantly raiding the tribes of
central and southern Palestine. From their
stronghold in the hills Abraham and Lot made
frequent pilgrimages to Salem.
93:5.7
Not long after they had established themselves
near Salem, Abraham and Lot journeyed to the
valley of the Nile to obtain food supplies as
there was then a drought in Palestine. During
his brief sojourn in Egypt Abraham found a
distant relative on the Egyptian throne, and he
served as the commander of two very successful
military expeditions for this king. During the
latter part of his sojourn on the Nile he and
his wife, Sarah, lived at court, and when
leaving Egypt, he was given a share of the
spoils of his military campaigns.
93:5.8
It required great determination for Abraham to
forego the honors of the Egyptian court and
return to the more spiritual work sponsored by
Machiventa. But Melchizedek was revered even in
Egypt, and when the full story was laid before
Pharaoh, he strongly urged Abraham to return to
the execution of his vows to the cause of Salem.
93:5.9
Abraham had kingly ambitions, and on the way
back from Egypt he laid before Lot his plan to
subdue all Canaan and bring its people under the
rule of Salem. Lot was more bent on business;
so, after a later disagreement, he went to Sodom
to engage in trade and animal husbandry. Lot
liked neither a military nor a herder's life.
93:5.10
Upon returning with his family to Salem, Abraham
began to mature his military projects. He was
soon recognized as the civil ruler of the Salem
territory and had confederated under his
leadership seven near-by tribes. Indeed, it was
with great difficulty that Melchizedek
restrained Abraham, who was fired with a zeal to
go forth and round up the neighboring tribes
with the sword that they might thus more quickly
be brought to a knowledge of the Salem truths.
93:5.11
Melchizedek maintained peaceful relations with
all the surrounding tribes; he was not
militaristic and was never attacked by any of
the armies as they moved back and forth. He was
entirely willing that Abraham should formulate a
defensive policy for Salem such as was
subsequently put into effect, but he would not
approve of his pupil's ambitious schemes for
conquest; so there occurred a friendly severance
of relationship, Abraham going over to Hebron to
establish his military capital.
93:5.12
Abraham, because of his close connection with
the illustrious Melchizedek, possessed great
advantage over the surrounding petty kings; they
all revered Melchizedek and unduly feared
Abraham. Abraham knew of this fear and only
awaited an opportune occasion to attack his
neighbors, and this excuse came when some of
these rulers presumed to raid the property of
his nephew Lot, who dwelt in Sodom. Upon hearing
of this, Abraham, at the head of his seven
confederated tribes, moved on the enemy. His own
bodyguard of 318 officered the army, numbering
more than 4,000, which struck at this time.
93:5.13
When Melchizedek heard of Abraham's declaration
of war, he went forth to dissuade him but only
caught up with his former disciple as he
returned victorious from the battle. Abraham
insisted that the God of Salem had given him
victory over his enemies and persisted in giving
a tenth of his spoils to the Salem treasury. The
other ninety per cent he removed to his capital
at Hebron.
93:5.14
After this battle of Siddim, Abraham became
leader of a second confederation of eleven
tribes and not only paid tithes to Melchizedek
but saw to it that all others in that vicinity
did the same. His diplomatic dealings with the
king of Sodom, together with the fear in which
he was so generally held, resulted in the king
of Sodom and others joining the Hebron military
confederation; Abraham was really well on the
way to establishing a powerful state in
Palestine.
6. MELCHIZEDEK'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM
93:6.1
Abraham envisaged the conquest of all Canaan.
His determination was only weakened by the fact
that Melchizedek would not sanction the
undertaking. But Abraham had about decided to
embark upon the enterprise when the thought that
he had no son to succeed him as ruler of this
proposed kingdom began to worry him. He arranged
another conference with Melchizedek; and it was
in the course of this interview that the priest
of Salem, the visible Son of God, persuaded
Abraham to abandon his scheme of material
conquest and temporal rule in favor of the
spiritual concept of the kingdom of heaven.
93:6.2
Melchizedek explained to Abraham the futility of
contending with the Amorite confederation but
made it equally clear that these backward clans
were certainly committing suicide by their
foolish practices so that in a few generations
they would be so weakened that the descendants
of Abraham, meanwhile greatly increased, could
easily overcome them.
