Late on the first Easter Sunday, after the Lord had risen from the sepulcher, ten of the disciples gathered for the evening in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem (John 20). They were afraid and probably confused. Since their leader had been crucified by the Roman power, as organized by their own Jewish leaders, they feared that now his followers might also be hunted down and punished. They closed and locked the doors. Were any of the women there? The story does not say, but Peter and John were, who saw and talked with the angels that morning, and the stories of the women were known. Some time must have been spent wondering and perhaps arguing - was He really alive? How could they know it was really Him? This kind of thing, coming back to life after you’re dead, this doesn’t happen in this real world, there must be some mistake!

Then two of the followers, not of the twelve, but the two that had gone to the village of Emmaus, came in, excited and bursting with their news. They had seen Him! They had walked with Him for seven miles and He had told them wondrous things! They had only recognized Him when He broke bread and ate with them. "Don’t doubt us, it really was Jesus!"

And then as they all talked and argued, there He was, standing with them in the room. "Peace be unto you," He said, and He showed them His hands and feet and His side, where he was wounded. He calmed them, and told them that just as he had come down to mankind, so they must go out and teach to all people all the true things that He had taught in the years He was with them.

It was these truths about how to live one’s life that were saving, not the disciples themselves. These saving truths have the power to remit or retain sins, because they were from the Lord, the disciples only transmitted them from the Lord to those who would listen and take them to heart. Then He breathed on them - representing His holy spirit - so that they would not only want to pass these truths on to people, but would also be given the words to say whenever the times came. And then He was gone again.

Thomas was not there that night. We don’t know why. And Thomas, when he heard the story, just could not swallow it. "Except I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe", he said. (John 20:25.)

The next verse tells us that the next Sunday they gathered again, and that Thomas was present this time. As before, the Lord was suddenly there, saying again, "Peace be unto you", and then directly to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger… and reach hither thy hand… and be not faithless but believing". Now Thomas's response was, "my Lord and my God". It seems as if the Lord came this time just to convince Thomas, because it was Thomas who needed Him.

I think He does work this way. I am reminded of another story, from the gospel of Mark (Mark 9:17-27) where a father comes to Jesus with a young son who is possessed by a devil, and asks Jesus to cure him, and is asked in turn: "Do you believe I can do this?" In Mark 9:24 the father responds. Crying out, he said with tears, "I believe, help thou my unbelief."

I think many people have this conflict between lingering doubts and a desire to have the doubts taken away. If we carry on and make our decisions in life as if the doubts were indeed gone, then indeed they will lose their strength and actually will be gone.

These are the only details given of these two meetings in Jerusalem. Chronologically the next post-Easter stories are the ones that take place in Galilee.

John does go on to say at the end of his gospel "...many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God...." (John 20:30-31). Perhaps there were more post-Easter stories that weren't written down, but the ones we do have are strong. For the disciples who were involved, there was an unstoppable impact from the life and teachings of the Lord, and His crucifixion, and physical death, and now - in these stories - His resurrection. Hearing the Lord's charges to them, these Galilean fishermen and their colleagues launch out into the wide world, and work to achieve the Great Commission, enduring hardships and persecution, and succeeding - probably beyond their wildest dreams!

9391. 'And they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings - young bulls - to Jehovah' means a representative sign of worship of the Lord springing from good, and from truth rooted in good. This is clear from the representation of 'burnt offerings and sacrifices' as worship of the Lord in general, dealt with in 922, 6905, 8936, worship of the Lord springing from the good of love being meant specifically by 'burnt offerings' and worship of Him springing from the truth of faith rooted in good by 'sacrifices', 8680; and from the meaning of 'young bulls' as the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man, dealt with below. The beasts or animals that were sacrificed were signs of the nature of the goodness and truth from which worship sprang, 922, 1823, 2180, 3519; gentle and useful beasts mean celestial realities which are aspects of the good of love and spiritual realities which are aspects of the truth of faith, and this was why they were used in sacrifices, see 9280. The reason why 'a young bull' means the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man is that members of the herd were signs of the affections for goodness and truth present in the external or natural man, while members of the flock were signs of the affections for goodness and truth present in the internal or spiritual man, 2566, 5913, 6048, 8937, 9135. Members of the flock were lambs, she-goats, sheep, rams, and he-goats; and those of the herd were bulls or oxen, young bulls or oxen, and calves. Lambs and sheep were signs of the good of innocence and charity present in the internal or spiritual man; consequently calves and young bulls, being of a more tender age than fully-grown bulls, were signs of a like good in the external or natural man.

