Urantia Book 64. The life of Jesus of Nazareth. Joshua ben Joseph, Christ Michael, Sovereign God of Nebadon. Six primate races are evolved on each planet in the System of Satania. The green and orange races are extinct. The red man is superior to the other races. The yellow race is doing well. The indigo race is the black race and is doing well. The blue race gave its qualities to Caucasians. When the races reach a certain point in their evolution, a couple are sent from Jerusem. They are Adam and Eve. They are sent to have children and when they have given life to about 1,000,000 children, these offspring mate with the people of the various races. Adam and Eve are of a superior race, the violet race and these matings will upstep the other races. But Adam and Eve didn’t have a good experience on this planet, so they defaulted, and this is another reason our Earth is so messed up. It is really lucky that Michael, the Creator Son, decided to bestow himself on Earth, otherwise we might still be in darkness. OK, on to the life of Jesus. One evening when they were preaching in the Decapolis, Jesus taught his followers about forgiveness. Jesus first agreed that a shepherd who found a lost sheep rejoiced over that lost sheep that was found. Then Jesus went to the level of heaven and said there is more rejoicing over a sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who don’t need repentance. Your God may receive repentant sinners; in the gospel of the kingdom the Father goes forth to find them even before they have seriously thought of repentance. The Father in heaven loves his children, and therefore you should learn to love one another; the Father in heaven forgives your sins, therefore you should learn to forgive one another. If your brother sins against you, go to him and with tact and patience show him his fault. If your brother remains recalcitrant, you shall determine the issues of conduct as they concern the temporal welfare of the brotherhood on Earth. And so, in all these matters connected with the discipline of the brotherhood on Earth, whatever you decree on Earth, shall be recognized in heaven. You may legislate concerning the conduct of the group, for where two or three of you agree concerning any of these things and ask of me, it shall be done for you. Where two or three believers are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them. Peter overheard what Jesus was saying and asked him: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Seven times?” Jesus answered: “Not only seven times, but seventy times and seven.” Jesus went on to tell the story about the king who forgive the big debt to his chief steward. But that steward refused to forgive a debt that someone owed to him. When the king found out how selfish the steward was, he was very angry and put him in jail until he paid off the whole debt. The lesson was to show mercy as the Father shows mercy. Said Jesus: “How can you come to God asking consideration for your shortcomings when you chastise your brother for being guilty for these same human frailties? Freely you have received the good things of the kingdom, therefore freely give to your fellows on Earth.” Thus did Jesus teach the dangers and illustrate the unfairness of sitting in personal judgment upon one’s fellows. Discipline must be maintained, justice must be administered, but in all these matters the wisdom of the brotherhood must prevail. Jesus invested legislative and judicial authority in the group, not the individual (159.1.1-6).**************** Near the city of Edrei, where Thomas was preaching, Jesus taught the principles that should motivate those who teach the truth and the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus said: “Always respect the personality of a human being. Don’t try to promote a righteous cause by force; spiritual victories can only be won by spiritual power. This injunction applies to psychic force as well as physical force; overpowering arguments and mental superiority are not to be employed to force men and women into the kingdom. Man’s mind is not to be crushed by the weight of logic or overawed by shrewd eloquence. While emotion as a factor in decisions cannot be totally avoided, it should not be appealed to by those advancing the cause of the kingdom. Make your appeals directly to the divine spirit that dwells within the minds of humans. Do not appeal to fear, pity or sentiment. Exercise self-control and restraint; show respect for the personalities of your pupils. Remember that I have said: ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any person will open, I will come in.’ In bringing people to the kingdom, don’t destroy their self-respect. The loss of self-respect often ends in paralysis of the will. Do not forget: I will stop at nothing to restore the self-respect to those who have lost it. Do not indulge in sarcasm at the expense of my simple-minded brethren. Be not cynical with my fear-ridden children. Idleness is destructive of self-respect; therefore admonish your brethren to keep busy at their chosen tasks, and put forth every effort to secure work for those who find themselves without employment. In entering the kingdom you cannot escape its responsibilities or avoid its obligations, but remember; the gospel yoke is easy and the burden of truth is light. (Jesus isn’t kidding. After you’ve reached Paradise and worshiped the Father, you are assigned a job. You learn a great deal of information on your way in, especially about administration, but a former physics professor could find himself teaching physics. There are hundreds of educational institutions in the Universe run by the Melchizedeks.) The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. Tell my children that I am not only tender of their feelings and patient with their frailties, but that I am also ruthless with sin and intolerant of iniquity. You shall not portray your teacher (Jesus) as a Man of Sorrows. Future generations shall know the radiance of our joy, the buoyancy of our good will and the inspiration of our good humor. Offer not consolation to those who lie down before their troubles without a struggle. Sympathize not with your fellows merely that they may sympathize with you in return. When my children become conscious of the divine presence, such a faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance power to love and be loved. Teach all believers that those who enter the kingdom are not immune to the problems of life or to the catastrophes of nature. Believing the gospel will not prevent getting into trouble, but you will face trouble unafraid. If you dare to believe in me and wholeheartedly proceed to follow me, you will surely find trouble. I do not promise to deliver you from adversity, but I promise to go with you through it” (159.3.1-13).****************************** Next, Jesus went to Abila, where Nathaniel was preaching. Nathaniel was confused because Jesus contradicted the Hebrew scriptures sometimes, so he asked Jesus why he rejected the teachings of the rabbi’s. Jesus replied: “Nathaniel, you have rightly judged; I do not regard the Scriptures as do the rabbis. I will talk about this if you do not tell your brothers. The Law and the teachings were not in existence before Abraham. The Scriptures are faulty and human, but they are the best collection of religious wisdom and spiritual wisdom to be found in all the world at this time. The Scriptures are sacred because they present the thoughts and actions of a people who was searching for God, and who left on record their highest concepts of righteousness, truth and holiness. Of course, they also contain much that does not represent the Father in heaven, the loving God that I have come to reveal to all the world. Nathaniel, don’t ever believe that Yahweh was the Father. Yahweh was vengeful-he punished the children of Israel. He was warlike-he told Israel’s army to kill every man, woman and child in the cities they attacked. They even killed their animals. He tolerated no opposition. Yahweh was a desert god before he was Israel’s God. It’s to Israel’s credit that out of all the people in the area, they should embrace monotheism. And this is a fascinating topic for another day.