Gnostic Doctrine serves as a comprehensive research platform dedicated to exploring the intricate tapestry of Gnostic theology. Our focus revolves around the convergence of Christian mysticism and apocalyptic Judaism. Delving into texts like the Old and New Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and the Nag Hammadi Library, we provide insights for those seeking self-discovery through the profound teachings that Christ imparted to his disciples in intimate setting
Saturday 24 February 2024
Christian Kabbalah Pictographic Roots of the Name and Titles of God
Monday 23 October 2023
Female Angels Genesis 1:26
Genesis 1:26 the Elohim said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the living creatures." So Elohim created man in His image; male and female created He them.
She was not formed in the image of man, though she may have been in the image of some of the Elohim. "Man" is generic of both sexes. When, therefore, Elohim said "let us make man in our image;" and it is added, "male and female created he them;" it would seem that both the man and the woman were created in the image and likeness of Elohim. In this case, some of the Elohim are represented by Adam's form, and some by Eve's. I see no reason why it should not be so.
When mankind rises from the dead, they will doubtless rise as immortal men and women; and then, says Jesus, "they are equal to the angels;" on an equality with them in every respect. Adam only was in the image of Him that created him; but then, the Elohim that do the commandments of the invisible God, are the virile portion of their community:
The evidence before us, as far as the import of words and phrases is concerned, seems to indicate the neuter personality of the Spirit, the masculine words having relation to something else that is affirmed of it, and being masculine from the custom of the language. Though the word Pneuma be neuter, the gender of the spirit might be masculine or feminine. HERALD KINGDOM AND AGE TO COME 1852
"And He took one of his ribs" —The word tsela, from tsala "to incline," is nowhere else used for "rib," but is translated "side" (e.g. Exod. 25:12). Exactly what part, or how much, of Adam's side was taken from him is not revealed. But whatever part it was, it transferred the feminine qualities of the man to Eve, his wife (Eph. 5:22). She became his counterpart; and she, complementing him, made him complete.genesis expositor
Tuesday 18 April 2023
God is Corporeal Spirit John 4:24
God is Corporeal Spirit John 4:24
John 4:24 "God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (RSV)
4 "To be spiritually minded is life". (Rom. 8:6).
Stephen saw the "heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God",3 Acts 7:56 while those around saw nothing. So we cannot argue that God, Jesus and the angels are immaterial because we by our limited senses cannot see or touch them.4
That conception of God which thinks of Him as mere abstract power, intangible, universal, without person or locality is not true. We cannot worship abstract universal power and claim we worship God.
Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20:27).
"And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish,....and he (Jesus) took it, and did eat before them" (Luke 24:43).
The angels are "ministering spirits" but they were seen by men many times.
Many passages in scripture show that God is corporeal and shares emotions that we do:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." (Gen. l:26).
"God created man, in the likeness10 of God made he him" (Gen. 5:1, 3).
"He that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh" (Psa. 2:4).
"Hide not thy face . . . incline thine ear unto me" (Psa. 102:2).
"He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary" (Psa. 102:19).
" ... sat on the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).
"Man... is the image ... of God" (1 Cor. 11:7).
"Christ, who is the image of God"11 (2 Cor. 4:4).
"Men, which are after the similitude of God" (James 3:9).
"The Lord Yahweh, and his Spirit hath sent me. Thus saith Yahweh, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Yahweh thy God ... which leadeth thee the way that thou shouldest go."
Note that the Spirit is "the Holy One of Israel".
In this Spirit activity of redemption, there was to be corresponding spirit in their worship.
So if God is spirit - and the Bible emphatically declares this truth - it does not mean that he does not have material form! It is consistent to say that God, *in the sense of an individual person* has a body of spirit
The fact that Israel believed God has a human form is quite clear from Gen 1:26 where God makes man in their image (demut), and their likeness (tselem). That this image and likeness refers to *genetic* resemblance is made clear from Gen 5:1,3 where Adam begets a son after his own likeness (tselem) after his image (demut) and called his name Seth.
