Paper 121 Overview: The Times of Michael's Bestowal

The bestowal of Michael on Urantia occurred during a uniquely opportune historical period that provided optimal conditions for the dissemination of his teachings throughout the civilized world. The convergence of Greco-Roman civilization—characterized by cultural and linguistic unity through Hellenism, political stability through Roman governance, and extensive transportation infrastructure—with the strategic dispersion of Judaism throughout the Mediterranean world created an unprecedented environment for spiritual transformation. This remarkable synchronicity of cultural, political, and religious factors established a foundation upon which the subsequent Christian movement could effectively build.

The intellectual and spiritual climate of the first century further enhanced these favorable conditions. Greek philosophical traditions had cultivated sophisticated ethical frameworks and theological concepts that resonated with higher religious thinking. Simultaneously, the exhaustion of traditional pagan religions and the rising popularity of mystery cults demonstrated humanity's intensifying hunger for personal religious experience and individual salvation. Judaism's monotheistic tradition, with its emphasis on moral conduct and prophetic expectations, provided the essential religious matrix from which Jesus' message could emerge and subsequently transcend its cultural origins to embrace a universal perspective that incorporated elements from Jewish morality, Greek philosophy, and Roman legal concepts within a framework of spiritual liberation.

Acting under the supervision of a twelve-member commission of the United Brotherhood of Urantia Midwayers, jointly sponsored by their presiding head and the Melchizedek of record, the secondary midwayer once attached to the Apostle Andrew presents this authorized narrative of Jesus of Nazareth's life transactions. The narrator explains that these events were observed by the order of midway creatures and subsequently recorded by the human subject of his temporal guardianship. The introduction establishes the authoritative nature of the account while acknowledging its connection to firsthand observation.

Understanding how meticulously Jesus avoided leaving written records, Andrew steadfastly refused to multiply copies of his written narrative of Jesus' life and teachings. This reluctance to produce and distribute written accounts was similarly exhibited by the other apostles, which significantly delayed the composition of what would later become the Gospel narratives. This contextual information explains why contemporary documentation of Jesus' life was limited and clarifies the relationship between the midwayers' observations, Andrew's records, and the eventual Gospel accounts that would emerge decades after Jesus' death.

Jesus' advent on Urantia coincided not with a period of spiritual decadence, but rather during an unprecedented revival of spiritual thinking and religious living. This era presented the most favorable conditions for the Creator Son's bestowal that had either previously existed or has since transpired in planetary history. The preceding centuries had witnessed the widespread dissemination of Greek culture and language throughout the Occident and near Orient, while the Jewish people—being a Levantine race with both Occidental and Oriental characteristics—were uniquely positioned to utilize these cultural and linguistic advantages for effectively propagating a new religious perspective. This fortuitous cultural convergence was further enhanced by the tolerant political administration of the Mediterranean world under Roman governance.

This remarkable confluence of favorable circumstances is exemplified by Paul's missionary activities. Though culturally a "Hebrew of the Hebrews," Paul proclaimed the gospel of a Jewish Messiah in the Greek language while exercising the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship. European civilization of this period exhibited unprecedented unification through three significant influences: the Roman political and social systems, which provided stability and infrastructure; the Greek language, culture, and philosophical traditions, which offered intellectual frameworks and common discourse; and the rapidly expanding influence of Jewish religious and moral teachings, which contributed ethical depth and monotheistic understanding. When Jesus was born, the Mediterranean world functioned as an integrated empire with unprecedented interconnectivity through well-maintained roads linking major centers. Maritime commerce flourished due to suppression of piracy, inaugurating an era of travel and trade unparalleled until the nineteenth century after Christ.

Despite the superficial prosperity and internal peace of the Greco-Roman world, profound social inequalities persisted. The small privileged class enjoyed considerable wealth, while the majority of the population endured poverty and deprivation. The middle class, which would later become crucial for early Christianity's development, was only beginning to emerge as a distinct social stratum. Nevertheless, Palestine and Syria during Jesus' time experienced relative peace and prosperity, benefiting from extensive commercial relationships with lands both east and west of their borders.

The Jewish people constituted a significant segment of the ancient Semitic race and had attained considerable influence among Semitic peoples during the early first century after Christ. Their strategic geographical positioning within the Roman Empire proved exceptionally advantageous for cultural and religious dissemination. Major highways connecting the ancient world traversed Palestine, transforming the region into a nexus where three continents converged. Caravan routes from the Orient regularly passed through this area en route to Mediterranean seaports, from which vessels transported goods throughout the western maritime regions. This geographical advantage positioned the Jewish people at the crossroads of international commerce and cultural exchange.