[2] The fact that 'young bulls' and 'calves' have this meaning is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, for example in Ezekiel,

The feet of the four living creatures were straight feet, and the hollows of their feet were like the hollow of a calf's foot. ¹ And they sparkled like a kind of burnished bronze. Ezekiel 1:7.

This refers to the cherubs whom 'the four living creatures' describe. 'The cherubs' are the Lord's protection and providence, guarding against access to Him except through good, see 9277 (end). External or natural good was represented by 'straight feet' ² and by 'the hollows of feet that were like the hollow of a calf's foot'; for 'the feet' means the things which belong to the natural man, 'straight feet' those which are aspects of good, and 'the hollows of the feet' those which are last and lowest in the natural man. For the meaning of 'the feet' as these things, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328; and for that of the heels, soles, and hollows of the feet, also hoofs, as the last and lowest things in the natural man, 4938, 7729. The reason why the hollows of their feet 'sparkled like a kind of burnished bronze' is that 'bronze' means natural good, 425, 1551, and 'bronze sparkling as if burnished' means good shining with the light of heaven, which is God's truth radiating from the Lord. From this it is evident that 'a calf' means the good of the external or natural man.

[3] Similarly in John,

Around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion; but the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature however had a face like a human being; lastly the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. Revelation 4:6-7.

Here also 'four living creatures', who are cherubs, means the Lord's protection and providence, guarding against anyone's gaining access except through the good of love. Actual protection is achieved by means of truth and the good arising from it, and by means of good and the truth deriving from it. Truth and the good arising from it, in the outward form, are meant by 'a lion' and 'a calf'; and good and the truth deriving from it, in the inward form, are meant by 'the face of a human being' and 'a flying eagle'. 'A lion' means truth from good in its power, see 6367, and therefore 'a calf' means the actual good arising from it.

[4] In Hosea,

Turn back to Jehovah, say to Him, Take away all iniquity and accept that which is good, and we will render the young bulls ³ of our lips. Hosea 14:2.

No one can know what 'rendering the young bulls of the lips' refers to unless he knows what is meant by 'young bulls' and what by 'the lips'. It is evident that the praise (confessio) and thanksgiving which flow from a heart that is good are meant, for it says, 'Turn back to Jehovah, and say to Him, Accept that which is good', and then 'we will render the young bulls of our lips', which stands for offering Jehovah praise and thanksgiving which flow from the forms of good taught by doctrine. For things connected with doctrine are meant by 'the lips', 1286, 1288.

[5] In Amos,

You bring near a reign of violence. ⁴ They lie on beds of ivory, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the fattening stall. Amos 6:3-4.

These words describe those who abound in cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth and yet lead an evil life. 'Eating lambs from the flock' means learning forms of the good of innocence which belong to the internal or spiritual man and making them one's own; 'eating calves from the midst of the fattening stall' stands for learning forms of the good of innocence which belong to the external or natural man and making them one's own. For the meaning of 'eating' as making one's own, see 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745; and for the meaning of 'lambs' as forms of the good of innocence, 3994, 3519, 7840. Since 'lambs' means interior forms of the good of innocence, it follows that 'calves from the midst of the fattening stall' means exterior forms of the good of innocence; for on account of the heavenly marriage it is normal for the Word, especially the prophetical part, to deal with truth whenever it does so with good, 9263, 9314, and also to speak about external things whenever it does so about internal ones. Also 'the fattening stall' and 'fat' mean the good of interior love, 5943.

[6] Likewise in Malachi,

To you, fearers of My name, the Sun of Righteousness will arise, and healing in His wings, that you may go out and grow, like calves of the fattening stall. Malachi 4:2.

In Luke, the father said, referring to the prodigal son who had come back penitent in heart,

Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Furthermore bring the fatted calf and kill it, that we may eat and be glad. Luke 15:22-23.

