The Fifth Revelation : A Collection of Key Passages from The Urantia Book - Softcover

Elstrott, Kelly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965430170 ISBN 13: 9780965430173

Publisher: Mighty Messenger Pr, 1998

Synopsis

From the formation of the galaxies and earth itself, through the birth of Adam and Eve, to the present time of epochal change, The Fifth Revelation: Key Passages from The Urantia Book encapsulates millennia in three hundred fascinating pages. In 1971, when author Kelly Elstrott discovered The Urantia Book his life was changed forever. Almost thirty years later, as a successful chemical engineer, father of six children, including eight-year-old triplets, he compiled The Fifth Revelation in gratitude for the way The Urantia Book has guided and enriched his life. Seekers of spiritual truth and students of comparative religion will be familiar with The Urantia Book as an epic 2,000-page anthology first published in 1955 from papers indited by superhuman personalities in the 1930s.

Now The Fifth Revelation - so called because The Urantia Book was the fifth time the Word of God was given to the people of earth - offers readers an illuminating sneak preview of the uplifting life teachings recorded in the original text, as well as a stand-alone volume of spiritual strength and beauty. Illustrating the book are sixty black-and-white prints of the world's greatest art, including Mary Cassatt's The Bath in a chapter about family love. Elstrott's personality and sensibility further enliven the reading experience with introductions to each chapter and careful notations guiding the reader to the original text. The wise reader will turn early on to the series of appendices at the back of the book, including an excellent glossary and index.

From the beginning, the reader is drawn into a universe startlingly reminiscent of George Lucas' "Star Wars" with countless inhabited planets. The good guys of earthalso known as Urantiaforge their way to perfection through the path of love and beauty and integrity, while the bad guys, who have rejected God's plan of brotherhood, perennially try to sabotage the way back to God, unwittingly serving as testers of faith. Spiritual Oscar winners Melchizedek, Ikhnaton, Isaiah, and Jesus himself, known as the Creator Son, cheer every member of the human race as we step slowly and steadily toward freedom under the watchful eye of a benevolent God.

The Fifth Revelation is a perfect introduction to The Urantia Book, and will fill a long-overdue place on bookshelves of all spiritually committed inhabitants of this sector of the galaxy.

About this title

About the Author

About Kelly Elstrott

Kelly Elstrott was born in New Orleans and was educated at Louisiana State University where he studied history and chemical engineering. A partner / owner of ELI Inc., a firm that specializes in environmental control and vapor recovery, he is married to the French-born Catherine Grenier, a practicing pediatrician, and is the father of six children, including 7 year old triplets. He stumbled upon The Urantia Book in l971 when he casually began thumbing through it as a friend brewed tea on a rainy afternoon. Over the months and years that followed, his life was slowly transformed. A career blossomed. Marriage came, and children, and peace of mind, and an extraordinary joy.

Yet, Elstrott's discovery of The Urantia Book has in no way caused him to abandon the Catholic faith in which he was raised. If anything, it has taught him the importance of raising children in a tradition that stresses faith and love as focal points through which life can be best and most fruitfully lived. And while the philosophy of living set forth in The Urantia Book seamlessly unites together the leading-edge scientific discoveries with uplifting spiritual truths, The Urantia Book is a more potent reminder of how rich and wonderful life can be when the inner spirit is given free rein, to lift and guide without restriction.

Kelly Elstrott lives in New Orleans where he divides his time between his home there and a 30 acre camp in the pine woods of Mississippi where he raises catfish and blueberries and his children can run. The Fifth Revelation is his first book.

From the Back Cover

Science and Religion at Their Best
If you are searching for benevolent religious beliefs that make scientific sense, The Fifth Revelation will illuminate your vision. It will also guide you on guilt-free spiritual journey through the infinite universe. The Fifth Revelation is based on The Urantia Book, a more-than- 2,000-page anthology first published in 1955. The anthology has attracted worldwide attention for its uplifting message about developing a personal relationship with God. This companion volume, designed for ease of reading, addresses topics ranging from the formation of earth to angels, human emotions, astronomy, prayer, and eternity. It is sure to enhance the highest values of your own religious tradition. "The Urantia Book contains profound messages of hope and faith, and insights into the nature of God and the human condition. Everyone seeking spiritual truths will find it has a deep and lasting impact on their lives. The Fifth Revelation is a wonderful introduction to this truly unique and important spiritual guide." Mo Siegel, Founder and Chairman, Celestial Seasonings Inc.

Kelly Elstrott, a chemical engineer, discovered The Urantia Book in 1971. In gratitude for the many ways in which it has enriched his life, he compiled this volume of commentary and excerpts. He resides in New Orleans with his wife and six children, including seven-year-old triplets.

Reviews

Urantia is a rich and complex system of religious understanding brought to light by The Urantia Book in 1955. The title of this book refers to the belief that The Urantia Book is the fifth in a series of holy books completing the New Testament. According to The Urantia Book, the cosmic beings living both in our own and other universes call Earth "Urantia," though the term also implies Earth's relation to other beings and worlds. As interesting as The Urantia Book is, its 2,097 pages may well daunt potential readers. Compiler Elstrott offers well-chosen excerpts that constitute an excellent introduction to Urantia and a very helpful glossary of Urantia terms, too. The selections deal with the history of our universe (i.e., how Earth and its life developed with the sometime aid of beings who live in our local universe), the lives of beings on other worlds and in other universes, and the nature of Jesus--and they provide guidance for living a better life. Jeff Ahrens

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 2. Pain and Suffering The great paradox of living is to be truly alive-every now and then something has to die. For us to mature, our fondest hopes may need to perish in defeat. From the ashes of defeat, we can then gather ourselves up and try again, all the while growing stronger and more reliable. In this way, by the time we have completed our trial on earth, we will have become a true asset to the universe.

