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Below is Chapter 1 of the Urantia-based novel, "The Melchizedek Mission - Salvaging Truth"
It imagines the day Machiventa Melchizedek and Amdon (the Chaldean shepherd) meet. This story comes from the revealed facts given in Paper 93 of The Urantia Book about one of the greatest, yet unknown, epics in our history.
Appearance Before Amdon
The archival record states that Life Carriers, an order of being entrusted with such powers, created Machiventa Melchizedek’s corporeal body. They provided him with a physical human form, that of a full-grown man of the day. This specially constructed body was not unusual or irregular in appearance, except that it did not age or deteriorate as quickly as would a human frame. Neither was it endowed with the ability to procreate.
Upon gaining consciousness he breathed deeply and opened new eyes. This occurred during the noon hour on a sunny spring day at a tiny oasis in Palestine. No human witnessed this incarnation.
He stood on strong legs, stretched arms wide, then peered into a shallow pool and beheld his image. He tasted the water and said simply, “A new life.” He was attired like the regional priests except he wore a breastplate engraved with three azure blue concentric circles.
Machiventa climbed a hill and scanned the area. He observed a cluster of tents and a large herd of sheep grazing around them, and then set off to meet the herder.
The first human to meet Machiventa was Amdon, a Chaldean shepherd who had moved to Palestine. This herder’s lineage went back to Adam and Eve’s offspring, many of whom still resided in Sumer and Chaldea.
Amdon sat alone drinking tea. He had seen a great many things in his fifty-two years, but he was stunned speechless when Machiventa appeared unannounced at his tent’s entrance, boldly declaring, “I am Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon, the Most High, the one and only God.”
Leaning back in astonishment, the old shepherd looked Machiventa up and down. He knew immediately this was an unusual person. On regaining his composure, Amdon said haltingly, “I… I am Amdon. I know you not, priest. Neither have I heard of your God. Your words are strange to my ears, but it is obvious to these eyes you are of nobility, one having wisdom and learning. You dress like a Canaanite priest, but you speak Chaldean as one born and educated there. It does my ears good to hear the tongue of my childhood spoken so well… But why have you come to my tent saying these things?”
Machiventa replied, “Amdon, I have come to you first because you are known as a man who seeks truth, by thoughtful reasoning and spirit discernment. I am appearing in this form to reveal, once more, the eternal truth of one God. Not only to you, but to your family and your fellows, even to every nation…”
Amdon interrupted, “How is it you know I seek truth? Have we met? I would surely remember if we had. And why do you say, ‘once more?’ When was it revealed before? If you know me, you know I am not a man fully learned, only a herder. But I have lived long enough to know the gods and their priests disagree about what truth is. Are you certain every nation wants to hear it? How do you intend to do this? Can one man do such a thing? Forgive me; I am being impolite; your few words beg many questions. Come in; join me at tea, that we might discuss these things in comfort. What you say interests me.”
Amdon bade Machiventa sit on a low divan, then asked, “Am I to call you by the name you gave?”
“I am Machiventa Melchizedek. You may call me priest if you wish.”
“That name I have not heard before. Who are your people? Were you born in Chaldea? How is it you came to Palestine? And how can you know about me if we have not met? Perhaps you spoke to someone who does know me.”
“No, Amdon. We have not met. I can tell you my ‘people’ are my eleven Melchizedek brothers whose responsibility it is to oversee this world and observe families such as yours. We do that hoping to find ones who, like you, wish to know truth. I was not born in Chaldea, but in a place and in a manner unknown to you.”
“If you watched me and my family, why have I not seen you? Do you employ spies who watch for you?”
“The way of our observing is also unknown to you. Will you believe me if I say that my fellows and I can move about Earth unseen? And if I tell you that I chose to take up life in this form, will you accept it? I do not wish to evade your worthy questions, Amdon, or hide my origin. But my answers may not fully satisfy you.”