Monday 28 November 2022
Yahweh is the Head Angel in the Old Testament Exodus 23:20,21
https://web.archive.org/web/20170916133936/http://www.masseiana.org/panarion_bk1.htm#31.
Yahweh is the head angel in the O.T....right? Christ has assumed the position higher than the angels.
Exodus 23:20,21 20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
There is an angel who is called Yahweh Exodus 23:20,21
This angel is the chief angel or archangel Michael whose name means who is like the Divine One (God) EL or power
Yahweh is said to have appeared to Abraham as he sat in the door of his tent. (Gen. 18:1) When he first saw the visitor, though, he did not see the Lord but “three men” or Elohim, of whom one was the chief. Read all of Genesis 18 to 19:29 and you will see that the Everlasting Deity talks and acts by or through these Elohim, but chiefly through one of them called the Lord God or Yahweh Elohim. (Elpis Israel)
God appears to Jacob in Genesis 35:9 and says in the second verse: “I am God Almighty.” In the thirteenth verse we see God went up from the place where He talked with Jacob. At the time, he was at Bethel where the Elohim were previously revealed to him. On that occasion he dreamed he saw a ladder reaching from Earth to heaven with “the Lord standing above it, and the Elohim of God ascending and descending.” These messengers or angels were the Elohim or “ministering Spirits sent forth to assist those who will inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14) On another occasion (Gen 32:24-30) Jacob is said to have encountered the “Invisible God” when he wrestled with one of the Elohim. (Elpis Israel)
Gen 32:30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God (the Elohim) faces to faces, and my soul is preserved."
Ho 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Ho
Gen 35:1 ¶ And God (Elohim )<0430> said unto Jacob , Arise , go up to Bethel , and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God (EL) <0410>, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother .
Gen 35:1 Then the Elohim said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to the One True El, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."
2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.
3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to the One True El, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone."
Hence, the Elohim speak in the first person as personifications of the Invisible and Incorruptible Substance or Spirit who is the real author of all they say and do.
In Exod. 24:10, Moses tells us -- that he and seventy-three others "saw the God of Israel." We should err, however, if we supposed that he meant they saw the Deity, the Uncreated Spirit, "no man can see Him and live." He says they saw "the Elohim of Israel" the depositories and the embodiments of the Eternal Spirit, who shone out in glory in the presence of the Elders. The appearance under the feet of the Elohim, whose feet were also the feet of the Spirit, and, therefore, styled "His feet, was, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven for clearness." The whole was a Spirit-manifestation.
The order was that "Moses alone shall come near YAHWEH," with his attendant. The reader will perceive the distinction here between the Elohim and YAHWEH. The nobles of the children of Israel came nigh to the Elohim, and saw them; and did not see Him. Even Moses, who did come near to the glory of Yahweh did not see His face; for said he, "there shall no man see me, and live; thou shalt see my back parts, Moses, but my face shall not be seen" (Exod. 33:20). Paul testified the same thing in 1 Tim. 6: 16, saying: "God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see..." The Hebrew nation saw the symbol of YAHWEH'S presence on the mountain top "The glory of Yahweh like devouring fire," but neither they, Moses, nor their nobles, saw the face of the Eternal Substance himself.
The glory of Yahweh was manifested to Moses through the medium of the One from whom he received the Law (see Exod.. 33:18-23; 34:4-8; 24:12-18). This was the work of an angel as Paul and Stephen reveal (Gal. 3:19; Acts 7:53). Moses saw in him "the similitude of Yahweh" (Num. 12-8). Yahweh's Name was named upon him (Exod. 23:20-23) so that he exercised greater authority than the other Elohim as Christ will exercise greater authority than his glorified brethren
The distinction between Yahweh and Elohim is revealed in the incident recorded in Exodus 24. Moses was told that he, alone, "shall come near Yahweh" (v.2), but the elders of Israel were not permitted to do so. Yet, v.11 states: "The nobles saw God (Elohim) and did eat and drink." Neither Moses nor the nobles saw the great eternal and invisible spirit the Father. The former saw His glory revealed through an angel of Yahweh (probably the one referred to as bearing the Name according to Exodus 23:20), so that it is stated, "the similitude of Yahweh he beheld" (Num. 12:8). On the other hand, the nobles of Israel "saw God," or Elohim of lower status (though of the same physical constitution) as the one who appeared unto Moses, as recorded in the earlier verse.