Anyone who understands nothing more than the literal sense does not believe that deeper things lie hidden in any of this. But in actual fact every one of the details embodies some heavenly idea, such as the details that they were to put the best robe on him, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring out the fatted calf and kill it, in order that they might eat and be glad. 'The prodigal son' means those who have squandered heavenly riches, which are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth; 'his return to his father, and confession that he was not worthy to be called his son' means a penitent heart and self-abasement; 'the best robe' which was to be put on him means general truths, 4545, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093, 9212, 9216; and 'the fatted calf' means general forms of good in keeping with those truths. The like is meant by 'calves' and 'young bulls' elsewhere, as in Isaiah 11:6; Ezekiel 39:18; Psalms 29:6; 69:31; as well as those used in burnt offerings and sacrifices, Exodus 29:11-12ff; Leviticus 4:3ff, 13ff; 8:15ff; 9:2; 16:3; 23:18; Numbers 8:8ff; 15:24ff; 28:19-20; Judges 6:25-29; 1 Samuel 1:25; 16:2; 1 Kings 18:23-26, 33.

[7] The reason why the children of Israel made the golden calf for themselves and worshipped it in place of Jehovah, Exodus 32:1-end, was that Egyptian idolatry persisted in their heart even though they professed belief in Jehovah with their lips. Chief among the idols in Egypt were heifers and calves made of gold. This was because 'a heifer' was a sign of truth on the level of factual knowledge, which is the truth the natural man possesses, while 'a calf' was a sign of good on the same level, which is the good the natural man possesses; and also because gold meant good. Visible images symbolizing this good and that truth which the natural man possesses took the form in that land of calves and heifers made of gold. But when the representative signs of heavenly things there were turned into things belonging to idolatrous practices and finally into those belonging to the practice of magic, the actual representative images there, as in other places, became idols and started to be objects that were worshipped. This was how the forms of idolatry among the people of old and all the magic of Egypt arose.

[8] For the Ancient Church, which came next after the Most Ancient, was a representative Church, all of whose worship consisted in rituals, statutes, judgements, and commandments, which represented Divine and heavenly realities, which are the interior things of the Church. The Church after the Flood was spread throughout a large part of the Asiatic world, and existed also in Egypt. But in Egypt this Church's factual knowledge was developed more fully. Consequently those people excelled all others in knowledge of correspondences and representations, as becomes clear from the hieroglyphics, from the magic and idols there, as well as from the various things mentioned in the Word regarding Egypt. All this being so, 'Egypt' in the Word means factual knowledge in general, in respect both of truth and of good; and it also means the natural, since factual knowledge belongs to the natural man. Such knowledge was also meant by 'a heifer' and 'a calf'.

[9] The Ancient Church, which was a representative Church, was spread throughout a large number of kingdoms, and existed also in Egypt, see 1238, 2385, 7097.

The Church's factual knowledge was more fully developed especially in Egypt, and therefore 'Egypt' in the Word means factual knowledge in both senses, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6693, 6750, 7779 (end), 7926.

And since truth on the level of factual knowledge and its good are the natural man's truth and good, 'Egypt' in the Word also means the natural, 4967, 5079, 5080, 5095, 5160, 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301, 6004, 6015, 6147, 6252.

[10] From all this it is now evident that heifers and calves belonged among the chief idols of Egypt. And they did so because heifers and calves were signs of truth on the level of factual knowledge and its good, which belong to the natural man, even as Egypt itself was a sign of them, so that Egypt and a calf had the same meaning. This accounts for the following that is said regarding Egypt in Jeremiah,

A very beautiful heifer was Egypt; destruction has come from the north. And her hired servants in the midst of her are like calves of the fattening stall. ⁵ Jeremiah 46:20-21.

'A heifer' is truth on the level of factual knowledge, which belongs to the natural man. 'Hired servants' who are 'calves' are those who do good for the sake of gain, 8002. 'Calves' are accordingly that kind of good which is not in itself good, only delight such as exists with the natural man separated from the spiritual man. This delight, which is in itself idolatrous, is what the children of Jacob indulged in, as they were allowed to reveal and prove in their adoration of the calf, Exodus 32:1-end.

[11] What they did then is also described as follows in David,

They made a calf in Horeb and bowed down to the molded image; and they changed the glory into the effigy of the ox that eats the plant. ⁶ Psalms 106:19-20.

'Making a calf in Horeb and bowing down to the molded image' means idolatrous worship, which consists of rituals, statutes, judgements, and commandments, but solely in their outward form and not at the same time in their inward form. That nation was restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, see 9320 (end), 9373, 9377, 9380, 9381, and so was idolatrous at heart, 3732 (end), 4208, 4281, 4825, 5998, 7401, 8301, 8871, 8882. 'They changed the glory into the effigy of the ox that eats the plant' means that they forsook the inward things of the Word and the Church and cultivated the outward, which is no more than lifeless factual knowledge. For 'the glory' is the inward aspect of the Word and the Church, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 5922, 8267, 8427; 'the effigy of the ox' is a semblance of good in outward form, since 'the effigy' means a semblance, thus a lifeless imitation, while 'the ox' means good in the natural, thus in outward form, 2566, 2781, 9135; and 'eating the plant' means making it one's own only on the level of factual knowledge, since 'eating' means making one's own, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 4745, while 'the plant' means factual knowledge, 7571.

