Paper 28

MINISTERING SPIRITS OF THE SUPERUNIVERSES

1.As presented in these narratives, the ministering spirits of the superuniverses embrace the following three orders:

1.The Seconaphim.

2. The Tertiaphim.

3. The Omniaphim.

2.Tertiaphim are children of the Infinite Spirit and are personalized on Paradise in groups of one thousand...Throughout the early times of universe building, these one thousand tertiaphim are the only personal staff of a Creator Son ...with the appearance of the initial orders of native angelic life, they retire from active service in the local universe and become the liaison ministers between the Creator Son of former attachment and the Ancients of Days of the superuniverse concerned.

3.Omniaphim are created by the Infinite Spirit in liaison with the Seven Supreme Executives, and they are the exclusive servants and messengers of these same Supreme Executives...occupied with the oversight of the superuniverses in the interests of administrative co‑ordination.

4.The secoraphic hosts are produced by the seven Reflective Spirits assigned to the headquarters of each superuniverse. There is a definite Paradise‑responsive technique associated with the creation of these angels in groups of seven. In each seven there are always one primary, three secondary, and three tertiary seconaphim; they always personalize in this exact proportion. When seven such seconaphim are created, one, the primary, becomes attached to the service of the Ancients of Days. The three secondary angels are associated with three groups of Paradise‑origin administrators in the supergovernments: the Divine Counselors, the Perfectors of Wisdom, and the Universal Censors. The three tertiary angels are attached to the ascendant trinitized associates of the superuniverse rulers: the Mighty Messengers, Those High in Authority, and Those without Name and Number.

5.The primary seconaphim, of assignment to the Ancients of Days, are living mirrors in the service of these triune rulers. Think what it means in the economy of a superuniverse to be able to turn, as it were, to a living mirror and therein to see and therewith to hear the certain responses of another being a thousand or a hundred thousand light‑years distant and to do all this instantly and unerringly.

6.Though apparently deprived of the personal presence of the Master Spirits above and of the Creator Sons below, the Ancients of Days have at their command living beings attuned to cosmic mechanisms of reflective perfection and ultimate precision whereby they may enjoy the reflective presence of all those exalted beings whose personal presence is denied them. By and through these means, and others unknown to you, God is potentially present on the headquarters of the superuniverses.

7.Certain of these seconaphim are in perpetual liaison with the living libraries of Paradise...On Uversa ... when both the wisdom of perfection and of practicability must be forthcoming, then do the Perfectors of Wisdom summon a battery of the Voices of Wisdom and, by the consummate skill of their order...there ensues a stream of the wisdom of divinity from the universe above and a flood of the wisdom of practicality from the higher minds of the universes below.

If confusion arises regarding the harmonization of these two versions of wisdom, immediate appeal is made to the Divine Counselors, who forthwith rule as to the proper combination of procedures. If there is any doubt as to the authenticity of something coming in from realms where rebellion has been rife, appeal is made to the Censors, who, with their Discerners of Spirits, are able to rule immediately as to "what manner of spirit" actuated the adviser. So are the wisdom of the ages and the intellect of the moment ever present with the Ancients of Days, like an open book before their beneficent gaze.

8.  Whether in human associations of commerce and trade, friendship and marriage, or in the liaisons of the angelic hosts, there continue to arise petty frictions, minor misunderstandings too trivial even to engage the attention of conciliators but sufficiently irritating and disturbing to mar the smooth working of the universe if they were allowed to multiply and continue ...Unions of Souls...remain in reflective liaison with the interpreters of ethics on Paradise.

These are the angels who foster and promote the teamwork of all Orvonton. One of the most important lessons to be learned during your mortal career is teamwork. The spheres of perfection are manned by those who have mastered this art of working with other beings. Few are the duties in the universe for the lone servant. The higher you ascend, the more lonely you become when temporarily without the association of your fellows.

9. The Satisfaction of Service. These angels...have done much to illuminate the deferred rewards inherent in unselfish service...by using the performances of the best to inspire and encourage the mediocre, these seconaphim contribute immensely to the quality of devoted service in the superuniverses. Effective use is made of the fraternal competitive spirit by circulating to any one world information about what the others, particularly the best, are doing. A refreshing and wholesome rivalry is promoted even among the seraphic hosts.

10. The Discerner of Spirits...Regardless of the source or channel of information, no matter how meager the evidence at hand, when it is subjected to their reflective scrutiny, these discerners will forthwith inform us as to the true motive, the actual purpose, and the real nature of its origin. I marvel at the superb functioning of these angels, who so unerringly reflect the actual moral and spiritual character of any individual concerned in a focal exposure.

11. All relationships and the application of ethics grow out of the fundamental facts of origin ... With the higher descendant beings, origin is simply a fact to be ascertained; ... with the ascending beings, including the lower orders of angels, the nature and circumstances of origin are not always so clear...The Significance of Origins are the living ready‑reference genealogies of the vast hosts of beings—men, angels, and others—who inhabit the seven superuniverses.

12. Mercy is not to be thrust upon those who despise it; mercy is not a gift to be trampled under foot by the persistent rebels of time. Nevertheless, though mercy is thus precious and dearly bestowed, your individual drawing credits are always far in excess of your ability to exhaust the reserve if you are sincere of purpose and honest of heart.

13. While the spirit techniques of mercy ministry are beyond your concept, you should even now understand that mercy is a quality of growth. You should realize that there is a great reward of personal satisfaction in being first just, next fair, then patient, then kind. And then, on that foundation,  if you choose and have it in your heart, you can take the next step and really show mercy; but you cannot exhibit mercy in and of itself.

14. Time is the one universal endowment of all will creatures; it is the "one talent" intrusted to all intelligent beings. You all have time in which to insure your survival; and time is fatally squandered only when it is buried in neglect, when you fail so to utilize it as to make certain the survival of your soul. Failure to improve one's time to the fullest extent possible does not impose fatal penalties; it merely retards the pilgrim of time in his journey of ascent. If survival is gained, all other losses can be retrieved.

15. Trust is the crucial test of will creatures. Trustworthiness is the true measure of self‑mastery, character...On Urantia, you grotesquely essay to read character and to estimate specific abilities, but on Uversa we actually do these things in perfection... It is the plan of your superiors to advance you by augmented trusts just as fast as your character is sufficiently developed to gracefully bear these added responsibilities , but to overload the individual only courts disaster and insures disappointment.

16.  The privilege of service immediately follows the discovery of trustworthiness. Nothing can stand between you and opportunity for increased service except your own untrustworthiness, your lack of capacity for appreciation of the solemnity of trust... Service—more service, increased service, difficult service, adventurous service, and at last divine and perfect service—is the goal of time and the destination of space.