P1783:1, 161:0.1
On Sunday, September 25, A.D. 29, the apostles and the
evangelists assembled at Magadan. After a long conference that evening with
his associates, Jesus surprised all by announcing that early the next day
he and the twelve apostles would start for Jerusalem to attend the feast of
tabernacles. He directed that the evangelists visit the believers in Galilee,
and that the women's corps return for a while to Bethsaida.
P1783:2, 161:0.2
When the hour came to leave for Jerusalem, Nathaniel and Thomas were still
in the midst of their discussions with Rodan of Alexandria, and they secured
the Master's permission to remain at Magadan for a few days. And so, while
Jesus and the ten were on their way to Jerusalem, Nathaniel and Thomas were
engaged in earnest debate with Rodan. The week prior, in which Rodan had expounded
his philosophy, Thomas and Nathaniel had alternated in presenting the gospel
of the kingdom to the Greek philosopher. Rodan discovered that he had been
well instructed in Jesus' teachings by one of the former apostles of John
the Baptist who had been his teacher at Alexandria.