The Urantia Book. Urantia Foundation
architectural spheres.
35:3.2 (387.3) The 490 spheres of the Salvington circuit are divided into ten groups, each containing seven primary and forty-two tributary spheres. Each of these groups is under the general supervision of some one of the major orders of universe life. The first group, embracing the pilot world and the next six primary spheres in the encircling planetary procession, is under the supervision of the Melchizedeks. These Melchizedek worlds are:
35:3.3 (387.4) 1. The pilot world—the home world of the Melchizedek Sons.
35:3.4 (387.5) 2. The world of the physical-life schools and the laboratories of living energies.
35:3.5 (387.6) 3. The world of morontia life.
35:3.6 (387.7) 4. The sphere of initial spirit life.
35:3.7 (387.8) 5. The world of mid-spirit life.
35:3.8 (387.9) 6. The sphere of advancing spirit life.
35:3.9 (387.10) 7. The domain of co-ordinate and supreme self-realization.
35:3.10 (387.11) The six tributary worlds of each of these Melchizedek spheres are devoted to activities germane to the work of the associated primary sphere.
35:3.11 (387.12) The pilot world, the sphere Melchizedek, is the common meeting ground for all beings who are engaged in educating and spiritualizing the ascending mortals of time and space. To an ascender this world is probably the most interesting place in all Nebadon. All evolutionary mortals who graduate from their constellation training are destined to land on Melchizedek, where they are initiated into the regime of the disciplines and spirit progression of the Salvington educational system. And never will you forget your reactions to the first day of life on this unique world, not even after you have reached your Paradise destination.
35:3.12 (387.13) Ascending mortals maintain residence on the Melchizedek world while pursuing their training on the six encircling planets of specialized education. And this same method is adhered to throughout their sojourn on the seventy cultural worlds, the primary spheres of the Salvington circuit.
35:3.13 (387.14) Many diverse activities occupy the time of the numerous beings who reside on the six tributary worlds of the Melchizedek sphere, but as concerns the ascending mortals, these satellites are devoted to the following special phases of study:
35:3.14 (388.1) 1. Sphere number one is occupied with the review of the initial planetary life of the ascending mortals. This work is carried on in classes composed of those who hail from a given world of mortal origin. Those from Urantia pursue such an experiential review together.
35:3.15 (388.2) 2. The special work of sphere number two consists in a similar review of the experiences passed through on the mansion worlds encircling the premier satellite of the local system headquarters.
35:3.16 (388.3) 3. The reviews of this sphere pertain to the sojourn on the capital of the local system and embrace the activities of the remainder of the architectural worlds of the system headquarters cluster.
35:3.17 (388.4) 4. The fourth sphere is occupied with a review of the experiences of the seventy tributary worlds of the constellation and of their associated spheres.
35:3.18 (388.5) 5. On the fifth sphere there is conducted the review of the ascendant sojourn on the constellation headquarters world.
35:3.19 (388.6) 6. The time on sphere number six is devoted to an attempt to correlate these five epochs and thus achieve co-ordination of experience preparatory to entering the Melchizedek primary schools of universe training.
35:3.20 (388.7) The schools of universe administration and spiritual wisdom are located on the Melchizedek home world, where also are to be found those schools devoted to a single line of research, such as energy, matter, organization, communication, records, ethics, and comparative creature existence.
35:3.21 (388.8) In the Melchizedek College of Spiritual Endowment all orders—even the Paradise orders—of the Sons of God co-operate with the Melchizedek and the seraphic teachers in training the hosts who go forth as evangels of destiny, proclaiming spiritual liberty and divine sonship even to the remote worlds of the universe. This particular school of the Melchizedek University is an exclusive universe institution; student visitors are not received from other realms.
35:3.22 (388.9) The highest course of training in universe administration is given by the Melchizedeks on their home world. This College of High Ethics is presided over by the original Father Melchizedek. It is to these schools that the various universes send exchange students. While the young universe of Nebadon stands low in the scale of universes as regards spiritual achievement and high ethical development, nevertheless, our administrative troubles have so turned the whole universe into a vast clinic for other near-by creations that the Melchizedek colleges are thronged with student visitors and observers from other realms. Besides the immense group of local registrants there are always upward of one hundred thousand foreign students in attendance upon the Melchizedek schools, for the order of Melchizedeks in Nebadon is renowned throughout all Splandon.
4. Special Work of the Melchizedeks
35:4.1 (388.10) A highly specialized branch of Melchizedek activities has to do with the supervision of the progressive morontia career of the ascending mortals. Much of this training is conducted by the patient and wise seraphic ministers, assisted by mortals who have ascended to relatively higher levels of universe attainment, but all of this educational work is under the general supervision of the Melchizedeks in association with the Trinity Teacher Sons.
35:4.2 (389.1) While the Melchizedek orders are chiefly devoted to the vast educational system and experiential training regime of the local universe, they also function in unique assignments and in unusual circumstances. In an evolving universe eventually embracing approximately ten million inhabited worlds, many things out of the ordinary are destined to happen, and it is in such emergencies that the Melchizedeks act. On Edentia, your constellation headquarters, they are known as emergency Sons. They are always ready to serve in all exigencies—physical, intellectual, or spiritual—whether on a planet, in a system, in a constellation, or in the universe. Whenever and wherever special help is needed, there you will find one or more of the Melchizedek Sons.
35:4.3 (389.2) When failure of some feature of the Creator Son’s plan is threatened, forthwith will go a Melchizedek to render assistance. But not often are they summoned to function in the presence of sinful rebellion, such as occurred in Satania.
35:4.4 (389.3) The Melchizedeks are the first to act in all emergencies of whatever nature on all worlds where will creatures dwell. They sometimes act as temporary custodians on wayward planets, serving as receivers of a defaulting planetary government. In a planetary crisis these Melchizedek Sons serve in many unique capacities. It is easily possible for such a Son to make himself visible to mortal beings, and sometimes one of this order has even incarnated in the likeness of mortal flesh. Seven times in Nebadon has a Melchizedek served on an evolutionary world in the similitude of mortal flesh, and on numerous occasions these Sons have appeared in the likeness of other orders of universe creatures. They are indeed the versatile and volunteer emergency ministers to all orders of universe intelligences and to all the worlds and systems of worlds.
35:4.5 (389.4) The Melchizedek who lived on Urantia during the time of Abraham was locally known as Prince of Salem because he presided over a small colony of truth seekers residing at a place called Salem. He volunteered to incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh and did so with the approval of the Melchizedek receivers of the planet, who feared that the light of life would become extinguished during that period of increasing spiritual darkness. And he did foster the truth of his day and safely pass it on to Abraham and his associates.
5. The Vorondadek Sons
35:5.1 (389.5) After the creation of the personal aids and the first group of the versatile Melchizedeks, the Creator Son and the local universe Creative Spirit planned for, and brought into existence, the second great and diverse order of universe sonship, the Vorondadeks. They are more generally known as Constellation