“There are many things I do not understand about the life I have lived, some fifty years now. I have well learned not to be too firm or stubborn in my opinions, but to always listen for the sound of truth. And I hear it, in your words,” Amdon confessed.
“And this is the reason I approached you after taking on this body of flesh and bones. Before you were born, we Melchizedeks made a plan to salvage truth and reestablish it in the hearts and minds of the children of Earth.”
“Are you saying you did not come into the world through a woman’s womb?”
“I did not. This body was created fully-grown. Such things are possible, though humans are seldom told, and never shown. I am telling you because you asked, and I believe you are open to hear the truth of the matter. You are somewhat rare in that.
“The method for creating a body such as this you would think a miracle. In my realm, and in my experience, it is not.”
Amdon’s astonishment and curiosity were altogether aroused. He replied, “No mother, no father? Open I may be, but how is this possible? Are there others? What are you expecting me to do upon hearing such things?”
“There are no others appearing as I have. Much that occurs in this world and on high has not been revealed on Earth for a very long time. Glories will be shown as humans shed the scales from their eyes. I ask only that you hear me and allow me to teach your family and friends.”
Amdon poured more tea into their cups and asked, “Are you a consort of the gods? To me, only a god could do such things as form a body without a womb and see without being seen.”
“I understand your thinking, Amdon. Concerning God, I am here to reveal there is but one. Hear me when I say this one God is the Father of all. This eternal truth is why I appear before you in the form of a man, to speak clearly, and with the intention of removing the confusion and doubt that troubles the people of Earth regarding their maker and upholder.”
“You are right about confusion. It interests me that you say there is but one God. My family has long believed that we are descendants of Adam and Eve, and Adam also taught there is but one God. But many of the priests here in Palestine say Eden and its God is a fool’s tale, that there are many, and we would be wise not to offend them. If there is a ‘Most High God’ as you say, one above all, how do I worship and pray to such a god? What does your ‘most high god’ ask of me, and what will he do for me? Many teachers come to this land professing certainty that this god or some collection of them is supreme over all. I invite them to my table and have my children listen to their beliefs and customs. I require them to hear without prejudice everyone who comes to my home, if he or she is sincere. When they leave, we are in the habit of discussing their ideas with a mind to find pearls of truth. I believe ignorance and prejudice stunt the growth of child and parent.”
“You are a wise parent; every child should be exposed to a wide variety of beliefs and practices, if the teachers are indeed, as you say, sincere. Sincerity does not always indicate the presence of truth, but it does show a willingness to change one’s belief when higher truths are discovered or revealed.”
“Priest, after hearing your words, I can say that your forthright courage, appearing as you did, unafraid and unarmed at my tent’s door, I find you to be sincere and believable… and intriguing.”
“You and your family have done well keeping alive, over many generations, the teachings of your fore-parents Adam and Eve. Eden was no fable, no lie. It was Adam and Eve who came revealing the divine truth of one God. But, over the millennia, that truth has been combined with strange ideas, false teachings, bloody rituals, and other practices that distort and diminish the original truths Adam taught in the schools of Eden.
“After he and Eve left Earth, and after their children were dispersed, much of their teaching was altered and washed away. Gradually the worship of the one true God shifted to a number of manmade gods. The mortals who did this, though very often sincere, did truth no favor.
“About worship, know now and forever that any being may adore and pray to God. And they need not go searching for him in far-off lands. God is everywhere present and personally available. In sincere worship are found the satisfactions of spirit, and through worship you come to know, in a measure, the creator of all things and all beings that abide in the universe.
“Even more, you discover your role in this life and your continuing role in eternity. In your prayers and by your worship, you discover ever higher revelations of things divine, and things the divine has in mind for you.”
“Priest, those words sing truth to my soul’s ears. But still, I ask myself, who are you?”
“I am one who has come to salvage truth and make way for a new gift from heaven, a comforter and revealer of the divine will, an actual Spirit of Truth. My intention is to form a school, here in Palestine, to teach those two things; the one God of all, and the coming of the bestower of this same Spirit of Truth.”