When the great angel Lucifer revolted against God, declaring himself ruler of the local universe, he took one-third of the angels down with him. Did the majority of evolutionary mortals who had arisen to heaven embrace this great tempter of pride and deceit? No-they knew experientially that God's plan for the universe was infinitely wise and far seeing.

Our universe Father knows the best way to develop loyal subjects is through the sometimes painful climb out of mortality to infinity.

The confusion and turmoil of Urantia do not signify that the Paradise Rulers lack either interest or ability to manage affairs differently. The Creators are possessed of full power to make Urantia a veritable paradise, but such an Eden would not contribute to the development of those strong, noble, and experienced characters which the Gods are so surely forging out on your world between the anvils of necessity and the hammers of anguish. Your anxieties and sorrows, your trials and disappointments, are just as much a part of the divine plan on your sphere as are the exquisite perfection and infinite adaptation of all things to their supreme purpose on the worlds of the central and perfect universe.

The Solitary Messengers 258:11(Chapter title and page in The Urantia Book)

Chapter 5 Original Sin(?) and the Crucifixion

The Urantia Book maintains that the concept of original sin is the most ingrained misconception in today's Christian liturgy. The notion that God was vengeful toward humanity because of some distant ancestral sin has hamstrung the teachings of Jesus. Guilt resulting from this sin was first proposed by Paul, a tireless missionary who became the father of modern day Christianity, overlaying the spiritual teachings of Jesus with his own belief in redemption through sacrifice.

Did Adam and Eve err? Yes, yet they acknowledged their mistakes and accepted the consequences. Would God hold their misdeeds against us 37,000 years later? Not according to Jesus' teaching of the loving Father in heaven.

Jesus realized early in life that the concept of a spiritual kingdom would not be embraced by Hebrews who wanted a mighty savior to deliver them from the Roman yoke, erase their age-old oppressions, and set them to their rightful position as the "Chosen People of God." He also knew that most of his family members, as well as residents in his hometown of Nazareth, rejected him as a misguided mystic. Even so, he did not alter his message of faith and hope. He accepted his fate and, honoring his Father's gift of free will to the people of earth, allowed misguided mortals to slay him.

Jesus is not about to die as a sacrifice for sin. He is not going to atone for the inborn moral guilt of the human race. Mankind has no such racial guilt before God. Guilt is purely a matter of personal sin and knowing, deliberate rebellion against the will of the Father and the administration of his Sons.

Just Before the Crucifixion 2003:1

Chapter 7 The Nature of God

God, we learn in The Urantia Book, is the upholder of the universe and the source of everything from the tiniest part of an atom to the awesome power of gravity that holds together the planets, the sun, and the galaxies. To comprehend God's might, picture the power released by the splitting of a miniscule atom.

Yet God is far more than an impersonal force of cohesion, and even more than some distant inertia that once set life in motion. Not one to sit back dispassionately observing life on earth, he has a personality you can come to know: God is love. He loves us, he is aware of us, and his spirit lives within us.

Heaven, as we envision it-a realm portrayed by angels sitting blissfully on a cloud at the right hand of God-cannot be approached simply by dying. Rather we come to know God through progressive spiritual communion. Within each of us is a drive for perfection, to become more like our Creator. This determination is what will carry us through billions of years and from star system to star system, our souls becoming ever more spiritual and less material, until we are truly pure, strong, and worthy enough to stand in God's presence. At each step along the way, God will deliver a more expanded view of his personality.

For now, our task is to strive to align ourselves with the will of our Father in heaven. The more aligned we are, the closer we will come to knowing God.

Man does not achieve union with God as a drop of water might find unity with the ocean. Man attains divine union by progressive reciprocal spiritual communion, by personality intercourse with the personal God, by increasingly attaining the divine nature through wholehearted and intelligent conformity to the divine will. Such a sublime relationship can exist only between personalities.

The Universal Father 31:2

Chapter 8 Universe Geography

This section is riddled with unfamiliar place-names and extraordinarily large numbers. You will read about Havona, the worlds that surround Paradise; Uversa, our superuniverse; and Orvonton, the capital of Uversa. You will also come upon earth's register number on the universe rolls of inhabited planets: 5,342,482,337,666.

The most important point to remember as you pore over these passages is that only a tiny fraction of the universe is now inhabited. As you achieve increasing degrees of perfection in various worlds, you will arrive at Paradise. And once you've come to know God, guess who is going to help develop all the real estate he keeps creating? That's right-welcome to your eternal future.

The God of Action functions and the dead vaults of space are astir. One billion perfect spheres flash into existence.

The Infinite Spirit 91:1

Edition details

• Publisher: Mighty Messenger Pr
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0965430170
• ISBN 13: 9780965430173
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320