93:6.3
And Melchizedek made a formal covenant with
Abraham at Salem. Said he to Abraham: "Look now
up to the heavens and number the stars if you
are able; so numerous shall your seed be." And
Abraham believed Melchizedek, "and it was
counted to him for righteousness." And then
Melchizedek told Abraham the story of the future
occupation of Canaan by his offspring after
their sojourn in Egypt.
93:6.4
This covenant of Melchizedek with Abraham
represents the great Urantian agreement between
divinity and humanity whereby God agrees to do
everything; man only agrees to
believe
God's promises and follow his instructions.
Heretofore it had been believed that salvation
could be secured only by works -- sacrifices and
offerings; now, Melchizedek again brought to
Urantia the good news that salvation, favor with
God, is to be had by
faith.
But this gospel of simple faith in God was too
advanced; the Semitic tribesmen subsequently
preferred to go back to the older sacrifices and
atonement for sin by the shedding of blood.
93:6.5
It was not long after the establishment of this
covenant that Isaac, the son of Abraham, was
born in accordance with the promise of
Melchizedek. After the birth of Isaac, Abraham
took a very solemn attitude toward his covenant
with Melchizedek, going over to Salem to have it
stated in writing. It was at this public and
formal acceptance of the covenant that he
changed his name from Abram to Abraham.
93:6.6
Most of the Salem believers had practiced
circumcision, though it had never been made
obligatory by Melchizedek. Now Abraham had
always so opposed circumcision that on this
occasion he decided to solemnize the event by
formally accepting this rite in token of the
ratification of the Salem covenant.
93:6.7
It was following this real and public surrender
of his personal ambitions in behalf of the
larger plans of Melchizedek that the three
celestial beings appeared to him on the plains
of Mamre. This was an appearance of fact,
notwithstanding its association with the
subsequently fabricated narratives relating to
the natural destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And these legends of the happenings of those
days indicate how retarded were the morals and
ethics of even so recent a time.
93:6.8
Upon the consummation of the solemn covenant,
the reconciliation between Abraham and
Melchizedek was complete. Abraham again assumed
the civil and military leadership of the Salem
colony, which at its height carried over one
hundred thousand regular tithe payers on the
rolls of the Melchizedek brotherhood. Abraham
greatly improved the Salem temple and provided
new tents for the entire school. He not only
extended the tithing system but also instituted
many improved methods of conducting the business
of the school, besides contributing greatly to
the better handling of the department of
missionary propaganda. He also did much to
effect improvement of the herds and the
reorganization of the Salem dairying projects.
Abraham was a shrewd and efficient business man,
a wealthy man for his day; he was not overly
pious, but he was thoroughly sincere, and he did
believe in Machiventa Melchizedek.
7. THE MELCHIZEDEK MISSIONARIES
93:7.1
Melchizedek continued for some years to instruct
his students and to train the Salem
missionaries, who penetrated to all the
surrounding tribes, especially to Egypt,
Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. And as the decades
passed, these teachers journeyed farther and
farther from Salem, carrying with them
Machiventa's gospel of belief and faith in God.
93:7.2
The descendants of Adamson, clustered about the
shores of the lake of Van, were willing
listeners to the Hittite teachers of the Salem
cult. From this onetime Andite center, teachers
were dispatched to the remote regions of both
Europe and Asia. Salem missionaries penetrated
all Europe, even to the British Isles. One group
went by way of the Faroes to the Andonites of
Iceland, while another traversed China and
reached the Japanese of the eastern islands. The
lives and experiences of the men and women who
ventured forth from Salem, Mesopotamia, and Lake
Van to enlighten the tribes of the Eastern
Hemisphere present a heroic chapter in the
annals of the human race.
93:7.3
But the task was so great and the tribes were so
backward that the results were vague and
indefinite. From one generation to another the
Salem gospel found lodgment here and there, but
except in Palestine, never was the idea of one
God able to claim the continued allegiance of a
whole tribe or race. Long before the coming of
Jesus the teachings of the early Salem
missionaries had become generally submerged in
the older and more universal superstitions and
beliefs. The original Melchizedek gospel had
been almost wholly absorbed in the beliefs in
the Great Mother, the Sun, and other ancient
cults.
