Appendix XX. The Post-Ultimate Age
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THE POST-ULTIMATE AGE
Adjustment of Time Creatures to Eternity
The Change in Experiential Growth Potential
We have used the term "post-supreme ages" to designate those universe ages that follow the emergence of the Supreme Being and the completion of the evolutionary growth of the grand universe. It would logically follow that we should designate the time-span which will begin after the emergence of the Ultimate (and the completion of the master universe) as "the post-ultimate age."
Given the term "the post-ultimate age" — what does it mean? It appears to be the Seventh Universe Age, or is it really a "universe age?" Perhaps we should think of it as a "post-universe age" for it does not really begin until after the completion of the entire master universe. It appears to be the Final Universe Age, but it could contain the first of a series of new epochs that are to follow the completion of all prior universe ages. And it could also be the final era of one series and the first of another series.
One way of improving our understanding of what the post-ultimate age may mean is to take an inventory of exactly what has happened when it begins. This will help us understand how greatly it differs from all the ages that have gone before it. Let us consider the changes that have taken place in deity, creatures, and universes:
The master universe is finished. It has completed all possible (pre-nuclear) growth — from Havona to the Quartan Space Level. The whole creative-evolutional-eventuational progress has achieved culmination. The master creation is a finished and perfect experiential reality. (1166.5) 106:4.2
The Supreme has completed tertiary growth. This phase of the growth of the Supreme relates to his evolution in the master universe as a mind potential and as the Super-Almighty. (1268.5) 116:0; (1269.4) 116:1.5 We believe this is transcendental growth (1162.5) 106:0.5 and that it leads to ultimate status of being. (1162.6) 106:0.6 We should remember the Supreme is now a post-finite deity having capacity for absonite collaboration in the Trinity Ultimate. (1292.3) 117:7.9
The Trinity Ultimate is fully unified. This trinity consists of the deity-union of the Supreme, the Architect-Corps, and the Supreme-Creator-Corps. (16.3) 0:12.6 Its full unification must take place prior to the emergence of the Ultimate. (1165.7) 106:3.2
God the Ultimate has emerged. The second experiential deity has become fully functional as the co-ordinator of the master universe. The Ultimate Adventure has been consummated!
The Ultimate Adventure is over. The absonite quest for deity has been completed. The citizens of the master universe have attained God the Ultimate as a personal (super-personal) experience. This means they have also attained the Universal Father on the transcendental levels of the Ultimacy of Deity. This is the superfinite attainment of God the Father, and must mean the discovery of God as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent (2.10) 0:1.10 — the knowing of him on the "higher levels" that are attainable "in the ultimate of creature experience." (1293.1) 117:7.7
Transcendental growth is over. The post-ultimate age brings to an end all absonite growth, all post-supreme growth. Finite growth and experience ends with the emergence of the Supreme; absonite growth and (super) experience must and with the emergence of the Ultimate. This means the end of all relative growth — all subabsolute growth. The ascending series of incomplete finites, maximum finites, and transcendentals would appear to be exhausted. Even ultimate reality would appear to be entering upon a post-ultimate stage of expansion in this age. (1162.3-6) 106:0.3-6
The Final Age begins but does not end. This is a unique feature of the post-ultimate age. It seemingly has an origin in time but no ending in time. (The First Age is just the opposite — it has an ending in time but no origin in time.)
The post-ultimate age has a beginning in time whenever the Sixth universe Age, the age of the Quartan Space Level, comes to an end. The Final Age has this very definite beginning but it seems to have no discernible ending. It could embrace many eras and innumerable epochs and have all manner of subdivisions, and each of these could have a clear-cut beginning and ending; but the post-ultimate age can hardly have an end.
What is going to be like to live in the post-ultimate age — something that has no ending? Is this Final Age going to be a straightaway drive into the utter vastness of all unending future eternity? We think not. Let us make some comparisons between this unending age and the seven epochs of the history of an inhabited world.
The story of an inhabited world is divided into seven major epochs, beginning with the evolutionary appearance of man and leading up to the seventh and final epoch — the Era of Light and Life. (589.2-8) 52:0.2-8 Each of the six epochs has a beginning and an ending; the seventh has a beginning but no discernible ending. Does this mean that the Era of Light and Life just goes on and on? No, it does not.
