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!

885. If anyone hath adored the beast and his image, signifies lest they acknowledge the religion of faith separated from life and its doctrine. This is evident from the signification of "the beast," as being the religion of faith separated from life (of which presently); also from the signification of "to adore," as being to acknowledge and believe (See above, n. 790, 805, 821); also from the signification of "his image," as being the doctrine of that religion, and the prescribed rule that such things only should be taught and believed (See above, n. 827; "The beast" that with his image was not to be adored means the beast that came up out of the sea (described in the preceding chapter, Revelation 13:1), by which reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from the life were signified (See above, n. 774). That this beast is meant is evident from the fourteenth verse of the preceding chapter [Revelation 13:14]; but the other beast that was seen to come up out of the earth signifies confirmations from the Word in favor of such a separation (See above, n. 815). They were not to adore the former beast and his image, and those that did adore them "should be tormented with fire and brimstone," since passages of the Word cited to prove the separation of faith from good works, apart from reasonings from the natural man, do not implant falsity and evil, but this is done only by reasonings, for reasonings are what falsify these, and without reasonings from the natural man nothing in the Word can be falsified. How reasonings have falsified the Word has been shown above in many places.

[2] That this is so can be seen especially in the churches where faith alone is accepted as the essential means of salvation, in that those who teach from their doctrine and thence from the Word teach in a wholly different way from those who teach from the Word and not at the same time from their doctrine. Those who teach from their doctrine and thence from the Word falsify all things of the Word; but those who teach from the Word and not at the same time from their doctrine do not falsify it, and for the reason that the doctrine is full of reasonings, although they do not seem to be reasonings, while the Word is free from reasonings. Therefore many in those churches teach faith conjoined to life, and life conjoined to faith; but others teach faith separated from the life. This latter is done by the learned who teach from doctrine, but the former by the learned and unlearned who teach from the Word. Thus they go in opposite ways; and yet this is permitted by the defenders of the doctrine for the reason that the Word plainly teaches life and a faith according to life, and the simple-minded cannot be taught otherwise than according to the obvious sense of the Word. And some permit it because they cannot openly resist the truth; for truth operates and persuades in unknown ways, flowing in from heaven with everyone; and those receive it who do not live in evil, and who have not from childhood and from pride in being more learned than others confirmed themselves in the doctrine of faith alone, especially in the dogma of justification by it, in which they place the glory of superior learning. Nevertheless, these think otherwise in heart when they hear from others confirmations from the Word in favor of life; for they think that faith alone includes works in itself, and that the two are conjoined, according to the dogma of justification; although this dogma, as it is taught by many, separates works from faith more than it conjoins them with faith; it even sets them aside as not justifying so far as there is anything in them from man or from his will.

[3] That in the churches where faith alone is accepted, the teaching that is from the Word and the teaching that is from doctrine are wholly different, can be confirmed by many instances; as in the Anglican Church and in the Lutheran Church. It is known that the doctrine of the Anglican Church teaches faith alone, and that the preachers skillfully, ingeniously, and gracefully join works to faith, as if they were stored up in it; and they perceive a kind of endeavor from faith, like an affection for doing good. This is especially true of those who have been justified by faith alone to the third or fourth degree. It teaches, moreover, that those whose faith alone has not been efficacious to that degree are nevertheless saved, because the good of life lies hidden in faith, as the ability to bring forth lies hidden in the seed of fruit. But it has been shown above in the explanations of the twelfth and thirteenth chapters that these things are the offspring of a mind glorying and boasting in superior learning and ingenuity. To show that in the Anglican Church when they teach from the Word and not at the same time from doctrine the teaching is wholly different, I will here quote in proof what is taught in that church on every feast day, and is read by those who come to the Holy Supper. It is as follows: "The way and means thereto is, first, to examine your lives and conversations by the rule of God's commandments; and whereinsoever ye shall perceive yourselves to have offended, either by will, word, or deed, there to bewail your own sinfulness and to confess yourselves to Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life. And if ye shall perceive your offenses to be such as are not only against God but also against your neighbor, then ye shall reconcile yourselves unto them; being ready to make restitution and satisfaction according to the uttermost of your power, for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any other; and being likewise ready to forgive others that have offended you, as ye would have forgiveness of your offenses at God's hand; for otherwise the receiving of the holy communion doth nothing else but increase your damnation. Therefore if any of you be a blasphemer of God, an hinderer or slanderer of His Word, an adulterer, or be in malice, or envy, or in any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins, or else come not to the holy table; lest after the taking of that holy sacrament the devil enter into you, as he entered into Judas, and fill you with all iniquities, and bring you to destruction both of body and soul." Here faith is not even named, but works only are taught, because all this is from the Word, and not at the same time from doctrine.

[4] Moreover, the Athanasian faith, which is frequently read in the presence of the people in that church every year on feast days, and which, because it is the work of a council, has been accepted in all Christian churches as the common doctrine concerning the trinity, teaches thus respecting the Lord and the Last Judgment by Him: "All men shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved." Now consider, reflect, and examine, whether those who preach so ingeniously from doctrine, or who believe the same, do not include the above things in faith, as concealed in it. And as they believe that works do not justify, and that no one can do any good that is good from himself, and that good done by man has in itself merit, they give up doing, and believe that they are saved by the life concealed in faith alone, that is, in faith separated from good works. But I can testify that those who so believe and at the same time so live all come into hell. But those who live according to the precepts contained in the exhortation preparatory to the Holy Supper, and according to what has just been quoted from the Athanasian faith, come into heaven. Moreover, these have faith; but the others do not, whatever they may think to the contrary. It is said, those who believe and at the same time live from doctrine; for there are many, especially the more simple-minded, who believe from doctrine, but who do not at the same time live according to the doctrine; and these are saved.

[5] It is the same in the Lutheran Church. There, too, those who teach from doctrine and those who teach from the Word go in opposite directions. Those who teach from doctrine teach in precisely the same way as in the Anglican Church respecting faith alone and justification by it; and they separate works from the means of salvation, and set them aside as not good and as meritorious, and thus not justifying, because they are from man. But when they teach from the Word they also teach works, as can be seen from things written that are set forth for the general body, and are therefore inserted in all the Psalm books, and are called "Hindrances to the Impenitent, " ¹ where the following words occur: "The holy will of God and His manifest command is, that those who believe should perform good works, and when these are done for just causes, and aim at a true end, especially such as are done for the sake of God's glory and the use of the neighbor, they are acceptable to God for Christ's sake; yea, out of pure mercy He rewards them; so that man has recompense for every good that he does. For God gives praise and honor and eternal blessedness to those who in patience strive through works to attain to eternal life. Wherefore God looks attentively to the works of men, as He has shown in His address to the seven churches in Asia, and to all men, where the Last Judgment is treated of. And on this account the apostle Paul uses these admonitions to exhort his hearers to good works, saying, Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap it without ceasing' (Galatians 6:9). Therefore those who are rich in good works show thereby that they are rich in faith, since while faith is living it works by charity. Yea, faith which alone justifies never abides alone and separate, but brings with it good works, as a good tree does good fruit, the sun light, the fire heat, and the water moisture." From all this it can be seen that in those churches the teaching from doctrine and thus from the Word is one thing, and the teaching from the Word and not at the same time from doctrine is another thing; and that those who teach and at the same time live from doctrine are meant by those who "adore the beast and his image" (here treated of in verses 9-11); and that those who teach and live from the Word are meant by those of whom it is said in the twelfth verse (Revelation 14:12), "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

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