93:7.4
You who today enjoy the advantages of the art of
printing little understand how difficult it was
to perpetuate truth during these earlier times;
how easy it was to lose sight of a new doctrine
from one generation to another. There was always
a tendency for the new doctrine to become
absorbed into the older body of religious
teaching and magical practice. A new revelation
is always contaminated by the older evolutionary
beliefs.
8. DEPARTURE OF MELCHIZEDEK
93:8.1
It was shortly after the destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah that Machiventa decided to end his
emergency bestowal on Urantia. Melchizedek's
decision to terminate his sojourn in the flesh
was influenced by numerous conditions, chief of
which was the growing tendency of the
surrounding tribes, and even of his immediate
associates, to regard him as a demigod, to look
upon him as a supernatural being, which indeed
he was; but they were beginning to reverence him
unduly and with a highly superstitious fear. In
addition to these reasons, Melchizedek wanted to
leave the scene of his earthly activities a
sufficient length of time before Abraham's death
to insure that the truth of the one and only God
would become strongly established in the minds
of his followers. Accordingly Machiventa retired
one night to his tent at Salem, having said good
night to his human companions, and when they
went to call him in the morning, he was not
there, for his fellows had taken him.
9. AFTER MELCHIZEDEK'S DEPARTURE
93:9.1
It was a great trial for Abraham when
Melchizedek so suddenly disappeared. Although he
had fully warned his followers that he must
sometime go as he had come, they were not
reconciled to the loss of their wonderful
leader. The great organization built up at Salem
nearly disappeared, though the traditions of
these days were what Moses built upon when he
led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt.
93:9.2
The loss of Melchizedek produced a sadness in
the heart of Abraham that he never fully
overcame. Hebron he had abandoned when he gave
up the ambition of building a material kingdom;
and now, upon the loss of his associate in the
building of the spiritual kingdom, he departed
from Salem, going south to live near his
interests at Gerar.
93:9.3
Abraham became fearful and timid immediately
after the disappearance of Melchizedek. He
withheld his identity upon arrival at Gerar, so
that Abimelech appropriated his wife. (Shortly
after his marriage to Sarah, Abraham one night
had overheard a plot to murder him in order to
get his brilliant wife. This dread became a
terror to the otherwise brave and daring leader;
all his life he feared that someone would kill
him secretly in order to get Sarah. And this
explains why, on three separate occasions, this
brave man exhibited real cowardice.)
93:9.4
But Abraham was not long to be deterred in his
mission as the successor of Melchizedek. Soon he
made converts among the Philistines and of
Abimelech's people, made a treaty with them,
and, in turn, became contaminated with many of
their superstitions, particularly with their
practice of sacrificing first-born sons. Thus
did Abraham again become a great leader in
Palestine. He was held in reverence by all
groups and honored by all kings. He was the
spiritual leader of all the surrounding tribes,
and his influence continued for some time after
his death. During the closing years of his life
he once more returned to Hebron, the scene of
his earlier activities and the place where he
had worked in association with Melchizedek.
Abraham's last act was to send trusty servants
to the city of his brother, Nahor, on the border
of Mesopotamia, to secure a woman of his own
people as a wife for his son Isaac. It had long
been the custom of Abraham's people to marry
their cousins. And Abraham died confident in
that faith in God which he had learned from
Melchizedek in the vanished schools of Salem.
93:9.5
It was hard for the next generation to
comprehend the story of Melchizedek; within five
hundred years many regarded the whole narrative
as a myth. Isaac held fairly well to the
teachings of his father and nourished the gospel
of the Salem colony, but it was harder for Jacob
to grasp the significance of these traditions.
Joseph was a firm believer in Melchizedek and
was, largely because of this, regarded by his
brothers as a dreamer. Joseph's honor in Egypt
was chiefly due to the memory of his
great-grandfather Abraham. Joseph was offered
military command of the Egyptian armies, but
being such a firm believer in the traditions of
Melchizedek and the later teachings of Abraham
and Isaac, he elected to serve as a civil
administrator, believing that he could thus
better labor for the advancement of the kingdom
of heaven.
93:9.6
The teaching of Melchizedek was full and
replete, but the records of these days seemed
impossible and fantastic to the later Hebrew
priests, although many had some understanding of
these transactions, at least up to the times of
the en masse editing of the Old Testament
records in Babylon.
