Recently, an article in Mighty Messenger, Spring 2021 attracted my attention. Written by Gary Tonge, an American reader, it was pointing out that the Lucifer Rebellion did not claim any of the ascendent personalities who were Jerusem citizens at the time. These numbered 187,432, 811.
It was over two years of system time from the beginning of the “war in heaven” until the installation of Lucifer’s successor. But at last the new Sovereign came, landing on the sea of glass with his staff. I was among the reserves mobilized on Edentia by Gabriel, and I well remember the first message of Lanaforge to the Constellation Father of Norlatiadek. It read: “Not a single Jerusem citizen was lost. Every ascendant mortal survived the fiery trial and emerged from the crucial test triumphant and altogether victorious.” And on to Salvington, Uversa, and Paradise went this message of assurance that the survival experience of mortal ascension is the greatest security against rebellion and the surest safeguard against sin. This noble Jerusem band of faithful mortals numbered just 187,432,811. [ Paper 53:7.12, page 608.8]
When I first read this paragraph many years ago, my reaction was: “where are all the others?” After all, in a system of 606 inhabited worlds, most of which have been inhabited much longer than Urantia, there must be many more survivors that that. Even making the most pessimistic estimate of the average survival rate, 606 planets should yield more than a paltry few hundred million achieving citizenship on Jerusem, even allowing for the fact that they would be moving on to Edentia in due course. Surely the number would be in the billions, or even trillions, wouldn’t it? True there would be many on the mansion worlds, and ascenders leave Jerusem for Edentia periodically, but even so, there should be more than that on Jerusem.
Gary’s insight gave the clue. He pointed out that any ascender who had fused with his adjuster would have been rebellion-proof. Adjuster fusion guarantees that the fused personality would be incapable of rebelling against the Creator Son of the Universal Father. So fused personalities could not have been included in the 187,432,811 Jerusem citizens referred to by Manovandet Melchizedek in the above quote. The Jerusem citizens referred to would be those who had achieved Jerusem citizenship before adjuster fusion. They would be those very few ascenders who had not fused on the mansion worlds.
While practically all surviving mortals are fused with their Adjusters on one of the mansion worlds or immediately upon their arrival on the higher morontia spheres, there are certain cases of delayed fusion, some not experiencing this final surety of survival until they reach the last educational worlds of the universe headquarters; … [ Paper 40:8.1, page 449.4]
This explains why there are so very few of them on Jerusem, and also emphasises the significance of the ascendant culture, because these unfused ascenders were resistant to the sophistries of Lucifer, even though not fused with their adjusters. The experience of the ascendant culture, together with the influence of their indwelling adjusters kept them sane. And this is what Manovandet is so pleased about.
In this regard, it is worth noting that the members of the Planetary Prince’s staff were not adjuster indwelt. Their adjusters had been detained on Jerusem. They were all Jerusem citizens who had not fused with their adjusters on the mansion worlds, in a similar position to those 187,432,811 who so successfully resisted Lucifer’s influence. But whereas the group on Jerusem still retained adjusters, the Prince’s staff did not.
2. The one hundred were material but superhuman beings, having been reconstituted on Urantia as unique men and women of a high and special order.
This group, while enjoying provisional citizenship on Jerusem, were as yet unfused with their Thought Adjusters; and when they volunteered and were accepted for planetary service in liaison with the descending orders of sonship, their Adjusters were detached. But these Jerusemites were superhuman beings — they possessed souls of ascendant growth. During the mortal life in the flesh the soul is of embryonic estate; it is born (resurrected) in the morontia life and experiences growth through the successive morontia worlds. And the souls of the Caligastia one hundred had thus expanded through the progressive experiences of the seven mansion worlds to citizenship status on Jerusem. [Paper 66:4.9, page 744.8]
As a result of their lack of adjusters, sixty of the one hundred members of Caligastis’s staff fell into rebellion. Unlike the 187,432,811 on Jerusem who still retained their adjusters, they did not have the extra guidance which their adjusters would have provided, and so they fell. This was a tragedy for them, and their situation remains unclear. Their adjusters wait on Jerusem.
When the staff of one hundred came to Urantia, they were temporarily detached from their Thought Adjusters. Immediately upon the arrival of the Melchizedek receivers the loyal personalities (except Van) were returned to Jerusem and were reunited with their waiting Adjusters. We know not the fate of the sixty staff rebels; their Adjusters still tarry on Jerusem. Matters will undoubtedly rest as they now are until the entire Lucifer rebellion is finally adjudicated and the fate of all participants decreed. [Paper 67:4.6, page 758.3]
The situation will only be clarified when the ramifications of the rebellion are disposed of.
The 40 members of Caligastia’s staff who remained loyal to Michael’s administration under the leadership of Van were translated to Jerusem, and were re-united with their adjusters, when the Melchizedek receivers took control following the rebellion.
The story of the modified Andonite associates of the Prince’s staff was rather different. 44 of the one hundred modified Andonites followed Nod and the rebels, but 56 stood firm with Van, and this included 16 who did not follow their associated staff member, a remarkable feat.
We need to recall that all of the one hundred modified Andonites held adjusters. This after all is how they were assembled in the first place.
Accordingly, fifty males and fifty females of the Andon and Fonta posterity, representing the survival of the best strains of that unique race, were chosen by the Life Carriers. With one or two exceptions these Andonite contributors to the advancement of the race were strangers to one another. They were assembled from widely separated places by co-ordinated Thought Adjuster direction and seraphic guidance at the threshold of the planetary headquarters of the Prince. [Paper 66:2.7, page 742.7]
Their adjusters seem to have stimulated this 16 to refuse to follow their staff associates. The 44 who followed Nod into rebellion, even though adjuster indwelt, lived their lives out as mortals, but we are not told about their fate. Probably most of them resumed response to their adjusters as time passed, and responded to them but who knows?
The 56 who stood with Van, all adjuster indwelt, were translated when the loyal members of the staff ascended to Jerusem, except for Amadon who remained with Van, using the tree of life to sustain themselves.
In addition to the 56, there were 88 Andonites who had not been modified, and we do not know if they were adjuster indwelt or not. But they worked with Van and Amadon for the term of their natural lifespan, bearing in mind that they had not been given the complement of the system circuits which would have enabled them to benefit from the tree of life.
So we see in conclusion that it was probably the presence of adjusters which allowed the 187,432,811 Jerusem citizens to remain unmoved by Lucifer’s proclamation. And it was because of the absence of adjusters within Caligastia’s staff which allowed so many of them to be taken in by the sophistries of the fallen Prince. And the presence of adjusters led to all of the loyal staffs’ associates remaining loyal, and even allowing 16 of the associates of the disloyal staff to desert their associates and remain loyal to Michael.
And we also see why the 187,432,811 Jerusem citizens were so few.