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The 5th Epochal Revelation
-The Urantia Papers
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.
93:10.12
Presented by a Melchizedek of Nebadon.
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