John 1:18 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him
Verse 18: No man hath seen the Creator at any time. "God" meaning "elohim" refers to angels. See Exod# 33. 11, 20. The showing of YHWH to Moses was the showing of a highly placed angel, typifying that the people would see the manifestation of God in Jesus.
Jesus of Nazareth. His whole life, all his teachings, and especially his death and resurrection and ascension to heaven, all "declared" his heavenly Father.
Thursday 17 November 2022
The Deity is Transcendent The Elohim Handle all the Personal Appearances 1 Timothy 6:14-16
verb: transcend; 3rd person present: transcends; past tense: transcended; past participle: transcended; gerund or present participle: transcending
be or go beyond the range or limits of (a field of activity or conceptual sphere).
surpass (a person or achievement).
transcendent
beyond or above the range of normal or physical human experience.
"the search for a transcendent level of knowledge"
(of God) existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of the material universe.
The Father is the only truly transcendent Being. Yahweh Elohim created all things on the earth, and in the heavens above, yet He exists above and independent from them
The Deity is far removed from man in fact he is not seen in the bible at all by mortals, man can not see the Deity
The ONE SELF-EXISTENT ETERNAL Deity hath never been seen by any mortal man -- that He is an undivided and invisible unity, pre-existent before the beginning of all things, intelligent and material; He dwells in unapproachable light; and SPIRIT emanates from His substance; (Phanerosis)
From the bible we learn that God has a substance Hebrews 1:3 and this substance is his divine nature 2Peter 1:4 so God is corporeal and SPIRIT emanates from His substance. Therefore God is both corporeal and incorporeal at the same time
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27
"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day" (Psalm 139:7-12).
The Elohim handle all the personal appearances. We know this because Scripture clearly teaches that all creation was produced from One Power (out of and through which are all things) but this One Power operates by way of a multitude of agents (Elohim) who are spirit-embodiments of its power. “But what if some poor human sees Elohim going about El’s business and he thinks they are something else ... like men from Mars?” Beg pardon?
If humans become what they eat is it odd to think humans see what they want to see and think what they want to think? A person who eats, sees, and believes things that aren’t true and proper is bound to have problems somewhere along the line. Tough, isn’t it?
God is transcendent in that he exists outside all that is the physical universe. God is immanent in that he exists within all the physical universe by his spirit.
Tuesday 8 November 2022
God is a Corporeal Being James 3:9
First what does Corporeal mean?
The definition of corporeal is something related to your body or something physical or tangible
Most Christians today may not know that the ancient Israelites, the early proto-orthodox church and the Christian Gnostic churches had a belief in a Corporeal God that is in a Deity who has a physical form
Strong's Concordance
sómatikos: of the bodyOriginal Word: σωματικός, ή, όν
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: sómatikos
Phonetic Spelling: (so-mat-ee-kos')
Definition: of the body
Usage: bodily, corporeal.
Thayer's Greek LexiconSTRONGS NT 4984: σωματικός
σωματικός, σωματική, σωματικον (σῶμα), from Aristotle down, "corporeal (Vulg.corporalis), bodily;
a. having a bodily form or nature": σωματικῷ εἴδει, Luke 3:22 (opposed to ἀσώματος, Philo de opif. mund. § 4).
b. pertaining to the body: ἡ γυμνασία, 1 Timothy 4:8 (ἕξις, Josephus, b. j. 6, 1, 6: ἐπιθυμίαι σωματικαί, 4 Macc. 1:32; (ἐπιθυμίαι καί ἡδοναι, Aristotle, eth. Nic. 7, 7, p. 1149b, 26; others; ἀπέχου τῶν σαρκικῶν καί σωματικῶν σπιθυμιων, 'Teaching' etc. 1, 4 [ET])).