The dispersion of Jewish communities throughout the Roman and Parthian states further enhanced their influence beyond their Palestinian homeland. While Greece contributed a sophisticated language and culture, and Rome established an integrated network of roads and administrative unity, the dispersed Jewish communities—with over two hundred synagogues and well-organized religious centers throughout the Roman world—provided crucial cultural centers where the new gospel could initially find receptive audiences before expanding to "the uttermost parts of the world." Each synagogue accommodated peripheral communities of gentile believers, designated as "devout" or "God-fearing" individuals, who formed the primary demographic from which Paul recruited early Christian converts. The centralization of Jewish temple worship in Jerusalem simultaneously preserved their monotheistic tradition and established the foundation for disseminating an expanded concept of the one God as the universal Father of all humanity.

The Jewish people during this period maintained a degree of autonomy under Roman oversight, which fostered nationalistic aspirations nurtured by memories of the Maccabean revolt. This political arrangement was strategically maintained by Rome to secure control of vital trade routes between Syria and Egypt while preventing the rise of competing regional powers. The Jews interpreted this political independence as evidence of divine favor, reinforcing their concept of being the "chosen people" under Yahweh's direct intervention. This perspective of racial superiority complicated their acceptance of Roman authority and obscured their comprehension that their true world mission was spiritual rather than political in nature.

The social and economic conditions of the Roman state, while not exemplary, provided sufficient domestic peace and prosperity to create favorable circumstances for Michael's bestowal. First-century Mediterranean society was stratified into five distinct social categories that defined the socioeconomic landscape of Jesus' world. The aristocracy constituted the privileged upper classes who wielded political power and enjoyed substantial wealth. The commercial sector comprised merchant princes, bankers, traders, and international merchants who controlled economic resources. The small but developing middle class, which would later form the moral foundation of the early Christian church, included skilled craftsmen and trades people. Below them were the free proletariat who, despite their legal freedom, competed disadvantageously with slave labor and received little social recognition. Finally, slaves constituted approximately half the empire's population, ranging from highly competent individuals to those of inferior capabilities.

Slavery represented an entrenched institution within Roman society, particularly following military conquests, with masters exercising unlimited authority over their human property. Nevertheless, the system allowed for certain social mobility, as capable slaves often received wages and could eventually purchase their freedom through accumulated savings. Many emancipated slaves subsequently achieved prominent positions in government, religious institutions, and commercial enterprises. This potential for advancement partially explains the early Christian church's tolerance toward this modified form of servitude rather than advocating for its immediate abolition. Social consciousness regarding class distinctions was notably underdeveloped in the Roman Empire, with most individuals accepting their hereditary social status without questioning its fundamental justice. Christianity initially emerged not as a socioeconomic reform movement aimed at ameliorating material conditions for disadvantaged populations, but rather as a spiritual message of personal salvation and moral transformation.

Women throughout the Roman Empire generally experienced greater freedom than their counterparts in the restricted environment of Palestine. However, the Jewish culture distinguished itself through stronger family devotion and natural affection that transcended typical gentile domestic relationships. This familial strength would prove significant in shaping Jesus' understanding of human relationships and his teaching methods, which frequently employed family metaphors to illustrate spiritual concepts.

The gentile populations, while morally somewhat less developed than their Jewish contemporaries, possessed sufficient innate goodness and potential for human affection to provide fertile ground for Christianity's ethical and spiritual teachings. The prevailing intellectual climate of the gentile world was dominated by four major philosophical traditions, each deriving substantially from the earlier Platonic tradition of Greek thought. These philosophical frameworks structured gentile understanding of existence and provided conceptual foundations that would later interact with and influence the development of Christian theology as it expanded beyond its Jewish origins.

The Epicurean philosophy dedicated itself to the pursuit of happiness, though its more refined adherents avoided the sensual excesses commonly associated with the movement. This philosophical approach liberated many Romans from fatalistic perspectives by emphasizing human agency in improving terrestrial conditions. Similarly, it combated superstition through rational inquiry, though it tended toward materialistic explanations. Stoicism represented the most sophisticated philosophical system embraced by the educated classes, teaching that a governing Reason-Fate pervaded and directed all natural phenomena. Stoics conceived the human soul as divine but imprisoned within the physical body, with virtue achieved through harmony with nature and with God. Though they professed divine lineage, they failed to establish personal relationship with the Divine. Their ethical system developed sublime moral standards never subsequently surpassed by purely human philosophical frameworks, influencing Paul's perspective as evidenced in his statement: "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

