Paper 77 Overview: The Midway Creatures

Midway creatures exist on most inhabited worlds in Nebadon, functioning at a level between mortals and angels, and are essential to the planetary ministry. On Urantia, two distinct orders of midwayers have emerged throughout planetary history: the primary corps originating during the Dalamatia period, and the secondary group arising during Adam's time, each with unique origins and characteristics. Both groups have experienced division during the planetary rebellion, with portions remaining loyal while others rebelled against the universe government.

The loyal midwayers now function as a united corps of 10,992 beings serving as permanent citizens of Urantia, working in harmony with celestial beings to assist both spiritual and physical realms. They perform vital roles as messengers, planetary sentinels, contact personalities between realms, and progress helpers to various angelic orders, all while maintaining detailed records of planetary history that bridge the generational gaps in human knowledge. Their continued presence provides stability across changing planetary administrations and they remain dedicated to Urantia's evolutionary progress toward light and life.

Most inhabited worlds in the local universe of Nebadon host one or more groups of unique beings that function at a level approximately midway between mortals and angels, appropriately named midway creatures. Though they appear to be an unexpected development in the cosmic plan, these beings have proven so valuable as planetary helpers that they are now recognized as an essential order in the combined planetary ministry.

On Urantia, two distinct orders of midwayers are actively functioning: the primary or senior corps, whose origin dates back to the days of Dalamatia (the first civilization), and the secondary or younger group, which emerged during the time of Adam. These two groups have different origins but serve complementary functions in the spiritual economy of the planet.

The primary midwayers originated through a unique interassociation of material and spiritual elements specific to Urantia, though similar beings exist on other worlds through different mechanisms. This development occurred because the 100 corporeal members of Prince Caligastia's staff, who were originally morontia citizens of Jerusem but became material beings on Urantia, discovered they could produce offspring through a supermaterial (nonsexual) connection between male and female staff members.

After observing the usefulness of the first 50 midway creatures, the Planetary Prince authorized unrestricted reproduction of these beings, resulting in exactly 50,000 primary midwayers. Each couple produced 1,000 midwayers before their reproductive power mysteriously ceased, and these beings served as the intelligence corps of the Prince's administration. They explored the planet, observed the developing races, and provided invaluable service until the planetary rebellion, when just over four-fifths of them sided with Caligastia, while the loyal remainder served under the Melchizedek receivers and Van's leadership.

Understanding the secondary midwayers requires examining what happened to the rebellious members of the Prince's corporeal staff, who became ancestors of the Nodite race. The physical members of the Prince's staff were created as sex beings to participate in a genetic plan involving the Andon tribes and eventually Adam and Eve, with the goal of producing teacher-rulers for human society.

After the rebellion, the 60 staff members who followed Nod engaged in sexual reproduction with early humans, producing offspring of surprisingly superior qualities. Their descendants, the Nodites, possessed enhanced physical, intellectual, and spiritual capacities due to changes in their chromosomal patterns caused by the life-maintenance circuits of Satania. These Nodites initially lived much longer than ordinary humans, which explains ancient records of extremely long-lived kings, though their lifespan gradually decreased through interbreeding with evolutionary races.

Approximately 50,000 years after Nod's death, his descendants had become too numerous to sustain themselves in the region surrounding their city of Dilmun, and were increasingly intermixed with neighboring tribes. A leader named Bablot proposed constructing an impressive temple of racial glorification and new city center, which later became known as Babel.

Serious disagreement arose among the Nodites regarding the purpose of this tower, with three competing viewpoints: the largest group wanted it as a memorial to Nodite history and racial superiority; the second faction envisioned it as a monument to the Dilmun culture and future commercial center; while the smallest group advocated dedicating it to the worship of the Father of all. This dispute escalated into violent conflict when the religious minority fled and the remaining factions fought until nearly destroying each other, effectively scattering the Nodite peoples and preventing them from establishing a pre-Adamic civilization.

The conflict over the tower of Babel resulted in the dispersion of the Nodites, significantly reducing their numbers and hindering their cultural development for over 120,000 years until it was enhanced by Adamic influence. Despite this setback, four major Nodite centers were established following the Bablot conflict, each with distinct characteristics and evolutionary paths.