93:9.7
What the Old Testament records describe as
conversations between Abraham and God were in
reality conferences between Abraham and
Melchizedek. Later scribes regarded the term
Melchizedek as synonymous with God. The record
of so many contacts of Abraham and Sarah with
"the angel of the Lord" refers to their numerous
visits with Melchizedek.
93:9.8
The Hebrew narratives of Isaac, Jacob, and
Joseph are far more reliable than those about
Abraham, although they also contain many
diversions from the facts, alterations made
intentionally and unintentionally at the time of
the compilation of these records by the Hebrew
priests during the Babylonian captivity. Keturah
was not a wife of Abraham; like Hagar, she was
merely a concubine. All of Abraham's property
went to Isaac, the son of Sarah, the status
wife. Abraham was not so old as the records
indicate, and his wife was much younger. These
ages were deliberately altered in order to
provide for the subsequent alleged miraculous
birth of Isaac.
93:9.9
The national ego of the Jews was tremendously
depressed by the Babylonian captivity. In their
reaction against national inferiority they swung
to the other extreme of national and racial
egotism, in which they distorted and perverted
their traditions with the view of exalting
themselves above all races as the chosen people
of God; and hence they carefully edited all
their records for the purpose of raising Abraham
and their other national leaders high up above
all other persons, not excepting Melchizedek
himself. The Hebrew scribes therefore destroyed
every record of these momentous times which they
could find, preserving only the narrative of the
meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek after the
battle of Siddim, which they deemed reflected
great honor upon Abraham.
93:9.10
And thus, in losing sight of Melchizedek, they
also lost sight of the teaching of this
emergency Son regarding the spiritual mission of
the promised bestowal Son; lost sight of the
nature of this mission so fully and completely
that very few of their progeny were able or
willing to recognize and receive Michael when he
appeared on earth and in the flesh as Machiventa
had foretold.
93:9.11
But one of the writers of the Book of Hebrews
understood the mission of Melchizedek, for it is
written: "This Melchizedek, priest of the Most
High, was also king of peace; without father,
without mother, without pedigree, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life but made like
a Son of God, he abides a priest continually."
This writer designated Melchizedek as a type of
the later bestowal of Michael, affirming that
Jesus was "a minister forever on the order of
Melchizedek." While this comparison was not
altogether fortunate, it was literally true that
Christ did receive provisional title to Urantia
"upon the orders of the twelve Melchizedek
receivers" on duty at the time of his world
bestowal.
10. PRESENT STATUS OF MACHIVENTA MELCHIZEDEK
93:10.1
During the years of Machiventa's incarnation the
Urantia Melchizedek receivers functioned as
eleven. When Machiventa considered that his
mission as an emergency Son was finished, he
signalized this fact to his eleven associates,
and they immediately made ready the technique
whereby he was to be released from the flesh and
safely restored to his original Melchizedek
status. And on the third day after his
disappearance from Salem he appeared among his
eleven fellows of the Urantia assignment and
resumed his interrupted career as one of the
planetary receivers of 606 of Satania.
93:10.2
Machiventa terminated his bestowal as a creature
of flesh and blood just as suddenly and
unceremoniously as he had begun it. Neither his
appearance nor departure were accompanied by any
unusual announcement or demonstration; neither
resurrection roll call nor ending of planetary
dispensation marked his appearance on Urantia;
his was an emergency bestowal. But Machiventa
did not end his sojourn in the flesh of human
beings until he had been duly released by the
Father Melchizedek and had been informed that
his emergency bestowal had received the approval
of the chief executive of Nebadon, Gabriel of
Salvington.
93:10.3
Machiventa Melchizedek continued to take a great
interest in the affairs of the descendants of
those men who had believed in his teachings when
he was in the flesh. But the progeny of Abraham
through Isaac as intermarried with the Kenites
were the only line which long continued to
nourish any clear concept of the Salem
teachings.
93:10.4
This same Melchizedek continued to collaborate
throughout the nineteen succeeding centuries
with the many prophets and seers, thus
endeavoring to keep alive the truths of Salem
until the fullness of the time for Michael's
appearance on earth.
