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The Reserve
Corps of Destiny
From the
Dead Sea Scrolls
(A Comparison of Revelations)
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The Urantia Papers, Page1258 - Section 5
(The cosmic reserve corps of universe-conscious citizens on Urantia
now numbers over one thousand mortals whose insight of cosmic citizenship far transcends
the sphere of their terrestrial abode, but I am forbidden to reveal the real nature
of the function of this unique group of living human beings.)
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In the Third Column of the Damascus Document are descriptions
of the rebellious history of the people of God, beginning with Noah, and proceeding
through the forefathers of Israel, including Abraham, his children, on down to the
time of the writing of the document.
I offer here three versions in order to obtain an idea of
how the different translators dealt with this passage. I include the prefatory remarks
but I shall concentrate on the last segment, wherein portions of the people of Israel
shall go on functioning in the last days. These are called the Sons of Zadok,
not because of an historical association, but because of their destiny role. They
are the Sons of Righteousness.
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R. H. Charles
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T. H. Gaster
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Martinez and Tigchelaar
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3:12 . . . Every man doing his own will. Blank But
with them that held fast by the commandments of God,
13 [who were left of them], God confirmed the covenant of
Israel forever, Revealing unto them
14 the hidden things Wherein all Israel had erred: Blank
His holy Sabbaths and His
15 glorious festivals, His righteous testimonies and His
true ways, And the desires of His will [the which
16 if a man do, he shall live by them] Blank He opened
before them. And they digged a well of many waters:
17 And he that despises them shall not live. But they wallowed
in the transgression of man, And in the ways of the unclean woman,
18 And they said that it belongs to us. But God wondrously
pardoned their sins, And forgave their transgression,
19 And He built them a sure house in Israel [the like of
which never arose from of old nor until
20 this day]. They who hold fast to him are for the life
of eternity, And all the glory of man (Adam) is for them. As
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. . . Each man doing as he pleased. Howbeit, with the rest
of them — that is, with those that held fast to His commandments God ever
made good His everlasting covenant with Israel, revealing to them the hidden things
concerning which Israel in general had gone astray—even His holy sabbaths and His
glorious festivals, His righteous ordinances, the ways of His truth and the purposes
of His will, "the which, if a man do, he shall live." [Lev. 18.5]. He opened for
them a well with water abounding, which they might dig. But them that spurned those
waters He did not permit to live. And though they kept sullying themselves with
human transgression and with filthy ways, and kept saying, "Tis our own concern,"
yet did God with His mysterious power shrive their iniquity and forgive their transgression
and built for them in Israel a firmly established House the like of which has not
existed from ancient times until this day.
They that hold fast unto Him are destined for life eternal,
and theirs is all mortal glory, even as
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3:12 . . . Each one doing (what was) his desire. Blank
But with those who remained steadfast in God's precepts. )
13 with those who were left from among them. God established
his covenant with Israel for ever, revealing to them
14 hidden matters in which all Israel had gone astray;
Blank his holy sabbaths and his
15 glorious feasts, his just stipulations and his truthful
paths, and the wishes of his will which
16 man must do in order to live by them. Blank He
disclosed (these matters) to them and they dug a well of plentiful water;
17 and whoever spurns them shall not live. But they had defiled
themselves with human sin and unclean paths,
18 and they had said: "For this is ours." But God, in his
wonderful mysteries, atoned for their iniquity and pardoned their sin.
19 And he built for them a safe home in Israel, such as there
has not been since ancient times, not even till
20 now. Those who remained steadfast in it will acquire eternal
life, and all the glory of Adam is for them. As
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In a discussion in the Rules of the Community we encounter
a very similar reference to all the glory of Adam, Column 4, Line 23.
This is a statement of the future of the people of Israel who will
interbreed with the children of Adam when they come down here from another world
in the sky.
See 3.20 above.