[12] Because such things were meant by 'the golden calf' which was worshipped by the children of Israel in place of Jehovah, Moses disposed of it in the following manner,

I took your sin which you had made, the calf, and burnt it in the fire, and crushed it by grinding it right down until it was fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook descending out of the mountain. Deuteronomy 9:21.

No one knows why the golden calf was treated in this manner unless he knows what being burned in the fire, crushed, ground down, and made fine as dust means, and what the brook descending out of the mountain, into which the dust was thrown, means. It describes the state of those who venerate external things but nothing internal, that is to say, they are people immersed in the evils of self-love and love of the world, and in consequent falsities so far as things from God are concerned, thus so far as the Word is concerned. For 'the fire' in which the image was burned means the evil of self-love and love of the world, 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575; 'the dust' into which it was crushed is consequent falsity substantiated from the literal sense of the Word; and 'the brook' coming out of Mount Sinai is God's truth, thus the Word in the letter since this descends out of that truth. Those with whom external things are devoid of anything internal explain the Word to suit their own loves; and, as was so with the Israelites and Jews in former times and still is so at the present day, they see within it earthly and not at all heavenly things.

[13] Much the same as all this was also represented by Jeroboam's calves at Bethel and Dan, 1 Kings 12:26-end; 2 Kings 17:16, spoken of as follows in Hosea,

They have made a king, and not by Me; they have made princes, and I did not know. Their silver and their gold they have made into idols for themselves, that they may be cut off. Your calf has deserted [you], O Samaria. For from Israel is this also. A smith has made it, and it is not God; for the calf of Samaria will be broken to ⁷ pieces. Hosea 8:4-6.

This refers to the perverted understanding and the distorted explanation of the Word by those with whom external things are devoid of anything internal; for they keep to the literal sense of the Word, which they twist around to suit their own loves and ideas conceived from it. 'Making a king, and not by Me', and 'making princes, and I did not know' means hatching out truth and the leading aspects of truth, and doing so in the inferior light that is one's own, not with God's help; for 'a king' in the internal sense means truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, and 'princes' leading aspects of truth, 1482, 2089, 5044.

[14] 'Making their silver and their gold into idols' means perverting knowledge of truth and good obtained from the literal sense of the Word to suit their own desires, while still venerating that knowledge as being holy; even so it is devoid of life because it comes from their self-intelligence. For 'silver' is truth and 'gold' is good which come from God, and for this reason belong to the Word, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932; and 'idols' are religious teachings which are a product of self-intelligence, and which are venerated as being holy, but in fact have no life in them, 8941. From all this it is evident that 'a king' and 'princes', also 'silver' and 'gold', mean falsities arising from evil; for things that arise from the self or proprium arise from evil and consequently are falsities, even though outwardly they look like truths because they have been taken from the literal sense of the Word. From this it is evident what is meant by 'the calf of Samaria which the smith has made and which will be broken to pieces', namely good present in the natural man but not at the same time in the spiritual man, thus what is not good since it has been applied to evil. 'A smith has made it, and it is not God' means that it is a product of the self and does not come from God; and 'being broken to pieces' means being reduced to nothing.

[15] Like things are meant by 'calves' in Hosea,

They sin more and more, and make for themselves a molten image from their silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen, saying to them, Those who offer human sacrifice ⁸ will kiss the calves. Hosea 13:2.

From all this it is now evident what 'calf' and 'young bull' mean in the following places: In Isaiah,

The unicorns will come down with them, and the young bulls with the powerful ones; and their land will become drunk with blood, and their dust will be made fat with fatness. Isaiah 34:7.

In the same prophet,

The fortified city will be solitary, a habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness; there the calf will feed, and there it will lie down and consume its branches. Its harvest will wither. Isaiah 27:10-11.

In Jeremiah,

From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, a three year old heifer, for the waters of Nimrim also will become desolations. Jeremiah 48:34.