Cynicism, while tracing its philosophical lineage to Diogenes of Athens, incorporated elements derived from Machiventa Melchizedek's earlier teachings on Urantia. Unlike other philosophical schools, Cynicism functioned more as a religious movement than a purely intellectual tradition, promoting its teachings through public discourse rather than exclusive academic settings. Cynics preached simplicity, virtue, and fearlessness before death, making their philosophical precepts accessible to ordinary people through public demonstration and exhortation. These wandering Cynic teachers prepared populations for subsequent Christian missionary activities by establishing patterns of public philosophical instruction similar to Paul's later epistolary approach. In contrast, Skepticism maintained a purely negative philosophical stance by asserting the fallibility of knowledge and the impossibility of certainty. This orientation never gained widespread acceptance, remaining primarily a philosophical position rather than a life philosophy. These philosophical traditions, while intellectually stimulating and often ethically elevating, primarily attracted the educated and privileged classes rather than offering universal salvation accessible to disadvantaged populations.

Throughout preceding historical epochs, religion predominantly functioned as a collective tribal or national concern rather than addressing individual spiritual needs. Divine entities were conceptualized as tribal or national patrons with limited personal significance for average adherents. Such religious systems provided minimal satisfaction for individual spiritual aspirations that transcended group identity and traditional practices. By Jesus' time, however, significant transformations in religious consciousness were underway, laying groundwork for more personally meaningful religious expressions.

The Occidental religious landscape during Jesus' era encompassed diverse traditions reflective of cultural and historical developments. Traditional pagan cults synthesized Hellenic and Latin mythologies with patriotic sentiment and cultural traditions. Emperor worship, which deified human leadership as emblematic of state authority, generated particular resistance from both Jewish and Christian communities, eventually precipitating systematic persecution of these monotheistic faiths by Roman authorities. Astrological beliefs, originating from Babylonian traditions, permeated Greco-Roman culture so thoroughly that their influence persisted well into the twentieth century. Most significantly, various mystery religions from the Levant attracted considerable followings among common people by promising individualized salvation experiences. These mystery cults gained particular traction among populations seeking more personal religious experiences than traditional state religions could provide.

The mystery religions effectively signaled the decline of nationalistic religious systems and catalyzed the emergence of personal spiritual practices centered on individual transformation rather than collective identity. Although diverse in specific practices, these mystery traditions shared common characteristics: they typically revolved around mythological narratives (often involving divine death and resurrection), transcended national and racial boundaries, established fraternal organizations with elaborately ritualized initiation ceremonies, and promised personal salvation and postmortem happiness to adherents. While these mystery religions inadequately fulfilled humanity's spiritual needs, they demonstrated the widespread hunger for personal religious experience and prepared receptive minds for Jesus' subsequent teachings about spiritual sustenance and salvation. Christianity, even in Paul's adapted version, surpassed these mystery traditions by offering moral redemption rather than ritualistic enchantment, addressing the human problem of sin rather than merely promising escape from suffering, and grounding its message in historical reality rather than mythological narratives.

By the conclusion of the first century before Christ, Jerusalem's religious thought had undergone significant transformation through extensive exposure to Greek cultural influences and philosophical concepts. In the protracted intellectual contest between Eastern (Babylonian) and Western (Hellenistic) interpretations of Hebrew thought, Jerusalem and surrounding Occidental regions predominantly adopted the Hellenized perspective. This cultural-religious synthesis was facilitated by linguistic diversity in Palestine during Jesus' era, where three languages functioned within different societal spheres: the common population communicated in Aramaic dialects, religious authorities employed Hebrew in official contexts, and educated classes primarily used Greek for intellectual discourse.

The translation of Hebrew scriptures into Greek at Alexandria profoundly influenced Judaism's subsequent theological development. This cultural milestone significantly contributed to the predominance of Hellenized interpretations of Jewish tradition and theology. This cultural orientation ultimately determined the westward rather than eastward trajectory of Paul's Christian movement. Hellenized Jewish theological perspectives incorporated elements from Epicurean thought, Platonic philosophy, and Stoic self-disciplinary doctrines. The Fourth Book of the Maccabees exemplifies Stoic influence, while the Wisdom of Solomon demonstrates the integration of both Platonic philosophy and Stoic principles. This synthesis of Greek philosophical frameworks with traditional Hebrew theology created interpretive challenges that Philo of Alexandria ultimately addressed by developing a harmonized and systematic approach to religious belief and practice. This integrated system of Greek philosophy and Hebrew theology, prevalent in Palestine during Jesus' lifetime, provided the foundation upon which Paul subsequently constructed his more advanced and enlightened understanding of Christianity.