93:10.5
Machiventa continued as a planetary receiver up
to the times of the triumph of Michael on
Urantia. Subsequently, he was attached to the
Urantia service on Jerusem as one of the four
and twenty directors, only just recently having
been elevated to the position of personal
ambassador on Jerusem of the Creator Son,
bearing the title Vicegerent Planetary Prince of
Urantia. It is our belief that, as long as
Urantia remains an inhabited planet, Machiventa
Melchizedek will not be fully returned to the
duties of his order of sonship but will remain,
speaking in the terms of time, forever a
planetary minister representing Christ Michael.
93:10.6
As his was an emergency bestowal on Urantia, it
does not appear from the records what
Machiventa's future may be. It may develop that
the Melchizedek corps of Nebadon have sustained
the permanent loss of one of their number.
Recent rulings handed down from the Most Highs
of Edentia, and later confirmed by the Ancients
of Days of Uversa, strongly suggest that this
bestowal Melchizedek is destined to take the
place of the fallen Planetary Prince,
Caligastia. If our conjectures in this respect
are correct, it is altogether possible that
Machiventa Melchizedek may again appear in
person on Urantia and in some modified manner
resume the role of the dethroned Planetary
Prince, or else appear on earth to function as
vicegerent Planetary Prince representing Christ
Michael, who now actually holds the title of
Planetary Prince of Urantia. While it is far
from clear to us as to what Machiventa's destiny
may be, nevertheless, events which have so
recently taken place strongly suggest that the
foregoing conjectures are probably not far from
the truth.
93:10.7
We well understand how, by his triumph on
Urantia, Michael became the successor of both
Caligastia and Adam; how he became the planetary
Prince of Peace and the second Adam. And now we
behold the conferring upon this Melchizedek of
the title Vicegerent Planetary Prince of
Urantia. Will he also be constituted Vicegerent
Material Son of Urantia? Or is there a
possibility that an unexpected and unprecedented
event is to take place, the sometime return to
the planet of Adam and Eve or certain of their
progeny as representatives of Michael with the
titles vicegerents of the second Adam of
Urantia?
93:10.8
And all these speculations associated with the
certainty of future appearances of both
Magisterial and Trinity Teacher Sons, in
conjunction with the explicit promise of the
Creator Son to return sometime, make Urantia a
planet of future uncertainty and render it one
of the most interesting and intriguing spheres
in all the universe of Nebadon. It is altogether
possible that, in some future age when Urantia
is approaching the era of light and life, after
the affairs of the Lucifer rebellion and the
Caligastia secession have been finally
adjudicated, we may witness the presence on
Urantia, simultaneously, of Machiventa, Adam,
Eve, and Christ Michael, as well as either a
Magisterial Son or even Trinity Teacher Sons.
93:10.9
It has long been the opinion of our order that
Machiventa's presence on the Jerusem corps of
Urantia directors, the four and twenty
counselors, is sufficient evidence to warrant
the belief that he is destined to follow the
mortals of Urantia on through the universe
scheme of progression and ascension even to the
Paradise Corps of the Finality. We know that
Adam and Eve are thus destined to accompany
their earth fellows on the Paradise adventure
when Urantia has become settled in light and
life.
93:10.10
Less than a thousand years ago this same
Machiventa Melchizedek, the onetime sage of
Salem, was invisibly present on Urantia for a
period of one hundred years, acting as resident
governor general of the planet; and if the
present system of directing planetary affairs
should continue, he will be due to return in the
same capacity in a little over one thousand
years.
93:10.11
This is the story of Machiventa Melchizedek, one
of the most unique of all characters ever to
become connected with the history of Urantia and
a personality who may be destined to play an
important role in the future experience of your
irregular and unusual world.
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93:10.12
Presented by a Melchizedek of Nebadon. |
Other
Information about Machiventa Melchizedek
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51:3.9
Your world has been visited by
four orders of sonship:
Caligastia, the Planetary
Prince; Adam and Eve of the
Material Sons of God; Machiventa
Melchizedek, the "sage of Salem"
in the days of Abraham; and
Christ Michael, who came as the
Paradise bestowal Son. How much
more effective and beautiful it
would have been had Michael, the
supreme ruler of the universe of
Nebadon, been welcomed to your
world by a loyal and efficient
Planetary Prince and a devoted
and successful Material Son,
both of whom could have done so
much to enhance the lifework and
mission of the bestowal Son! But
not all worlds have been so
unfortunate as Urantia, neither
has the mission of the Planetary
Adams always been so difficult
or so hazardous. When they are
successful, they contribute to
the development of a great
people, continuing as the
visible heads of planetary
affairs even far into the age
when such a world is settled in
light and life.