In Isaiah,

My heart cries out upon Moab, his fugitives flee even to Zoar, a three year old heifer, for at the ascent of Luhith he will go up weeping. Isaiah 15:5.

In Hosea,

Ephraim is a trained heifer, loving to thresh [grain]. Hosea 10:11.

In David,

Rebuke the wild animals of the reeds, the congregation of the strong ones, among the calves of the peoples, trampling on the fragments of silver. They have scattered the peoples; they desire wars. Psalms 68:30.

[16] This refers to the arrogance of those who wish to enter into the mysteries of faith on the basis of factual knowledge, refusing to accept anything at all apart from what they themselves deduce on that basis. Since they see nothing in the superior light of heaven which comes from the Lord, only in the inferior light of the natural world which begins in the self, they seize on shadows instead of light, on illusions instead of realities, in general on falsity instead of truth. Since these people's thinking is insane, because it relies solely on the lowest level of knowledge, they are called 'wild animals of the reeds'; since their reasoning is fierce they are called 'the congregation of the strong ones'; and since they dispel truths that still remain and are spread around among the forms of good of those governed by the Church's truths, they are said 'to trample on the fragments of silver among the calves of the peoples', and in addition 'to scatter the peoples', that is, the Church itself together with its truths. The longing to attack and destroy these truths is meant by 'desiring wars'. From all this it is again evident that 'calves' are forms of good.

[17] In Zechariah 12:4 it says, 'Every horse of the peoples I will strike with blindness'; and 'horse of the peoples' means the ability to understand truths which exists with everyone who belongs to the Church, since 'a horse' means the power of understanding truth, 2761. But in Psalms 68:30 quoted above it speaks of 'trampling on the fragments of silver' and 'scattering the peoples among the calves of the peoples'. 'Trampling on' and 'scattering' mean casting down and dispelling, 258; 'silver' means truth, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999, 8932; and 'the peoples' means those belonging to the Church who are governed by truths, 2928, 7207, thus also the Church's truths, 1259, 1260, 3295, 3581, so that 'the calves of the peoples' means the forms of good governing the will of those who belong to the Church.

[18] Further evidence that forms of good are meant by 'calves' is clear in Jeremiah,

I will give the men who transgressed My covenant, who did not keep the terms of the covenant which they made before Me, that of the calf which they cut in two in order that they might pass between its parts - the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the royal ministers and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf - I will give them into the hand of their enemies, that their dead bodies may be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. Jeremiah 34:18-20.

No one can know what 'the covenant of the calf' and what 'passing between its parts' describe unless he knows what is meant by 'a covenant', 'a calf', and 'cutting it into two parts', and also what is meant by 'the princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, the royal ministers and the priests, and the people of the land'. Plainly some heavenly arcanum is meant. Nevertheless that arcanum comes into the open and can be understood when it is known that 'a covenant' means being joined together, 'a calf' means good, 'a calf cut into two parts' means good emanating from the Lord on one hand and good received by a person on the other; that 'the princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, and the royal ministers and the priests, and the people of the land' are the truths and forms of good which the Church has from the Word; and that 'passing between the parts' means being joined together. Once all this is known it becomes evident that the internal sense of these words in Jeremiah is this: With that nation good emanating from the Lord was not at all joined to but stood apart from good received by a person through the Word, and therefore through the Church's truths and forms of good. The reason for this was that they were restricted to external things, devoid of anything internal.

[19] The same thing is implied by the covenant of the calf with Abram, referred to as follows in the Book of Genesis,

Jehovah said to Abram, Take for Me ⁹ a three year old heifer, and a three year old she-goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtle dove and a fledgling. And he took for himself all these, and parted each of them down the middle and laid each part opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut apart. And birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. And as the sun was going down a deep sleep came over Abram, and, behold, a dread of a great darkness was coming over him. On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. Genesis 15:9-12, 18.

'A dread of great darkness coming over Abram' was a sign of the state of the Jewish nation, that they were in greatest darkness so far as truths and forms of good which the Church has from the Word were concerned. They were in such darkness because they were restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, as a consequence of which their worship was idolatrous. For the worship of anyone restricted to external things devoid of anything internal is idolatrous, because his heart and soul when he engages in worship is not in heaven but in the world. Nor does he respect the holy things of the Word from any heavenly love present in him, only an earthly love. This state of that nation is what the prophet described by 'the covenant of the calf which they cut into two parts, between which they passed'.

Footnotes: