t of rest, but strong in soul and spirit.

Then He gathered the Twelve around Him, and in a secret meeting
divulged to them certain deep truths and secrets, adding certain
instructions regarding healing work, and calling upon them for the
highest allegiance to Him and His work.

The Gospel narratives have but very little to say regarding Jesus'
work in the instruction of the Twelve for their future mission. And
the average student of the narratives goes on without thinking of the
marvelous mental and spiritual development that must have been
manifested by the Apostles during their transition from humble
fishermen, and men of similar vocations, to highly developed teachers
of advanced spiritual truths. To the occultist especially this
ordinary view seems astounding, for he realizes the many arduous steps
necessary to be trodden by the feet of the Neophyte before he becomes
an Initiate, and the higher steps awaiting the Initiate before he may
become a Master. And such a one realizes the mighty task that Jesus
performed in developing and unfolding the spiritual natures of such a
body of men until they become worthy to be His chosen representatives
and teachers. The occult traditions have it that Jesus had pursued a
systematic course of instruction of His chosen disciples, bringing
them up rapidly through degree after degree of mystic attainment and
occult knowledge, until finally they were ready for the finishing
touches at His hands. And the occasion that we are now considering was
the time when the final degrees were imparted to them.

It must be remembered that the Apostles were endowed with the mastery
of the occult forces of nature which enabled them to perform the
"miracles" of healing similar to those of Jesus. And it must not be
supposed for a moment that an occult Master of so high a degree of
attainment as that reached by Jesus would have allowed His disciples
to use such mighty power without also instructing them fully in the
nature of the forces they were using, and of the best methods of
employing the same. And such knowledge could not be imparted without
the fundamental truths of nature being understood by them, which
understanding was possible only to those who had grasped the great
Basic Truths of the Science of Being.

In short, the traditions are that the Twelve Apostles were gradually
initiated into the great degrees of the Occult Brotherhoods of which
and in which Jesus was a Master. He gathered tog