The Era of Light and Life is divided into seven stages of progressing growth. (621.5-11) 55:0.5-11 Each of the first six stages begins and ends; the seventh alone has no end. We believe the post-ultimate age will be subdivided in accordance with this same principle. Let us say that its major divisions will be seven "stages;" each of the first six could begin and could have an end that would be signalized by the attainment of some satisfying goal. The seventh and final stage, alone, would be without end. (And if the Era of Light and Life can be subdivided, then "the seventh and final stage" of the post-ultimate age could also be further subdivided into seven sub-stages, and so on.)
§ 2 the completed master universe
The prospect of the completed master universe is an awesome one. If we go back to some earlier calculations (Appendix XVI § 6) we find that if we give a value of "one" to the grand universe, then on the same scale we should give a value of "100 million" to the master universe. The very idea of exploring, organizing, and perfecting such a very large creation is quite beyond imagination; but this goal is attainable. Large as it is, the master creation does have outer limits (124.5) 11.7.4; eternity endures, and eventually these outer limit will be reached and the Ultimate Adventure will be over.
God the Ultimate will function as the experiential co-ordinator of the whole master creation; his function will likely be associated with those of the Trinity Ultimate and the Paradise Trinity, through the operation of Total Deity on that level denominated "the Ultimacy of Deity." (2.3) 0:1.3; (2.10) 0:1.10; (16.3) 0:12.6; (113.6) 10:5.5 The Ultimacy of Deity is a level of operations on which the Ultimate and these two trinities are functionally associated. (Appendix XVIII § 7)
Quite likely, the Supreme Being will still be functioning as the sovereign of the core creations, the inner universes. The Master Spirits will likely have extended their operations to the periphery of the master creation; their attributes are supreme, ultimate, and supreme-ultimate. (185.3) 16:1.3 Universe Sons and Spirits, together with finaliters and their associates, will be present and functional. And what will all these beings be like after they have completed total absonite growth through service in the (then completed) four outer space levels?
What will our world be like in the post-ultimate age? We read of the description of an inhabited world in the seventh stage of light and life, it seems like utopia. But our world, at the close of the Sixth Universe Age will have progressed far beyond the seven stages of light and life. It will have achieved ultimate status. And our world will still be here, if it endures into the fifth stage of light and life, it will endure forever. (621.3) 55:0.3; (635.4) 55:11.2
§ 3 the nuclear master universe
The post-ultimate age should be viewed from at least two perspectives: It is related to the continuing existence of the completed and perfected master universe, and it is also related to the cosmic developments that lie outside of the borders of the completed master creation. This means that we must think of the master universe not only as a completion but also as a beginning.
What events will inaugurate the passage from the static state of destiny attained to the dynamic state of the quest for new destiny? We have taken inventory of those events that marked the "dawn" of the post-ultimate age; let us now go on to consider the ensuing developments that will take us into the progressing and unfolding expansions of this age:
The Supreme Being. The first experiential deity has completed his growth in the master universe as a mind potential and as the Super-Almighty, but we doubt that he has finished growth with respect to his relationship to "the third level of Deity manifestation." (1268.5) 116:0.5 This would appear to relate his actions to the emergence of God the Absonite. The Supreme must be beginning post-ultimate growth; he has (or soon will have) the capacity to enter into coabsolute relationships with the Trinity Absolute. (1292.2-5) 117:7.8-11; Appendix XIX § 3)
God the Ultimate. The second experiential deity has emerged from the "pre-personal phases" of power-personality unification (113.6) 10:5.5 and would appear to have entered upon the "post-personal phases" of continuing growth. In the post-ultimate age, we believe the Ultimate (like the Supreme) will achieve post-ultimate status and will enter into coabsolute relationships in the Trinity Absolute. (1292.3-4) 117:7.9-10; Appendix XIX § 3) The Ultimate has attained (or will attain) coabsolute status. (1163.1) 106:0.7
The Trinity Absolute. The Second Experiential Trinity is likely forming in the early times of the post-ultimate age. This is the trinity composed of Supreme Deity, Ultimate Deity, and the Consummator of Destiny. (16.4) 0:12.7) It cannot form until the Ultimate has emerged. (1167.2) 106:5.1
The Supreme-Ultimate. This Dual-Deity association has probably not formed at the dawn of the post-ultimate age, but it probably makes its appearance early in that age. In speaking of the Supreme and the Ultimate, the Papers (in the same context) refer to the "future Supreme-Ultimate." (149.3) 13:2.10 We know that both the Supreme and the Ultimate are (in a qualified sense) present in Havona in the Second Age. (162.4) 14:6.29 We believe that this Dual-Deity association will make its appearance fairly early in the post-ultimate age. (Appendix XXVI)
God the Absolute. The third experiential deity is becoming the new challenge to the citizens of the completed master universe. The Supreme Adventure is consummated when creatures attain God the Supreme, find the Father as finite, and face the challenge of the Ultimate. The Ultimate Adventure (352.10) 31:10.3 is completed with the experiential attainment of God the Ultimate and the discovery of the Father as absonite. Such attainment of transcendental deity could only bring the citizens of the master universe face-to-face with the final adventure, the Absolute Adventure — the experiential challenge of God the Absolute (13.5) 0:10.2 and the quest for the Father as Absolute.
