Paper 119 Overview: The Bestowals of Christ Michael

Michael of Nebadon, our Universe Creator, completed a series of seven bestowals during which he lived as different types of beings in his universe to gain firsthand experience of their lives and perspectives. These bestowals served both as educational experiences for Michael himself and as prerequisites for earning full sovereignty over his universe, allowing him to become a more just, merciful, and understanding ruler. Each bestowal revealed a different aspect of deity nature, with his final bestowal as Jesus of Nazareth on Urantia completing his requirement to earn supreme sovereignty.

Beginning about one billion years ago and spanning across vast epochs of time, Michael successively lived as a Melchizedek, a Lanonandek System Sovereign, a Material Son on a troubled world, a seraphic counselor, an ascending spirit mortal on Uversa, a morontia mortal in the fifth constellation, and finally as Jesus of Nazareth on our planet. After completing these seven bestowals, Michael returned to Salvington where he was recognized as the supreme sovereign of Nebadon by both the Ancients of Days and the Universal Father, establishing him as the undisputed ruler with full authority over his creation.

This paper is presented by Gavalia, Chief of the Evening Stars of Nebadon, who was assigned by Gabriel to reveal the story of Michael's seven bestowals as Universe Sovereign. The attribute of bestowal is inherent in the Paradise Sons of the Universal Father, who desire to gain firsthand experience of their subordinate creatures' lives. This practice began with the Eternal Son of the Paradise Trinity, who bestowed himself seven times on the circuits of Havona during the time of the first pilgrims from time and space.

When a Creator Son like Michael is given responsibility for a local universe, he takes an oath to the eternal Trinity not to assume full sovereignty until completing and having certified seven creature bestowals. These incarnations help Creator Sons become wise, sympathetic, just, and understanding sovereigns who truly comprehend the nature and challenges of the beings they have created. While these bestowals bring many incidental benefits to various worlds and beings, their primary purpose is to complete the personal training and universe education of the Creator Son himself, preparing him for fair and merciful administration of his creation.

About one billion years ago, Michael announced to the assembled directors and chiefs of Nebadon that his brother Immanuel would temporarily assume authority while he departed on an unexplained mission. After a farewell broadcast that included instructions to the Constellation Fathers placing them under Immanuel's care, Michael disappeared from Salvington's dispatching field and did not return for twenty standard years. Only the Divine Minister and Immanuel knew what was happening, with Immanuel sharing the secret only with Gabriel, the Bright Morning Star.

Three days after Michael's departure, a communication from the Melchizedek sphere reported the appearance of a strange Melchizedek Son who was not one of their number but resembled their order. This visitor, accompanied by an omniaphim bearing credentials from Uversa, was assigned to emergency service among the Melchizedeks of Nebadon. Records on the Melchizedek world later revealed that this unique Melchizedek served on twenty-four emergency missions during his hundred-year stay, earning the love and admiration of his fellow Melchizedeks through his wisdom and devotion to duty. Though the records don't explicitly state it, it is universally believed that this mysterious Melchizedek was Michael himself on his first bestowal mission.

Nearly 150 million years after the Melchizedek bestowal, trouble developed in system 11 of constellation 37 when a Lanonandek Son, a System Sovereign named Lutentia, led one of the most widespread and disastrous rebellions against Michael's sovereignty in Nebadon's history. After Lutentia had ruled supreme on his headquarters planet for more than twenty years, the Most Highs with approval from Uversa ordered his segregation and requested a new System Sovereign from Salvington. Michael again announced his temporary departure, placing Immanuel in charge and vanishing from Salvington.

Three days later, a new and unknown Lanonandek Son appeared among the reserve corps, bearing credentials from the Uversa Ancients of Days that designated him as Lutentia's successor and acting System Sovereign of the troubled system. For more than seventeen years, this temporary ruler administered affairs and wisely resolved difficulties in the demoralized system, offering even the rebellious Lutentia the privilege of sharing the system throne if he would apologize for his actions. When a permanent System Sovereign was eventually appointed, the inhabitants of Palonia mourned the departure of this benevolent ruler, who was later revealed to be Michael experiencing life as a Lanonandek System Sovereign and learning firsthand the challenges of dealing with rebellion.

Michael's third bestowal began when the Life Carriers on planet 217 in system 87 requested assistance with a Material Son for their world. This planet was in a system where another System Sovereign had rebelled—the second such rebellion in Nebadon's history. After placing universe direction in Immanuel's hands and entrusting the celestial forces to Gabriel, Michael vanished from Salvington's dispatching field as he had done twice before.

Three days later, a strange Material Son appeared unannounced on the headquarters world of system 87, accompanied by a seconaphim accredited by the Uversa Ancients of Days. The acting System Sovereign appointed this mysterious visitor as the acting Planetary Prince of world 217, and the Most Highs confirmed this designation. For one whole generation of planetary time, this emergency Material Son worked alone on a quarantined, rebellious planet with no direct communication to the outside universe, successfully effecting the repentance and reclamation of the defaulting Planetary Prince and restoring the planet to loyal service. When regular Material Son and Daughter rulers arrived, the emergency Planetary Prince departed, and Michael soon reappeared on Salvington as the superuniverse broadcasts announced the further advancement of his sovereignty.

