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Rules of the Community
(The Manual of Discipline)
Section from Column 4, Lines 15 to 26
A brief description of unfolding destiny.
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From Martinez and Tigchelaar
Florentino Garcia Martinez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar,
The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, William B. Erdmans Publishing Company, Grand
Rapids, 1997
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From Gaster
Theodore H. Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures, Anchor
Books, Doubleday, Garden City, 1976
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Preface |
In these (lies) the history of all men, in their (two) divisions
all their armies have a share for their generations; in their paths they walk; every
deed they do (falls) into their divisions, dependent on what might be the birth-right
of man, great or small, for all eternal times. For God has sorted them into equal
parts until the last time, and has put an everlasting loathing between their divisions.
Deeds of injustice are an abhorrence to truth and all the paths of truth are an
abhorrence to injustice. (There exists) a violent conflict in respect of all their
decrees since they can not walk together.
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It is in these ways that men needs must walk and it is in
these two divisions, according as a man inherits something of each, that all human
acts are divided throughout all the ages of eternity. For God has appointed these
two things to obtain in equal measure until the final age. Between the two categories
He has set an eternal enmity. Deeds of perversity are an abomination to Truth, while
all the ways of Truth are an abomination to perversity; and there is a constant
jealous rivalry between their two regimes, for they do not march in accord. |
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1
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God, in the mysteries of his knowledge and in the wisdom
of his glory, has determined an end to the existence of injustice and on the appointed
time of the visitation he will obliterate it forever.
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Howbeit, God in His inscrutable wisdom has appointed a term
for the existence of perversity, and when the time of Inquisition comes, He will
destroy it for ever.
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2 |
Then truth shall rise up forever (in) the world, for it has
been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time
appointed for the judgment decided.
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Then truth will emerge triumphant for the world, albeit now
and until the time of the final judgment it go sullying itself in the ways of wickedness
owing to the domination of perversity.
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3 |
Then God will refine, with his truth, all man's deeds, and
will purify for himself the structure of man, ripping out all spirit of injustice
from the innermost part of his flesh — and cleansing him with the spirit of holiness
from every wicked deed.
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Then, too, God will purge all the acts of man in the crucible
of His truth, and refine for Himself all the fabric of man, destroying every spirit
of perversity from within his flesh and cleansing him by the holy spirit from all
the effects of wickedness.
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4 |
He will sprinkle over him the spirit of truth like lustral
water (in order to cleanse him) from all the abhorrences of deceit and (from) the
defilement of the unclean spirit, in order to instruct the upright ones with knowledge
of the Most High, and to make understand the wisdom of the sons of heaven to those
of perfect behavior.
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Like waters of purification He will sprinkle upon him the
spirit of truth, to cleanse him of all the abominations of falsehood and of all
pollution through the spirit of filth; to the end that, being made upright, men
may have understanding of transcendental knowledge and of the lore of the sons of
heaven, and that, being made blameless in their ways, they may be endowed with inner
vision.
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5 |
For those God has chosen for an everlasting covenant and
to them shall belong all the glory of Adam.
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For them has God chosen to be the partners of His eternal
covenant, and theirs shall be all mortal glory.
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6 |
There will be no more injustice and all the deeds of trickery
will be a dishonor. Until now the spirits of truth and injustice feud in the heart
of man: they walk in wisdom or in folly.
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Perversity shall be no more, and all works of deceit shall
be put to shame. Thus far, the spirits of truth and perversity have been struggling
in the heart of man. Men have walked both in wisdom and in folly.
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7 |
In agreement with man's inheritance in the truth, he shall
be righteous and so abhor injustice: and according to his share in the lot of injustice,
he shall act wickedly in it, and so abhor the truth.
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If a man casts his portion with truth, he does righteously
and hates perversity; if he casts it with perversity, he does wickedly and abominates
truth.
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8 |
For God has sorted them into equal parts until the appointed
end and the new creation. He knows the result of their deeds for all times everlasting
and has given them as a legacy to the sons of man so that they know good and evil
. . . ands to cast the lots of every living being according to his spirit in . .
. until the time of the visitation. |
For God has apportioned them in equal measure until the final
age, until `He makes all things new'. He foreknows the effect of their works in
every epoch of the world, and He has made men heirs to them that they might know
good and evil. But [when the time] of Inquisition [comes], He will determine the
fate of every living being in accordance with which of the [two spirits he has chosen
to follow]. |
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Commentary
Preface:
A description of the natural enmity between the two elements
within man, and within community, that will hold until the farther ages of the earth.
Section 1:
The translation of M&T is superior to that of G. It adheres
more strictly to the original Hebrew text. G failed to recognize a visitation to
this planet by God, although he understood that it involved an "inquisition."
In reality, the planet will take a thousand years to settle down, (Urantia Papers,
pg 1086). Human conflict will still exist, and war will go on until the end of the
coming millennium, Rev 20:7-8. More than one visitation by Jesus may exist for the
world. We can see that he will visit us on more than one occasion, and that major
changes can be expected in the planetary regime each time he does.
Section 2:
Finally, truth shall become known across the world. When
injustice and iniquity are finally quelled, when the Judgment of the Earth comes
at last, then truth shall shine forth among men. What a glorious day!
Section 3:
In our day and age we cannot conceive of the spiritual renewal
coming down upon mankind. A major step in this program is to remove from the human
race all the bad seed that has cursed us for inestimable millennia. Some of this
will be done in the coming judgment, a world cleansing. But many millennia must
pass for this to reach high spiritual levels.
Section 4:
An understanding of the changes in the spiritual regime of
the world is not possible to us living in the world of today.
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Isa 61:11 — For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause
righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.
Section 5:
Here Gaster fails utterly to discern the meaning behind the
text.
I Enoch 39:1
— 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.
Eventually, all the people of this world will contain the
genetic seed of Adam. Not the original Adam, who defaulted, but a new Adam and Eve
who will come to help renew the world.
Section 6:
Can you imagine a world in which there is no more untruth?
As Jonathan Swift said so long ago, "To say the thing that was not." No longer will
we say the thing "that is not." Indeed, we have walked in both wisdom and folly.
How sad!
Section 7:
Within man is a propensity to truth or untruth. How we cast
our lot is dependent upon our genetic makeup. When the world comes to full regeneration
those propensities will have been washed away. Or as it was said:
Section 8:
This world will see a new creation. How wonderful to hold
in our expectations! All the trouble of the current world will be left behind, and
the earth will truly blossom like the rose, not only in the natural bounty, but
in a spiritual relationship with God.
This presentation in the Dead Sea Scrolls shows just how
much the writers of those scrolls recognized the destiny of our world.
We should pay attention to the revelation of
The Urantia Papers:
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Page 1919: The children of light
are all destined to see him, and it is of no serious concern whether we go to him
or whether he should chance first to come to us. Be you therefore ever ready to
welcome him on earth as he stands ready to welcome you in heaven. We confidently
look for his glorious appearing, even for repeated comings, but we are wholly ignorant
as to how, when, or in what connection he is destined to appear.
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Page 1919: Many of us are inclined
to believe that Jesus will return to Urantia many times during the ages to come.
We do not have his specific promise to make these plural visits, but it seems most
probable that he who carries among his universe titles that of Planetary Prince
of Urantia will many times visit the world whose conquest conferred such a unique
title upon him.
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