These are the new happenings in the post-ultimate age that begin the conversion of the master universe from the static status of destiny attained to the dynamic status of new destiny to be achieved. It is the difference between the master creation as a finished and perfected domain, and the master universe as a new power-base for outward expansion — a new nuclear universe around which the Cosmos Infinite will make its appearance.
It seems unlikely that the Second Experiential Trinity will be particularly concerned with the internal affairs of the master universe; its functions all appear to point spaceward and outside of the master creation. (1168.1) 106:6.2
§ 4 the adjustment of time creatures to eternity
It seems likely that human beings start out in this life to adjust to eternity. We are time creatures — no doubt about that — but as we begin to mature, we begin our long and slow escape from imprisonment within the perishable values of the present moment. (1295.1) 118:1.1 There seems to be nothing more permanent (or more perishable) than the moving moment of the present. As we progress in experience (and if we also grow in maturity, which is optional) we begin to draw more and more deeply on the past for data with which to fashion a wise decision in the present. Concurrently with this drawing on the past, we are learning to project the consequences of a decision farther and farther ahead into the future. This is the beginning of our association of the past-future relation to action in the present. And as we grow older, we are able to grasp the meaning of longer and longer past-future time-spans.
If this is true in mortal experience, how much more true will it be in survival experience. How will we plan, when we can remember a million years into the past and hence will be able to project consequences a million years into the future? When we have lived a trillion years, we will be about as old as the Andronover nebula is now. How will we plan then? By the end of the Sixth Age, at the beginning of the post-ultimate age (if our calculations re right) we may be five trillion times as old as Andronover. How will we plan then?
The meaning and the value of all this may be doubled in the personal experience of an ascender. Among other things, fusion with an Adjuster adds past-eternity experience and memory. (1237.3) 112:7.1 Since this is probably a whole lot more than we can absorb right away, it is likely that we will take it in, little by little, as we develop capacity. In other words, when we have lived a trillion years, then perhaps we can grasp another trillion years of "past-eternity experience and memory." This then adds up to two trillion years of past memory; this means that we ought to be able to look ahead with understanding for a like period — another two trillion years. We have lived only one trillion years, but we have acquired a four-trillion year time-base with which to evaluate the present in terms of the past-future.
If our experiential penetration of time is at a rate that is four times as great as the actual passage of time, then we are bound to make progress in the quantitative comprehension of eternity. The qualitative feeling for eternity probably becomes a part of an ascender's consciousness at the time of transit from the inner circuit of Havona to Paradise. (297.3) 26:1.6; (135.3) 2:5.4
§ 5 the post-ultimate change in growth potential
In Appendix VII, Mechanisms of Experiential Growth, we gave careful consideration to the growth process and to what makes it possible. It may be well to recapitulate this study from a slightly different viewpoint at this time:
(a) The Existential mechanism. This mechanism operated in the First Universe Age in the "origin" of the central universe and its uncreated inhabitants. This mechanism continues to operate as, and if, the existential deities function in an existential manner.
(b) Experiential mechanisms. These are the presently functioning "mechanisms of experiential growth." We believe they include the growth of the present universe age and the growth of a post-supreme nature that will characterize the outer space levels after the emergence of the Supreme Being.