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
The Holy Spirit is described as coming down in bodily shape. This was a real visible appearance, and was doubtless seen by the people.
It is tragic that the majority of religions have this unreal, intangible conception of God.
God being so infinitely greater than us, it is understandable that many people's faith has unwilling to accept the clear promises that ultimately we will see God. Israel lacked the faith to see God's "shape" (Jn. 5:37), clearly showing that He does have a real form. Such faith comes from knowing God and believing His word:
"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matt.5:8).
The word soul is used for the physical body:
A divine/spiritual body implies a substance (Hypostasis Hebrews 1:3) of divine nature (2Peter 1:4)
Hebrews 1:3 He is the reflection of [his] glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power; and after he had made a purification for our sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places.
The Son is the character or exact representation, and the Father is the hypostasis.
Strong's #5287: hupostasis (pronounced hoop-os'-tas-is)
Hypostasis, the original cognate of substantia
Etymologically,
hypostasis = hypó ("under") + stásis ("a standing" = (hístēmi ("to stand") + -sis, verbal noun suffix)) = "that which stands under"
substantia = sub ("under") + stans ("standing", present active participle of stō ("stand")) = "that which stands under".
From this we can conclude that Hypostasis refers to the nature/essence or "substance" of the Father, the Father-Spirit is substantial.
However, in later centuries hypostasis began referring to the "person", not the "nature" or "being" of God.
"The One is not corporeal and is not incorporeal." (The Apocryphon of John)
Tertullian notes that "This for certain is He who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, In what form of God? Of course he means in some form, not none. For who will deny that God is a body although God is a spirit? (John 4:24). For spirit has a bodily substance of its own kind, in its own form. Whatever therefore, was the substance of the Word that I designate a person, I claim for it the name of Son; while I recognize the Son, I assert the distinction as second to the Father." Now interestingly, in the footnote, the editors themselves note "This doctrine of the soul's corporeality in a certain sense is treated by Tertullian in his "De Ressur. Carn" xvii and "De Anima" v. By Tertullian, spirit and soul were considered identical." (ANF, Vol. 3, p. 467).
14 The demons are said to be incorporeal, not because they have no bodies (for they have even shape and are, therefore, capable of feeling punishment), but they are said to be incorporeal because, in comparison with the spiritual bodies which are saved, they are a shade. And the angels are bodies; at any rate they are seen. Why even the soul is a body, for the Apostle says, “It is sown a body of soul, it is raised a body of spirit.” And how can the souls which are being punished be sensible of it, if they are not bodies? Certainly he says, “Fear him who, after death, is able to cast soul and body into hell.” Now that which is visible is not purged by fire, but is dissolved into dust. But, from the story of Lazarus and Dives, the soul is directly shown by its possession of bodily limbs to be a body. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)
God's purpose is to reveal Himself in a multitude of glorified beings. His memorial name, Jehovah Elohim, indicates this ('He who shall be mighty ones', is an approximate translation). If God is not a corporeal being, then the reward of the faithful is to have a non-physical existence like God. But the descriptions of the reward of the faithful in God's coming Kingdom on earth show that they will have a tangible, bodily existence, although no longer subject to the weaknesses of human nature.
The faithful are promised that they will inherit God's nature (2 Peter 1:4). If God is not a person then this means we will live eternally as immaterial spirits. But this is not Bible teaching. We will be given a body like that of Jesus (Phil. 3:21), and we know that he will have a literal body in the Kingdom which will have hands, eyes and ears (Zech. 13:6; Isa. 11:3). The doctrine of the person of God is therefore related to the Gospel of the Kingdom.
It should be evident that there can be no sensible concept of worship, or personal relationship with God until it is appreciated that God is a person, that we are in His image physically, although a very imperfect image, and need to develop His mental image so that we may take on the fulnlless of His physical image in the Kingdom of God.