IN answer to Christ Jesus' question, "Whom say ye that I am?" Peter's reply, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," drew from Jesus the commendation, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." Thus the foundation of Christ's church, "the structure of Truth and Love" (Science and Health, p. 583), is not laid upon the mortal man Peter, but upon the spiritual revelation proceeding from divine Principle; that exact knowledge of God, constituting scientific Christianity, which enabled Peter to discern and understand the truth of being.
Jesus also said: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven [the understanding wherewith to enter the realm of harmony]: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." As Truth appears to human consciousness, the reign of harmony will be established; as human sense is loosed from the false claims of error by Truth, and as God's perfect idea is discerned in himself and others, he will enter into the fuller realization of omnipresent Love. Jesus repeated the foregoing words in later instruction to the disciples, and that the thought expressed is analogous with that portion of the Lord's Prayer which pleads for forgiveness even as we forgive, and was so understood by the disciples, is obvious from Peter's question as to how oft he should forgive the brother who sinned against him. The answer was, "Until seventy times seven." Truly, as our Leader tells us, "Love is reflected in love" (Science and Health, p.17)
Christ Jesus not only instructed his disciples to teach all nations to observe all things whatsoever he commanded, but also to preach the coming of the kingdom of heaven and to heal the sick. He further named the signs whereby true believers might be identified; namely, "In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly tiling, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." It is claimed by some scholars that this quotation from Mark's gospel is spurious because it is not found in some old manuscripts, notably the Sinaitic and Vatican; but it is interesting to note that these verses appear in the revised version of the Bible, with minor changes which show that they were duly considered in the comparison of ancient manuscripts. They are attested to by Irenæus, Justin, and Hernias in the second century, and are in all Latin manuscripts but one or two, from which they have been omitted it would seem in copying, either by accident or design. St. Luke records a somewhat similar promise: "Behold, I give unto you power [understanding] to tread on serpents and scorpions, . . . and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