“These are even stranger ideas to me. I have traveled and herded from one end of the great crescent to the other. And I have seen more than one school begun only to see it wither soon thereafter. But I want to know more about your mission; your teachings do not sound Kenite, Hittite, or Amorite.”
“You are correct. I am none of these. As I have said, my mission is two-fold, the salvation of truth and preparing the way for another and greater teacher.”
“I see. But I am still not certain I understand where you came from, or how you took up life in my likeness without first being a babe.”
“I can tell you this: My appearance here is not by magic—such messengers bearing truth often descend to worlds like yours when their inhabitants are found wanting to know truth. I…”
“Worlds! Like this? How many are there?”
“More than the stars of the heavens on a moonless night. Each one is without duplicate and every world is ministered to by truth-messengers. Understand this: Some of God’s children take origin on higher worlds where they train and then descend to teach, as do I. Some are born as babes, grow out of ignorance, and then ascend to those higher worlds, as with you and your children. In fact, we are, all of us, both teachers and students. And all are members of the same universe family whose sole head is the Most High God, a true, good Father, and friend to all.”
“More than the stars,” Amdon mused. “Never have I heard of friendly gods. Is this ‘friendly god’ also the cause of the evil of the world? There must be unfriendly gods who set us against each other to steal, kill, and spill our children’s blood, aren’t there? Does the one God cause the evil men do?”
“The Most High all-powerful God could create evil, but he does not. God is the source of goodness, God is the essence of beauty, and God is the perfection of truth. But God does not create or participate in evil.
“As humans you must be perfected by living—experience in varied situations that draw out one’s true character and real intentions. Evil is always available for the choosing. It must be if you are to have some measure of will, the power to choose and act. The eventual aim of life is perfection of the doing of the divine will, arrived at by living experience, and that requires the making of decisions.
“You have no doubt noticed that both success and failure produce wisdom. The development of wisdom ensures better decisions will be made. In perfecting wisdom, the creature gradually learns to avoid evil by good choosing. Someday you will become perfect in your realm as God is in his, where evil has no place to exist.
“Take solace in knowing the evil God’s children create can be turned to good… in time and with the application of wisdom. Everything comes to good for ones who trust God and try to do his will perfectly. Goodness in this finite world ripens to divine perfection in eternity. Humans usually don’t realize they are spending this life gathering wisdom in preparation for the next, until they are there.”
“The next? You know of a next world? I have heard talk of such a place in stories of Adam’s teachings.”
“Amdon, there are real heavens, celestial spheres, many that you will one day dwell upon. They await the souls born and nursed on worlds such as this. Someday you and I shall meet there again, not in this form, but like the angels of your lore.”
“That is encouraging, priest. It gives me courage and a good reason not to fear dying... But I wish to know more about the source of evil, and why anyone would knowingly choose it. Answer this; do the gods not shake the ground and send fire from the skies, wounding and killing our families? Isn’t it our evil choosing that angers the gods, so much that they must punish us in these ways?”
“In my school I will teach a wider view, Amdon. Understand this: our God is a loving, not a punishing God. Know there is a crucial difference between impersonal nature and personal God. Nature is both savage and beautiful. Nature is a giant that ignores man, so man must observe nature’s patterns and make wise preparations for its changes, most of which can be predicted by observations of patterns.
“If the earth frequently shakes where a family lives, should they build their house from loose stone? If a great cloud comes and you know fire will surely fall from it, has the good Father in heaven not given humans the intelligence and materials to provide for the family’s safety? When the skies erupt with crashing sound and blinding light, can people not seek retreat in their wisely built shelters?
“No, nature is not God, and the Most High God I speak of desires that none perish. But mistake not, life is purposely difficult. The wise person learns this and plans accordingly. And if anyone should lose family and friends to impersonal nature, then they may take comfort in knowing their beloved awaits on the shores of another world. Death of the body, so often dreaded by humans, is in fact, the gateway to eternal life, continuing life in the pursuit of perfection. The method to achieve perfection is education and service. God does not want slaves who fear him, and while you serve you also play. It is a fact that life after death is equally divided between service and recreation. And no being is forced to do anything. Love for our creator is enough to motivate the creature to learn and serve.