For his fourth bestowal, Michael again placed the government of Nebadon in the hands of Immanuel and Gabriel during one of the periodic millennial roll calls of Uversa. Three days after Michael's disappearance, the universe broadcasts to Uversa reported the unannounced arrival of an unknown seraphim accompanied by a solitary supernaphim and Gabriel. This unregistered seraphim was assigned to the corps of teaching counselors in Nebadon after testing as belonging to the supreme order of angels.

Michael remained absent from Salvington for over forty standard universe years during this seraphic bestowal. He served as a seraphic teaching counselor—essentially a private secretary—to twenty-six different master teachers across twenty-two different worlds. His final assignment was as counselor to a Trinity Teacher Son on world 462 in system 84 of constellation 3. Throughout his seven years in this last assignment, the Trinity Teacher Son never fully recognized his seraphic associate's true identity, though all supreme seraphim were regarded with special attention during this time in case one of them was actually their universe Sovereign in disguise.

More than 300 million years ago, Michael transferred universe authority to Immanuel again and announced that his destination was Uversa, the superuniverse headquarters. Although the superuniverse broadcasts made no mention of Michael's arrival at the courts of the Ancients of Days, they did report the appearance of an unannounced and unnumbered ascendant pilgrim of mortal origin from Nebadon, certified by Immanuel and accompanied by Gabriel. This mysterious being, known on Uversa as Eventod, lived and functioned there as a spirit mortal for eleven years of Orvonton standard time.

On Salvington, Michael's subordinates followed this spirit pilgrim's career with intense interest, knowing from Gabriel's presence that this unassuming spirit was actually their universe ruler. This was Michael's first appearance incarnated as a stage of mortal evolution, thrilling all of Nebadon despite occurring far from their local universe. Eventod advanced with a group of ascending mortals to Havona, then held a conversation with the Ancients of Days before departing unceremoniously with Gabriel and reappearing on Salvington. This fifth bestowal led the Melchizedek colleges to begin teaching about the possibility of Michael eventually incarnating as a mortal of flesh and blood on an evolutionary world.

For his sixth bestowal, Michael gathered the sojourners on Salvington and, for the first time, revealed the remainder of his incarnation plan, announcing that his seventh and final bestowal would take place on an evolutionary world in the likeness of mortal flesh. After addressing the assembled inhabitants, he departed in full view accompanied by a lone seraphim and the Bright and Morning Star of Nebadon, leaving Immanuel in charge with a wider distribution of administrative responsibilities.

Michael appeared on the headquarters of constellation five as a full-fledged morontia mortal of ascending status named Endantum. Though the details of this morontia mortal's career remain restricted, it was described as one of the most extraordinary and amazing epochs in Michael's bestowal experience. After completing this bestowal, it became clear to everyone that their Creator had truly become a fellow creature and sympathetic helper even to the lowest forms of created intelligence. When Michael returned, millions of beings from across Nebadon gathered to welcome him, and in response to their addresses, he simply stated: "I have been about my Father's business. I am only doing the pleasure of the Paradise Sons who love and crave to understand their creatures."

For tens of thousands of years, the entire universe of Nebadon looked forward to Michael's seventh and final bestowal. Though Gabriel had taught that this terminal bestowal would be made in the likeness of mortal flesh, the time and place remained unknown until the public announcement that Michael had selected Urantia as his final bestowal location. This announcement came shortly after the default of Adam and Eve, putting Urantia in a prominent position in universe councils for more than thirty-five thousand years, with full publicity throughout the universe about all events connected with this bestowal.

While everyone expected Michael would appear as a fully developed adult as in previous bestowals, it was a thrilling announcement when Salvington broadcasted that the babe of Bethlehem had been born on Urantia. This step was particularly precarious as Michael risked his position and authority by appearing as a helpless infant, yet this final bestowal would ultimately establish him as the undisputed sovereign of Nebadon. Joshua ben Joseph (Jesus) was born just like any other baby, with the only supernatural event being an announcement to Chaldean priests by seraphim formerly attached to Adam and Eve. For the next thirty-three years, all eyes in Nebadon were focused on Urantia, watching as their Creator lived among humans and completed his bestowal mission.

After Michael's successful final bestowal on Urantia, he was recognized by the Ancients of Days as the sovereign ruler of Nebadon and by the Universal Father as the established director of his local universe. Upon his return to Salvington, he received the eighth proclamation of his sovereignty from Uversa, along with a joint pronouncement from the Universal Father and Eternal Son constituting him the sole head of the universe. The Paradise Trinity's representatives were instructed to withdraw from their counseling positions, but Michael requested that the Trinity Sons remain on duty in Nebadon, which they chose to do after receiving permission from Paradise.

Michael's bestowal career required nearly one billion years of Urantia time to complete and firmly establish his supreme authority in his created universe. Through these bestowals, Michael not only established his own sovereignty but also augmented the evolving sovereignty of God the Supreme, revealing different aspects of Paradise Deity will in each bestowal. The completion of these seven bestowals resulted in the liberation of Michael's supreme sovereignty and created a new Nebadon revelation of the Supreme Being. Urantia has become the sentimental shrine of all Nebadon—the mortal home of Christ Michael and the world of his terminal bestowal—and as your records state, this same Jesus has promised to someday return to the world of his final bestowal.