Iesus Appeareth To His Disciples.
1. THEN the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Iesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them,
Peace be unto you.
But they were affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
2. And he said unto them,
Behold, it is I (myself) like as ye have seen me aforetime. A spirit can in deed appear in flesh and bones as ye see me have. Behold my hands and my feet, handle and see.
3. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his Heart. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
4. For Thomas (called Didymus one of the disciples) had said unto them,
Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his heart, I will not believe.
Then saith He to Thomas,
Behold my hands, my heart, and my feet; reach hither thy hands, and be not faithless but believing.
5. And Thomas answered and said unto him,
My Lord and my God!
And Iesus saith unto him,
Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.
6. Then saith Iesus unto them again,
Peace be unto you, as Abba Amma hath sent me, even so send I you.
And when he had said this he breathed on them and said unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost; preach the Gospel, and anounce ye unto all nations; the resurrection of the Son (of Man).
7. Teach ye the holy law (of love) which I have delivered unto you. And whosoever forsake their sins, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever continue in their sins they are retained unto them.
8. Baptise them who believe and penitence, bless and anoint them, and offer ye the pure Oblation (of the fruits) of the earth, which I have appointed unto you for a Memorial of me.
9. Lo, I have given my body and my blood to be offered on the Cross, for the redemption of the world from the sin against love, and from the bloody sacrifices and feasts of the past.
10. And ye shall offer the Bread (of Life) and the Wine (of Salvation), for a pure Oblation with incense, as it is written of me, and ye shall eat and drink thereof for a memorial, that I have delivered all who believe in me from the ancient bondage (of your ancestors).
11. For they (making a god of their belly) sacrificed unto their god the innocent creatures (of the earth) in place of the carnal nature within themselves.
12. And eating (of their flesh and drinking of their blood) to their own destruction, corrupted their bodies and shortened their days, even as the Gentiles (who knew not the truth) or who knowing it, have changed it into a lie.
13. As I send you, so send ye others also, to do these things in my Name,
and he laid his hands upon them.
14. In the like manner as the Apostles, so also be ordained Prophets and Evangelists and Pastors (a Holy Priesthood), and afterwards he laid his hand upon those whom they chose for Deacons, one for each of the fourfold twelve.
15. And these are for the rule and guidance of the Church Universal, that all may be perfected in their places in the Unity (of the Body of the Christ).
LECTION 87. 1. -The power to come in, or to go out through closed doors, has been shown in modern times to be no impossibility, but a proven fact in psychological phenomena. The words here do not necessarily imply that such manifestation took place. It is not said, "they were locked," but the power of the Spirit to materialize, and dematerialize, Bond appear in human form (under certain conditions) is too well known to be denied." Report of Dialectical Society on Spiritual Phenomena," etc.
LECTION 87. 2. -The contradiction in the A.V. is here no longer seen. That a spirit can appear in flesh and bones has been testified over by thousands of competent witnesses in this as well as other ages. There is no death, and the returning spirit can appear in any form. Of these things we are witnesses.
v. 8.-A similar passage to this occurs in the "Pistis Sophia," an ancient gnostic Gospel.