“This world is made to bring forth souls for God, souls that have been tempered in the fires of adversity, tested for the presence of character and loyalty while under duress, examined for the love of truth, and most of all, found to have an abiding faith and sincere trust in their creator. If these things are not accomplished in this world, they will be in the next. Know now, heaven has its disciplines and rigors, as well as its pleasures and delights.”
“My view is widening as we speak. You know these things because you have lived before?”
“I have. My career has been long, but it is short compared to life eternal. Already have I told you that I awakened in the flesh only today, so that you and your fellows might hear my revelation of the one God, free from the confusion of primitive beliefs.”
“Eternal living… Can I believe it? I want to, but only if there is eternal youth as well. Tell me, have I lived before? I do not recall any such life, but I know ones who say they have lived other lives, before becoming a babe of this world.”
“Amdon, hear me when I reveal there are certain individuals—you are one—who host a gift from God, a fragment of the God of the Universe. These indwellers of the mind guide your thoughts onto the certain paths of eternity. During this life, your first, they seek to evolve a soul with whom they may enjoy eternal oneness—creature and creator in loving cooperation.
“These mysterious indwellers are playing the game of the ages, to meet men and women where they are in time and bring them to God at the center of all things as perfected beings in eternity.
“As you live and learn—grow in experience, character, and wisdom—a new life is born. This birth happens within; it is your soul. This soul is the spiritual essence of the human, not for a lifetime, but for all time. If you do not unite in this life, it will become the work of the next.”
“I like what you say, and I can feel truth in it. But it is too much for my small mind to grasp on an empty stomach. I thank you for these answers and many insights, even though they do bring other questions, many others. My wife and children would, without doubt, ask you more. Will you join my family at our table as we sup? The fragrances coming from my wife’s oven beckon us even now.”
“You do me honor, Amdon. And those smells do entice the senses. Never have I eaten.”
“Never? Yet you are a robust figure, a fine specimen. Do you plan to marry?” The two exited Amdon’s tent, talking and walking.
“My mission will not include marriage.”
“Perhaps in time you may consider such things. Tell me, how do you wish to be introduced? Shall we call you priest? Have you another name or title by which you wish to be known?”
“I am Machiventa of the Melchizedek brotherhood. Call me by either name or by my title, Priest of El Elyon.”
“Then I shall call you priest. But tell me, are all your brothers priests?”
“Our foremost activity is spreading truth; my order are all truth ministers. Our primary work is to advance the truth of the One God on worlds like this, and on higher ones. In this work we sometimes serve as teachers, sometimes as arbitrators, often as ambassadors. Always with a mind to reveal truth and assist ascenders in developing the wisdom to choose the divine way of perfection.”
“I would not want to have such responsibility. But I can see you are made for it.”
“We, my brothers and I, enjoy taking on challenges. We often serve when and where an emergency arises. Such is the case with this world.”
At that moment Amdon’s youngest girl ran up saying, “Mother calls you to supper, Father,” and ran back to the cook’s tent.
“Let us sup, good priest. But I would have your promise to tell me more about this emergency.”
Amdon was a well-to-do and generous man, renowned for his large herds, and his habit of inviting strangers to his table. And that was one of the reasons Machiventa chose him as his first human contact. Another was because Amdon was well connected, one who could introduce him to wealthy leaders, potential donors and supporters of the school he intended to establish.
***
The Melchizedek Mission - Salvaging Truth
Print and Kindle (English): [url]https://www.amazon.com/Melchizedek-Mission-Salvaging-Truth-ebook/dp/B08MY7Y68P/
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Print and Kindle (Spanish): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08YXSVV6Z/
Print and Kindle (French): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094X2R2M6/
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_________________
Richard E Warren
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