The Gnostic Creation Story in the Tripartite Tractate

The Gnostic Creation Story in the Tripartite Tractate

Some Remarks on the Tripartite Tractate

The Tripartite Tractate is one text from the Nag Hammadi Scriptures as a different form of the Gnostic Creation myth which alters the myth ascribing the fall to a masculine Aeon the Logos 

In the beginning there was only the self-existent and transcendent Deity who is called the Eternal Spirit which has male and female attributes dwelling in silence and repose. The Deity is both corporeal and non-corporeal at the same time

From the transcendent Deity there was emanated a male principle called Mind and a female principle called Thought. In these principles emanated others, in male and female pairs to the total of thirty knows as Aeons who collectively constitute the fullness or the divine realm which others would call the spirit world which is beyond the physical heavens it is also called the 3rd Heaven.

Of all the Aeons only the first pair Mind and thought knew and comprehended the greatness of the self-existent Uncreated Eternal Spirit and could behold him but the last and youngest Aeon Logos or (Reason).

The intent, then, of this one who is the Logos, was good. When he had come forth, he gave glory to the Father, even if it led to something beyond possibility, since he had wanted to bring forth one who is perfect, from an agreement in which he had not been, and without having the command. and without the knowledge or consent of his female counterpart Sophia (wisdom) he projected from his own being a flawed emanation.

Thus the Logos motivated by abundant love and seeking only to give glory to the self-existent Uncreated Eternal Spirit creates other beings which are the seven archangels their leader is Michael who is the Demiurge the creator of the material cosmos or the physical heavens

But when the logos perceives that these are inferior to the emanations of the self-existent Uncreated Eternal Spirit indeed mere shadows and phantoms of them, lacking reason and light, dwelling in ignorance, bringing forth more and more defective creatures little weakling, hindered by the illnesses by which he too was hindered

This logos is the cause of the creation of the world and the lower beings including mankind but the logos is not the agent of creation the Demiurge is the agent of creation being used by the logos as a hand

This defective Logos is interceded for by his counterpart the Divine Logos or First Thought the Son in the Pleroma  

Heracleon interpreted this in the same way he identifies the logos not with the agent of creation but with the casue making the creator lower than the logos 

Fragment 1, on John 1:3 (In John 1:3, “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.”) The sentence: "All things were made through him" means the world and what is in it. It excludes what is better than the world. The Aeon (i.e. the Fullness), and the things in it, were not made by the Word; they came into existence before the Word. . . “Without him, nothing was made” of what is in the world and the creation. . . "All things were made through Him," means that it was the Word who caused the Craftsman (Demiurge) to make the world, that is it was not the Word “from whom” or “by whom,” but the one “through whom (all things were made).”. . . It was not the Word who made all things, as if he were energized by another, for "through whom" means that another made them and the Word provided the energy.

The archon is the agent of creation being used by the logos as a hand

Who is the Demiurge? Hebrews 11:10

Who is the Demiurge?

Or 

What is the Demiurge? 

Hebrews 11:10

The concept of the demiurge originates from the understanding that the Deity is not the immediate creator of the physical universe. 

First it should be noted that Valentinians do not use the term Yaldabaoth. It should also be noted that Basildians and Valentinians speak about the Demiurge with positive terms unlike the Sethians who speak very negatively about Yaldabaoth:

Basilides: "After this, from the universal Seed and conglomeration of seed-mixture there burst forth and came into existence the Great Ruler, the head of the sensible universe, a beauty and magnitude and potency that naught can destroy." This is the demiurge; but let no mortal think that he can comprehend so great a being, "for he is more ineffable than ineffables, more potent than potencies, wiser than the wise, superior to every excellence that one can name. (Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, p. 253 by G.R.S. Mead )

According to Valentinian tradition, the Demiurge is formed as an "an image of the Father"(Excepts of Theodotus 47:1-3). A similar description occurs in the Tripartite Tractate: "He is the lord of all of them, that is, the countenance which the logos brought forth in his thought as a representation of the Father of the Totalities. Therefore, he is adorned with every name which is a representation of him, since he is characterized by every property and glorious quality. For he too is called 'father' and 'god' and 'demiurge' and 'king' and 'judge' and 'place' and 'dwelling' and 'law'" (Tripartite Tractate 100:21-30). Because he is seem as the image of the true God and Father, Valentinians have no problem using the terms "Father" and "God" to describe him (cf. also Against Heresies 1:5:1, Valentinian Exposition 38).

Is the word demiurge used in the Bible?

Yes in Hebrews 11:10

In Hebrews chapter 11:10 we get the only Biblical reference to the word Demiurge

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker <1217> is God.

This is used as a prophecy about the Heavenly Jerusalem

The Greek word is used in the apocrypha 

Wisdom 13:1 For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature;

and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists,
nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works;

1Clem 20:11

All these things the great Creator and Master of the universe ordered to be in peace and concord, doing good unto all things, but far beyond the rest unto us who have taken refuge in His compassionate mercies through our Lord Jesus Christ

Notice that clement says the creation was "ordered" 

2Mac.4:1 This Simon now, of whom we spake afore, having been a betrayer of the money, and of his country, slandered Onias, as if he ha terrified Heliodorus, and been the worker of these evils.