Philo of Alexandria exercised tremendous influence on the ethical and religious development of Western thought, comparable only to Moses in his cultural impact. He stands among seven exceptional human teachers who successfully integrated the most valuable elements from contemporaneous ethical and religious systems: Sethard, Moses, Zoroaster, Lao-tse, Buddha, Philo, and Paul. While Paul recognized and wisely eliminated many inconsistencies in Philo's attempt to reconcile Greek mystical philosophy and Roman Stoicism with Hebrew legalistic theology, he failed to fully transcend Philo's understanding in one significant area—the doctrine of atonement. Philo glimpsed more clearly than Paul the reality and presence of the Thought Adjusters, while Paul's concepts of original sin, hereditary guilt, and redemption through blood sacrifice derived partially from Mithraic influences rather than Hebrew theology, Philonic philosophy, or Jesus' teachings.

By Jesus' time, the Jewish people had developed firmly established conceptions regarding their origins, historical development, and ultimate destiny. They had constructed an impenetrable barrier between themselves and the gentile world, regarding non-Jewish customs with absolute contempt. Their religious practice centered on rigid adherence to the letter of the law, reinforced by an exaggerated pride in ancestral heritage. Their preconceived notions concerning the promised Messiah predominantly envisioned a figure who would fulfill national and racial aspirations rather than introduce spiritual transformation. To the typical Hebrew of this period, Jewish theological understanding was considered permanently established and immutably fixed.

Jesus' teachings concerning tolerance and compassion toward all peoples fundamentally contradicted the Jews' long-established exclusionary attitudes toward non-Jewish populations. For generations, Jews had cultivated an orientation toward the outside world that rendered them incapable of accepting the Master's teachings regarding the spiritual brotherhood of humanity. They resisted sharing Yahweh with gentiles on equal terms and rejected the divine sonship of one who taught such revolutionary and inclusive doctrines. The religious establishment—scribes, Pharisees, and priesthood—maintained oppressive control over the Jewish population through ritualistic observances and legalistic interpretations. This religious bondage imposed greater actual limitations on Jewish life than Roman political authority, as these regulations pervaded and dominated every aspect of personal and social existence.

Consequently, these circumstances rendered it impossible for the Jewish people to fulfill their divine purpose as messengers of a new gospel of religious freedom and spiritual liberation. They found themselves unable to break free from the constraints of tradition. Despite prophetic voices like Jeremiah speaking of "law written in men's hearts," Ezekiel describing a "new spirit to live in man's soul," and the Psalmist praying for a "clean heart" and "renewed spirit," the Jewish religious system—focused on good works and legal compliance—became stagnant through traditionalism. As a result, the momentum of religious evolution shifted westward to European populations, who would carry forward a theological system incorporating Greek philosophical insight, Roman legal principles, Hebrew moral understanding, and Jesus' gospel of personality sanctity and spiritual freedom.

In fulfilling the commission to restate the teachings and recount the activities of Jesus of Nazareth, the authors have utilized all available sources of information consistent with their mandate. Beyond accessing the lost record of the Apostle Andrew and benefiting from collaboration with numerous celestial beings present during Michael's bestowal (particularly his now Personalized Adjuster), they have appropriately incorporated material from the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This methodological approach combines unique spiritual insights with historical documentation to provide a comprehensive narrative of Jesus' life and ministry.

These New Testament records originated under specific historical circumstances that influenced their content and perspective. Mark's Gospel, composed first (except for Andrew's notes) at Peter's instigation for the Roman church, presents the most concise and straightforward account, portraying Jesus primarily as a minister among men. Though Mark witnessed many scenes he depicts, his narrative essentially represents Peter's perspective. The Gospel attributed to Matthew was actually written by his disciple Isador, who utilized Matthew's personal recollections and a record of Jesus' sayings compiled after the crucifixion. This Gospel, intended for Jewish Christians, emphasizes Jesus' fulfillment of prophetic expectations and portrays him as descended from David and respectful toward Jewish law and prophetic traditions. Luke, a gentile physician converted through Paul's ministry, composed a distinctly different account emphasizing Jesus as "the friend of publicans and sinners" and highlighting the "grace of the Lord Jesus Christ." Using multiple sources including eyewitness interviews, portions of Mark's Gospel, Isador's narrative, and notes attributed to Andrew, Luke created his account around 82 CE in Achaia.

The Gospel according to John, though not directly authored by the son of Zebedee, was inspired by him and records much of Jesus' activity in Judea omitted from the synoptic accounts. John encouraged his associate Nathan, a Greek Jew from Caesarea, to begin this composition in 101 CE, providing material from memory and referencing existing Gospel accounts. Despite their limitations, these records presented authentic portrayals of Jesus as each writer "saw, remembered, or had learned of him," though their perspectives were influenced by their subsequent adoption of Pauline theological interpretations. Notwithstanding their imperfections, these narratives have profoundly altered Urantia's historical trajectory for nearly two millennia, demonstrating their enduring spiritual and cultural significance beyond their historical accuracy.