43:5.17
When Machiventa Melchizedek
ministered in semimaterial form
on Urantia, he paid respectful
homage to the Most High observer
then on duty, as it is written,
"And Melchizedek, king of Salem,
was the priest of the Most
High." Melchizedek revealed the
relations of this Most High
observer to Abraham when he
said, "And blessed be the Most
High, who has delivered your
enemies into your hand."
45:4.16
14.
Machiventa Melchizedek,
the only Son of this order to
bestow himself upon the Urantia
races. While still numbered as a
Melchizedek, he has become
"forever a minister of the Most
Highs," eternally assuming the
assignment of service as a
mortal ascender, having
sojourned on Urantia in the
likeness of mortal flesh at
Salem in the days of Abraham.
This Melchizedek has latterly
been proclaimed vicegerent
Planetary Prince of Urantia with
headquarters on Jerusem and
authority to act in behalf of
Michael, who is actually the
Planetary Prince of the world
whereon he experienced his
terminal bestowal in human form.
Notwithstanding this, Urantia is
still supervised by successive
resident governors general,
members of the four and twenty
counselors.
53:9.4
Satan
could come to Urantia because
you had no Son of standing in
residence -- neither Planetary
Prince nor Material Son.
Machiventa Melchizedek has since
been proclaimed vicegerent
Planetary Prince of Urantia, and
the opening of the case of
Gabriel vs. Lucifer has
signalized the inauguration of
temporary planetary regimes on
all the isolated worlds. It is
true that Satan did periodically
visit Caligastia and others of
the fallen princes right up to
the time of the presentation of
these revelations, when there
occurred the first hearing of
Gabriel's plea for the
annihilation of the archrebels.
Satan is now unqualifiedly
detained on the Jerusem prison
worlds.
55:7.3
When such an era is attained on
your world, no doubt Machiventa
Melchizedek, now the vicegerent
Planetary Prince of Urantia,
will occupy the seat of the
Planetary Sovereign; and it has
long been conjectured on Jerusem
that he will be accompanied by a
son and daughter of the Urantia
Adam and Eve who are now held on
Edentia as wards of the Most
Highs of Norlatiadek. These
children of Adam might so serve
on Urantia in association with
the Melchizedek-Sovereign since
they were deprived of
procreative powers almost 37,000
years ago at the time they gave
up their material bodies on
Urantia in preparation for
transit to Edentia.
76:5.6
The
supermaterial government of
Urantia, under the direction of
the Melchizedeks, continued, but
direct physical contact with the
evolutionary races had been
severed. From the distant days
of the arrival of the corporeal
staff of the Planetary Prince,
down through the times of Van
and Amadon to the arrival of
Adam and Eve, physical
representatives of the universe
government had been stationed on
the planet. But with the Adamic
default this regime, extending
over a period of more than four
hundred and fifty thousand
years, came to an end. In the
spiritual spheres, angelic
helpers continued to struggle in
conjunction with the Thought
Adjusters, both working
heroically for the salvage of
the individual; but no
comprehensive plan for
far-reaching world welfare was
promulgated to the mortals of
earth until the arrival of
Machiventa Melchizedek, in the
times of Abraham, who, with the
power, patience, and authority
of a Son of God, did lay the
foundations for the further
uplift and spiritual
rehabilitation of unfortunate
Urantia.
92:5.7
2.
Era of the Melchizedek
missionaries. Urantia
religion was in no small measure
regenerated by the efforts of
those teachers who were
commissioned by Machiventa
Melchizedek when he lived and
taught at Salem almost two
thousand years before Christ.
These missionaries proclaimed
faith as the price of favor with
God, and their teachings, though
unproductive of any immediately
appearing religions,
nevertheless formed the
foundations on which later
teachers of truth were to build
the religions of Urantia.
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