The language here applied to God as the "architect" or framer of the universe is often used in the classic writers.

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker <1217> is God.

Fragment 13, on John 2:13-16 The ascent to Jerusalem signifies the ascent of the Lord from material realm things to the animate (psychic) place, which is an image of Jerusalem. (In John 2:14, “In the sanctuary he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business.”) The words, "In the sanctuary, he found” and not "in the temple" are used so that it may not be thought to be the mere “calling” (animate), apart from the Spirit, which elicits help from the Lord. The sanctuary is the Holy of Holies, into which only the High-Priest enters, into which the spiritual go. The temple courtyard, where the Levites also enter, is a symbol of the animate ones who attain a salvation outside the Fullness (Pleroma).

The Demiurge is the maker of the psychic and material realms

Etymology of Demiurge

The word "demiurge" is an English word derived from demiurgus, a Latinised form of the Greek δημιουργός or dēmiourgos. It was originally a common noun meaning "craftsman" or "artisan", but gradually came to mean "producer", and eventually "creator". 

strong's concordance 1217 δημιουργός demiourgos day-me-oor-gos’ 

from 1218 and 2041; n m; TDNT-2:62,149;  {See TDNT 182 } 

AV-maker 1; 1 

1) a workman for the public 

2) the author of any work, an artisan, framer, builder 

dēmiourgós (from 1218 /dḗmos, "a unified group of people" and 2014 /epiphaínō, "work") – properly, someone working on behalf of a group of people (used only in Heb 11:10).

God is called ὁ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ δημιουργός in Plato, rep. 7, p. 530 a.; ὁ δημιουργός τῶν ὅλων in Josephus, Antiquities 1, 7, 1, and often in ecclesiastical writers from Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 20, 11 [ET]; 26, 1 [ET]; 33, 2 [ET] on; (cf. Philo, de mut. nom. § 4; de opif. mund., Muller, edition, p. 133; Piper, Einl. in monument. Theol. § 26; Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word). In the Scriptures, besides, only in 2 Macc. 4:1 κακῶν δημιουργός). (Cf. Trench, § cv.)

The Gospel of John Chapter 1

The Gospel of John 1:1  ¶  Originally (746 ἀρχή), was, the Word, and, the Word, was, with God; and, the Word, was, God.
2  The same, was originally (746 ἀρχή), with God.
3  All things, through him, came into existence, and, without him, came into existence, not even one thing: that which hath come into existence, (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible)

Ptolemy's Commentary on The Gospel of John Prologue:

Now since he is speaking of the first origination, he does well to begin the teaching at the beginning, i.e with the Son and the Word. He speaks as follows: "The Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. It was in the beginning, with God." [Jn 1:1] First, he distinguishes three things: God; beginning; Word. Then he unites them: (Logos [Word], Theos [God], and Arche [beginning] are one) this is to show forth both the emanation of the latter two, i.e. the Son and the Word, and their union with one another, and simultaneously with the Father. For the beginning was in the Father and from the Father; and the Word was in the beginning and from the beginning. Well did he say, "The Word was in the beginning", for it was in the Son. "And the Word was with God." So was the beginning. "And the word was God"; reasonably so, for what is engendered from God is God. This shows the order of emanation. "The entirety was made through it, and without it was not anything made." [Jn 1:3] For the Word became the cause of the forming and origination of all the aeons that came after it.  (Ptolemy's Commentary on The Gospel of John Prologue)

The Greek term translated "word" is Logos. It signifies the outward form of inward thought or reason, or the spoken word as illustrative of thought, wisdom and doctrine.

John is teaching that in the beginning, God's purpose, wisdom or revelation had been in evidence. It was "with God" in that it emanated from him; it "was God" in that it represented Him to mankind and it became the motive power of all that God did, for all was made with it in mind, and it presented the hope of life to mankind (see John 1: 3-4).

The logos is the cause of the forming and origination of Pleroma not the physical universe this can be seen from Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John 1:3

The Demiurge in Ptolemy's Commentary is the beginning or Arche

Beginning

What does he mean by beginning? You see some can argue that he means beginning as in God forever and eternal past. But if that’s the case, there really is no beginning with God others might argue well beginning in the sense that when God conceived of creating the perfect sons and daughters of God the human beings. Whatever other beings he might have created in the universe that was the beginning and the son was there from the beginning.

The message here is that God has everything in mind from the beginning. Whatever he produces from the beginning and as the Brethren of that beginning Christ is the eternal forever in the past or at the beginning at the time of which he conceived the concept of the son as being part of the story of humankind. This does not really matter because for us humans from our perspective it is the beginning of everything anyway and that’s really all we need to know and we’ll probably likely ever know anyway.