Here Gaster fails utterly to discern the meaning behind the
text. He says "all mortal glory" because he could not comprehend how the children
of Adam were to play a role in the future of the world. — And it shall
come to pass in those days that elect and holy children will descend from the
high heaven, and their seed will become one with the children of men.
Thus the future of our world is described to us. We
can see how important that we devote ourselves to God and to his plans for this
world.
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The Special Destiny Group
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R. H. Charles
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T. H. Gaster
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Martinez and Tigchelaar
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21 God confirmed it to them through Ezekiel the
prophet, saying: (Ezek 44:15) ‘The priests and the Levites and the sons of
4:1 Zadok, that kept the charge of My Sanctuary when
the children of Israel went astray
2 from them, they shall bring near unto Me fat and
blood. Blank The priests are the penitents of Israel
3 who went forth out of the land of Judah: and (the
Levites are) they who joined them. And the sons of Zadok are the elect
4 of Israel called by the name, that are holding
office in the end of the days. Behold the statement
5 of their names according to their generations, and
the period of their office, and the number of their afflictions, and the years
6 of their sojournings, and the statement of their
works. Blank
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God has sworn unto them by the hand of the prophet
Ezekiel, saying: "The priests and the Levites and the sons of Zadok that kept
the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me,
these it is that shall offer unto Me the fat and the blood. [Ezek. 44.15]. By
"priests" is meant those in Israel that repented and departed from the land of
Judah. [By "Levites" is meant those that associated with those elect of Israel
that have been designated by name and that shall go on functioning in the last
days. Behold, their names have been specified, the families into which they are
to be born, the epochs in which they are to function, the full tale of their
tribulations, the length of their sojourn in exile, and the precise nature of
their deeds.
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21 God swore to them by means of Ezekiel the
prophet, saying: (Ezek 44:15) "The priests and the Levites and the sons of
4:1 Zadok who maintained the service of my temple when the children of Israel
strayed
2 far away from me they shall offer me the fat and
the blood." Blank The priests are the converts of Israel
3 who left the land of Judah; and the Levites are
those who joined them; Blank and the sons of Zadok are the chosen of
4 Israel, the men of renown, who stand (to serve) at
the end of days. Here is the detailed lists
5 of their names, according to their genealogies and
the age of their standing and the number of their miseries and the years of
6 their residence, and the detailed list of their
deeds. Blank
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When Ezekiel described the future of the
world, 44:15 —
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But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who
kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me,
shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall attend on me to offer me
the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD.
We should not infer that the images in these
statements are literal. Just as much of the Dead Sea Material is symbolic, so it
is here. The "sons of Zadok" are not literally the sons of ancient Zadok, but
refer to those who kept themselves close to God throughout all the centuries.
They are Sons of Righteousness. They "kept charge of my sanctuary" when all the
other children of Israel departed from their devotion to God. These Departed did
not literally depart from the land of Judah, but from the land of Israel, and
they did not depart in some spectacular moment in the history of Israel, but
departed from devotion to God.
Please note that by "God" I mean Jesus in his role
as Creator and Maker of this world and of this universe.
I offer Gaster's version because I feel it better captures
the nature of these people:
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those
elect of Israel that have been designated by name and that shall go on functioning
in the last days.
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Behold,
their names have been specified,
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the families
into which they are to be born,
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the epochs
in which they are to function,
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the full
tale of their tribulations,
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the length
of their sojourn in exile,
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and the
precise nature of their deeds.
In my personal view members of the Cosmic Reserve Corps of
Destiny are members of this group. They serve in a unique role in the preservation
of the people of Israel, those people who now make up a large portion of the people
of the United States. The members of this group will help salvage those others,
in the imminent world crisis now unfolding.
We can now understand the real nature
of the function of this unique group of living human beings.
See my work on the tribes of Israel
http://www.world-destiny.org/a31tt.htm
http://www.world-destiny.org/a32sif.htm
and associated Papers.
Ernest Moyer
3-31-2007
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