These one hundred rematerialized members of the Prince’s staff were chosen by Caligastia from over 785,000 ascendant citizens of Jerusem who volunteered for embarkation on the Urantia adventure.
Quote from The URANTIA Book, 0742:04
Five hundred thousand years ago, Caligastia, our first revelation, was dispatched to Urantia as our Planetary Prince. He was a native of our system of Satania, of which Jerusem is the headquarters world. We pass from this mortal existence to be resurrected on the first of seven mansion worlds, and we must graduate from all seven of these worlds to become ascendant citizens of Jerusem.
We are not told if the whole ascendant citizenship of Jerusem volunteered for the mission on Urantia. For reasons having to do with the actual status of those able to volunteer, my guess would be that the number 785,000 would be less than one percent of the whole ascendant citizenship. It will become clear later in these essays why not everyone could volunteer.
But being a sex creature myself, there would seem to be enticements. Once we are resurrected, we no longer have the prerogatives of procreation. Our last chance for our own children is here as a mortal. In quoting Jesus referring to mortal ascenders, the Gospel of Matthew in 22:30 is authoritative: “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
The Caligastia one hundred were evenly divided as to gender, and no one had their sexual identity changed from their previous status as a mortal. They worked in couples, established homes, and “never sheltered less than five hundred adopted little ones assembled from the superior families of the Andonic and Sangik races; many of these children were orphans” (0750:07). Left unsaid was how these couples were chosen; we are not told whether they chose their own partners or had partners assigned.
Back once again on an evolutionary world, the Caligastia one hundred were by special provision endowed with the prerogatives of procreation. This renewed opportunity to bring forth children of their own flesh and blood, this time with a partner of select superiority, appears to me to be an enticement to volunteer for the “Urantia adventure.” But the volunteers may not have known that having children would be included in their mission. We are not told.
Bear in mind that all of the Caligastia one hundred had previous mortal existence on another world in our system, but with a body specifically designed for that world. None had ever experienced a body as a mortal of Urantia. We can only speculate how chaste these fifty couples were in private, but we should accept as given that the couples were not swapping partners. And for sure they would not be having children until the plan called for them, and that could be a long time coming! So, the enticement comes with a serious proviso.
As long as they were able to utilize the tree of life, the Caligastia one hundred were immortal and designed to live on indefinitely, meaning that any prospect for children could be destined for a distant future. That also means volunteering was much more than signing on for a lark, and more in the order of serious and sober business.
Just how serious this would be, they could hardly have suspected.
Ernest Clement
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