These centers included: the western or Syrian Nodites, who contributed significantly to the later Assyrian stock; the eastern or Elamite Nodites, who focused on culture and commerce and eventually blended with the Sangik tribes; the central or pre-Sumerian Nodites near the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, who maintained greater racial purity and later joined with Adamites to create the Sumerian civilization; and the northern Nodites and Amadonites (Vanites) who settled around Lake Van, preserving traditions about Van and Amadon. The Sumerians appeared suddenly in history with an advanced civilization because they descended from these ancient Nodite populations combined with Adamic influence.

Adamson, the first-born son of Adam and Eve, chose to remain on earth with his parents after the Garden of Eden crisis. At 120 years of age, having fathered 32 pure-line children in the first garden, Adamson decided to search for the northern highlands that Van and Amadon had described, feeling restless after his children and mate had departed for Edentia with other Adamic offspring.

Leading a company of 27 followers northward, Adamson discovered and fell in love with Ratta, who claimed to be the last pure-line descendant of the Prince's staff. After learning about Eden and the garden default, Ratta married Adamson, and they produced 67 children together. Every fourth child born to them was of a unique order, often invisible, which Adamson recognized as similar to primary midwayers. These special offspring were mated together and became the progenitors of the secondary order of midwayers, with nearly 2,000 being created before this phenomenon ceased.

The secondary midwayers were born through the offspring of Adamson and Ratta, created through a unique process involving both human and superhuman elements. Specifically, sixteen of Adamson and Ratta's children, evenly divided by gender, could produce a secondary midwayer every seventy days through a combined technique of physical and non-physical liaison.

Each of these sixteen special children eventually produced 248 midwayers, creating the original secondary corps of 1,984 beings. After Adamson's death, thirty-three secondary midwayer leaders attempted to align with the primary midwayers under Melchizedek service but failed, joining the planetary receivers instead. The remainder became unorganized and somewhat problematic until the time of Machiventa Melchizedek, who brought them under partial control, though they continued causing mischief until Christ Michael's visit to Urantia, when they all made final decisions about their future loyalties.

During the Lucifer rebellion, a majority of the primary midwayers joined Caligastia's secession, with 40,119 out of the original 50,000 rebelling against the universe government. Similarly, of the 1,984 secondary midwayers, 873 failed to align with Michael's leadership and were interned following the planetary adjudication on the day of Pentecost.

Before Christ's bestowal on Urantia, these disloyal midwayers could reveal themselves to human eyes under certain conditions and could influence mortal minds, explaining historical accounts of demon possession. After Christ's resurrection and particularly after Pentecost, when the Thought Adjusters and Spirit of Truth became widely available, such possession became impossible. The rebel midwayers are now held in custody awaiting final judgment for their participation in the system rebellion.

After the adjudication following Christ Michael's bestowal, the loyal midwayers were amalgamated into a single corps of 10,992 beings, now called the United Midwayers of Urantia. This group operates under alternating leadership from senior members of each order and is organized into four functional groups: midway messengers for quick personal communication, planetary sentinels who guard and observe the planet, contact personalities who facilitate spirit-material interactions, and progress helpers who assist various orders of seraphim.

These midwayers vary in their abilities to connect with both spiritual beings and physical entities, with primary midwayers working more easily with angelic forces while secondary midwayers interact more effectively with material beings. The 1,111 loyal secondary midwayers possess remarkable abilities to adapt and even make physical contact with material things, and they have often performed actions historically attributed to angels. Today, their chief role involves serving as personal liaison associates for the planetary reserve corps of destiny, helping coordinate circumstances that lead to progressive revelations like The Urantia Book.

Unlike visiting celestial beings, midwayers represent the first group of permanent inhabitants found on various worlds throughout the universe, providing continuity across changing spiritual administrations. They function as actual citizens of Urantia with a personal stake in the planet's destiny, working persistently for its progress under their motto: "What the United Midwayers undertake, the United Midwayers do."

Although they could technically leave the planet through energy circuits, midwayers have pledged to remain until properly released by universe authorities. They continue growing in wisdom and experience despite being created fully developed, and they maintain a unique planetary culture that preserves historical knowledge across generations of short-lived humans. The midwayers serve as essential bridges between material and spiritual affairs, compensating for the gap left after Adam and Eve's default, and they will faithfully assist in planetary evolution until Urantia achieves its goal of light and life status.