THE RETURN OF THE REBEL ANGELS - review

The Return of the Rebel Angels – The Urantia Mysteries and the Coming of the Light, Timothy Wyllie, Bear & Company, Rochester, VT, 2014, 460pp, $22.00.

I found myself somewhat lost when I started reading The Return of the Rebel Angels. It’s part of a series, and I must confess that I haven’t read the first two books. That said, it is an interesting read, albeit rambling at times. 

       Wyllie began a spiritual pilgrimage based on The Urantia Book, which originated in Chicago somewhere between the 1920s and 1950s, and is said to be channeled information from celestial beings. It describes a multiverse with God (“Universal Father”) at the head and each universe having a local administration and hierarchy. Earth, by the way, is called “Urantia”. Long story short: Lucifer, Satan and the Devil (separate beings) became critical of the entire plan of universe administration and rebelled, resulting in our planet (Earth/Urantia) being quarantined. Wyllie wondered whether the rebels could find forgiveness and end our quarantine, and what transformations might be coming to Earth.

      Wyllie and his companion Melinda set off on a journey that included Israel, Egypt, Greece, France, Italy, the UK, and other locales, on the way communicating with angels and “midwayers” (described as “intelligent beings who exist in a contiguous frequency-domain and serve as the permanent planetary citizens”). The reader may find the trek tedious at times with Wyllie’s introspection and diversions.

      As Wyllie mused more than once, and I concur, The Urantia Book was written by the non-rebels, therefore putting the rebels in a bad light. We have yet to hear the rebels’ side. Wyllie makes two very good points: “no administration, however benign, appreciates a rebellion” and “given that the tone of [the] Local Universe is mercy and forgiveness, who then gets to commit the wrongdoing that requires forgiveness and over whom mercy needs to be extended?”

     As I said, The Return of the Rebel Angels was interesting. Wyllie communicates with dolphins and midwayers. He experiences geographical areas that are imbued with negative energies, and others that are uplifting and positive. The image of St. Michael or St. George slaying a dragon reflected a certain way of thinking and influenced the people’s attitudes in those locales.

     Is it an uplifting book? I would have to say that depends on the reader. What outcome would you like? The Urantia Book leaned toward some current religious beliefs that I personally don’t agree with, but others may find them comforting.

   I found Wyllie’s use of “Entheogens, Power Plants, and Sacred Chemistry” somewhat uncomfortable. Entheogen means “becoming Divine within”, and the substances themselves are “typically of plant origin” and “produce a non-ordinary state of consciousness for religious or spiritual purposes.” In Appendix B, Wyllie laments Timothy Leary making a public spectacle of LSD, yet Wyllie himself waits until the very end of the book to explain his use of entheogens. During the course of the book he “gets stoned” several times. I feel he should have given his explanations about the use of entheogens before writing about instances where he used them. One was while playing his guitar at Apollo’s temple in Delphi.

    Would I recommend The Return of the Rebel Angels? Yes, to those with an open mind and a willingness to suspend disbelief. Try the first chapter. If it interests and/or inspires you, keep reading.

- Rob Bachman