(c) The Existential-Experiential mechanism. This appears to be the mechanism that will operate in the post-ultimate age. There seems to be an essential difference between growth in the master universe and growth beyond the master universe. All master universe growth is associated with the growth of a subinfinite deity. In the present universe age both Supreme and Ultimate transmit and organize the potentials of the Absolutes, for use by the Supreme Creators in their transformative work. In the post-supreme ages the Supreme will have emerged, but the Ultimate will still serve as a "buffer" between growth and the potentials of the Absolutes. In the post-ultimate age there will no longer be such a subinfinite buffer. The growth process will impinge directly on the infinite potentials of the Absolutes.
Growth in the post-Havona ages of the master universe takes place on two levels — finite and absonite. This is because two subabsolute levels of experiential reality were originally projected. (15.7) 0:12.1 Growth in the present universe age is finite growth. It is possible only within the growing (emerging) Supreme, and it will come to an end whenever his power-personalization is completed — when he has completed his growth. (1280.2) 117:2.2
What the growth of the Supreme is to finite growth and experience, we presume the experiential growth of the Ultimate is, and will be, to absonite growth. So long as the Ultimate is engaged in power-personality synthesis, so long as he has not yet emerged, just so long will absonite growth be possible. When the Ultimate has emerged, then absonite growth will be over and finished.
The end of relative growth. If both finite (Supreme-associated) and absonite (Ultimate-associated) types of growth are past events, then it would follow that all relative growth is also a past event. (Here we are using the word "relative" as it is used in the Foreword [ (3.6-13) 0:1.19-26] in the discussion of perfection. In this usage, "relative" stands as a middle term in contrast to "imperfection" and "absolute perfection.") As the Papers note (1266.4) 115:7.3, excepting the Father and his absolute co-ordinates all reality is relative — including the Supreme and the Ultimate. But at this point in our conception of experiential evolution, it is quite likely that neither the Supreme nor the Ultimate are still "relative realities." It is quite likely that they are both coabsolute in status. (Appendix XXV § 1)
We may accordingly conclude that post-ultimate growth may be absolute, coabsolute, associated-absolute, qualified-absolute — call it what we may — but it is not subabsolute, in the sense of being "relative" growth. As we have already observed (Appendix VII § 7) the nature of growth in the final age is difficult to fathom. Nevertheless, the Papers have something to say about this distant concept.
(4.11) 0:2.17 Post-ultimate growth is something that must take place on levels that are beyond creative levels. (The Ultimate is presented as functioning on the final creative levels.)
(4.12) 0:2.18 Post-ultimate growth is beyond the Ultimate and this means it is something that lies beyond creative levels. That which is beyond creativity is called super-creativity. Post-ultimate growth must therefore be super-creative.
(4.11-12) 0:2.17-18 Post-supreme growth is something that has to do with superpersonal values; post-ultim?ate growth has to do with transcended-super-personal values.
(2.12-13) 0:1.12-13 Post-supreme growth takes place on the absonite level; here time and space are transcended. Beyond this, post-ultimate Growth must take place on a level that is timeless and spaceless; the status is absolute.
Post-supreme (absonite) growth is hard enough to imagine; post-ultimate (absolute) growth is even more difficult. Nevertheless, we should look at this concept because the finaliters are undoubtedly going to become involved in this type of growth. Consider the following passages:
(1237.3) 112:7.1 Among other things, fusion with an Adjuster adds "a phase of qualified potential absoluteness."
(1226.13) 112:1.9 Urantia mortals have a type of personality bestowed upon them that has a seventh and supreme dimension which is an "associable absolute." Although it is not infinite, it does have capacity to penetrate the absolute level in a subinfinite sense.
(1169.3) 106:7.4 Mortals have a potential destiny that is absolute in value.
It appears that we mortals, even now, have the type of equipment that will enable us to stay in the evolutionary-experiential growth-stream forever. We may encounter goals that are proceeding faster than we are advancing — goals like the Universal Absolute. (116.9) 10:8.8 But we are never going to come up against an eternal stalemate; we will always be able to make progress, even in the subinfinite penetration of the absolute level of meanings and values.
In the final analysis, Thought Adjusters are the gift of "the absolute God" to his children who have the potential destiny to attain "God as absolute." (1177.7) 107:1.6