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The
Story of Everything
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52: Planetary Mortal Epochs
Urantia has not proceeded in the normal order of planetary development. Average worlds progress through seven epochs of human life, determined by the planetary missions of the divine Sons.
1. Pre-Planetary Prince This age is characterized by survival of the fittest; some early races may be entirely obliterated. Primitive men are hunters and fighters. They are cave dwellers, cliff residents, or may live in treehuts. The early races learn to kindle fire, improve tools, and vanquish large animals. They use large flying animals for transportation. People usually acquire moral will when they develop early language. Some primitive people receive temporary Thought Adjusters.
2. Post-Planetary Prince With the arrival of the Planetary Prince, primitive government appears and people make great social strides. The invisible Prince and his visible staff make revelations of truth to uplift the evolved religions of fear and ignorance. The races begin to develop specialized systems of religious and philosophic thought. The great social achievement of the prince's epoch is the emergence of family life, made possible by the realization of sexual equality. Domestication of animals and cultivation of the soil supplant the roving and unsettled life of the hunter. On normal worlds, the races are brought to a high state of physical perfection and intellectual strength.
3. Post-Adamic When humankind has reached the apex of animal development, a Material Son and Daughter arrive. The Adamic regime moves humans completely from the hunter/herder stage to the agriculturist/horticulturist stage. This age usually completes the elimination of the unfit strains of the races. The Adamic life plasm upsteps human intellectual capacity and spiritual progress. This is an age of invention, energy control, mechanical development, and exploration. All races blend into an amalgamated race of one color, an olive shade of the violet hue. Nationalism wanes and the brotherhood of man begins to develop. Interest flourishes in art, music, literature, intellectual realities, and philosophy. Worldwide peace prompts the arrival of the age of the Magisterial Son.
4. Post-Magisterial Son A Magisterial Son incarnates and sometimes rules for many generations. This age produces economic liberation. Citizens generally labor only two and one-half hours a day, and use their newfound leisure for self-improvement and planetary advancement. Most people are Adjuster-indwelt. Society returns to simple, natural forms of living. This age brings the flowering of art, music and higher learning. The end of this age is characterized by a worldwide spiritual enlightenment, signaling the arrival of the Bestowal Son.
5. Post-Bestowal Son This age is characterized by the pursuit of moral culture and spiritual truth, and the passion for communion with spiritual reality. New systems of education and government arise. After the Bestowal Son returns to the headquarters of the local universe, he and the Creator Son send the Spirit of Truth to the planet. Along with the Spirit of Truth, Thought Adjusters arrive en masse to indwell all normal-minded people. The average length of human life during this era is more than three hundred years. Fewer restrictive laws become necessary. The military passes away and international harmony arrives. There are many nations, but only one race, one language, and one religion.
6. Post-Teacher Son Teacher Sons come in groups to effect the transition of a planet into the era of light and life. Natural death becomes less frequent as more Adjusters fuse with their subjects during mortal lifetimes. The average length of mortal life approaches five hundred years. Representative government vanishes as the world passes into the rule of individual self-control. More and more people practice justice, mercy, and joyous service to the Sons of God.
7. Light and Life Eventually, the Planetary Prince elevates to Planetary Sovereign. The planet enters the era of light and life, something beyond human concepts of heaven.
Social brotherhood on Earth depends on the following transformations:
1. Social fraternity-international associations of travel, commerce, and competitive play; the development of a common language.
2. Intellectual cross-fertilization-an exchange of national and racial literature. Each nation must become familiar with the feelings of all nations.
3. Ethical awakening-disclosure of the immorality of intolerance and strife, development of the spiritual insight that is essential to the golden rule.
4. Political wisdom-substitution of civilized adjudication for the barbarism of war.
5. Spiritual insight-spiritual transformation, the enhancement of the soul capacity of every mortal to love every other mortal.