This morning I received a post from someone who read my blog entitled “Expanding the Meaning of Revelation.”  The post expressed dissappointment that I did not give my personal opinion about revelation.  Although I did post some personal comments, I give my clear opinion about revelation below, specifically, why the fifth epochal revelation in The Urantia Book is so important. It was this realization that motivated me to write Heaven Is Not the Last Stop: to facilitate the understanding of this revelatory text in the context of existing human wisdom.

The fifth epochal revelation is critical for our time because it presents us with an integrative philosophical worldview that has the potential to truly move civilization forward.  In 1994, the authors of World Views: from fragmentation to integration wrote that to overcome the fragmentation that exists in the world, a conscious effort needs to be made towards the construction of a worldview that can be shared by all. At the time, the authors suggested that the need was urgent; today, sixteen years later, it has become critical.  The lack of unity in the comprehension of the universe is reflected in our global issues - the religious conflicts that still plague our world, the violence in our schools and workplaces, the indifference we have towards others, and the corruption in our governments and institutions. “Global worlviews are like geographic maps, which help us find our way and act coherently in this world.”[1] With the help of revelation, we now have the opportunity to construct a view of the whole that is shared by the members of a bounded collectivity. And it is this attainment, one person at a time that will truly transform the world and the quality of human expression.

Pieces of the big picture of existence are found in existing theories, models, concepts, guidelines, and values scattered over the different disciplines and ideologies.  But only revelation can link these together to form a logical and comprehensive universe philosophy, that not only includes and diligently addresses the seven fundamental components of a worldview as presented in World Views: from fragmentation to integration, but it also satisfies the mind, heart, and spirit. Below are fundamental components of an integrative worldview:

• It allows us to understand how the world functions and how it is structured. “World” meaning the totality, everything that exists -  including the seen and unseen material universe, Earth, life, mind, society, and culture. It answers the basic question, “Who are we?”
• It answers the questions “Why is the world the way it is? Where does it all come from? Where do we come from? It explains how and why life and mind has arisen, enabling us to better understand how these function and how they will continue to evolve.
• It answers the question “Where are we going, individually and collectively? It gives us a list of possibilities, of more or less probable future development, confronting us with the choice: which of the different alternatives should we promote and which should we avoid?
• It defines and explains what is good and what is evil. It explains morality, ethics, and gives us a direction to guide our actions. It answers the questions “why?” and “what for?” so that we can better understand the real meaning of life.
• It provides us with a theory of action, answering the question “How should we act?” so that we may better solve practical problems and implement plans of action.
• It allows us to distinguish better theories from worse theories and answers the traditional philosophical question “What is true and what is false?”

In addition:

• It includes and transcends the best of other worldviews.
• It provides a cosmic philosophy that is worthy of an enlightened age of science and truth.
• It broadens our understanding of Jesus and the concept of the “kingdom of heaven”

 I have no doubt that the fifth epochal revelation that is being disseminated throughout the world since 1955 will continue to illuminate the human mind for centuries to come and that humanity will slowly be able to attain the consciousness that can effectively address the complex issues it is facing.  How long it will take will depend on how many and how quickly people rise up to the challenge of becoming familiar with this latest revealed knowledge. I have joined the thousands of people whose lives have been touched by this revelation; the question is, have you?

 

 

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[1] World Views: from fragmentation to integration by Diederik Aerts, Leo Apostel, Bart De Moor, Staf Hellemans, Edel Maex, Hubert Van Belle, Jan Van der Veken; VUB Press, Brussels, 1994; page 5; http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/CLEA/Reports/WorldviewsBook.html