The Greek word ἀρχή arche translated beginning has a connection to the word ruler or Archon

746 ἀρχή arche ar-khay’ 

from 756; n f; TDNT-1:479,81;  {See TDNT 102 } 

AV-beginning 40, principality 8, corner 2, first 2, misc 6; 58 

746. ἀρχή arche ar-khay’; from 756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank): —  beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule. 

BEGINNING: "Archee"; signifying "first in order", from the root "arch, archon" = a ruler. 

strong's concordance 756 ἄρχομαι archomai ar’-khom-ahee middle voice of 757

strong's concordance 757. ἄρχω archo ar’-kho; a primary verb; to be first (in political rank or power): —  reign (rule) over. 

NASB Translation

began (62), begin (7), beginning (8), begins (2), begun (1), proceed (1), rule (1), rulers (1), starting (2). 

This brings us to the next Greek word 758 ἄρχων archon

strong's concordance 758 ἄρχων archon ar’-khone 

present participle of 757; n m; TDNT-1:488,81;  {See TDNT 102 } 

AV-ruler 22, prince 11, chief 2, magistrate 1, chief ruler 1; 37 

1) a ruler, commander, chief, leader 

Archon (historical, Ancient Greece) The title of a magistrate in a number of states of Ancient Greece, and in the city states (poleis) of the Achaean League.

Archon (Greek: ἄρχων, árchon, plural: ἄρχοντες, árchontes) is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch and hierarchy. 

The Greek word Archon is connected to the Greek word Archee (Beginning) 

In the Gospel of John the Demiurge is the first archon from the Greek word Archee translated beginning Archee 746 ἀρχή it is also translated principality or principalities in Eph 1:21 Eph 3:10 Eph 6:12 Col 1:16

Christ the head of all Principalities {#Eph 1:21 Col 1:16 2:10 } 

Demiurge can be translated Architect from Arche (Gr. "beginning") 

Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John: 

John 1:3, “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.”) The sentence: "All things were made through him" means the world and what is in it. It excludes what is better than the world. The Aeon (i.e. the Fullness), and the things in it, were not made by the Word; they came into existence before the Word. . . “Without him, nothing was made” of what is in the world and the creation. . . "All things were made through Him," means that it was the Word who caused the Craftsman (Demiurge) to make the world, that is it was not the Word “from whom” or “by whom,” but the one “through whom (all things were made).”. . . It was not the Word who made all things, as if he were energized by another, for "through whom" means that another made them and the Word provided the energy (Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John)

The Demiurge is working on behalf of someone else that is the word or logos 

The Demiurge is a personification of the Elohim

Though Elohim is in the plural, and signifies "mighty ones," it is most frequently used with a verb in the singular number, as in Gen. 1:1. This suggests that the Elohim, though constituting a great number of immortal beings, are being motivated by a single power, "the spirit of God" (Gen. 1:2). The Elohim, therefore, comprise a great company united as one, and obeying in unison the motivating power of the great Increate. The Psalmist declared: "Yahweh hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all. Bless Yahweh, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. Bless ye Yahweh, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. Bless Yahweh, all His works in all places of His dominion" (Psalm 103:19-22).

Yahweh is spirit (John 4:24), and His angels are spirit beings (Psalm 104:4; Heb. 1:7). They are "His family in heaven" (Eph. 3:15), being emanations of Him, and doing His will through His all-pervading spirit (Gen. 1:2). Thus they act as a unit, though being innumerable in number.

The Archangel Michael is the highest of all the angels as stated before, the angels are emanations of the uncreated and eternal spirit or Deity, Michael relays the commandments and orders of the Deity to all the angels below him, being the highest of all. So in a way, he could be seen as Hebraic religious idea of a "Demiurge" who fashioned the world for God.

See the post Yahweh is the head angel in the Old Testament

The Archangel Michael could be seen as the "Demiurge" who fashioned the world for the Deity.-spiritual nature. In comparison with the true God he is rather "coarse" or "rough" (Excerpts of Theodotus 33:4).

The term "demiurge" does not refer to the One True Deity, though the demiurge may very well be seen as a god, angel or elohim. The Demiurge is simply the craftsman of the universe, but is not the Supreme Intelligence of the universe the Uncreated and Eternal Spirit. In other word, whether the Demiurge is a god or not, it is not God or "THE One True Deity."

The Deity manifests himself through his angels, these angels are ever present, embodiment of the qualities of the Father, and thus manifesting the Father's will and presence in this world, without being the Father Deity themselves. These angels are always serving the Father and creating by his will and collectively are the Demiurge of the world through whom the Father administers his will.


The Demiurge is never referred to has Yaldabaoth 

The Demiurge is a real god, not a "false god".

The Demiurge is an elohim or angel

The Demiurge is not Satan, he is not a demon, and he is not an evil spirit or the personification of evil .The Creator or archangel Michael implements the Father's will and administers justice.

After all, he rendered the prophecies and reality of the Saviour.

"I will be who I will be" But who will He be? Exodus 3:14

I am that I am exodus 3:14

He existed before anything other than himself came into being. The Father is singular while being many, for he is the first one and the one who is only himself. Yet he is not like a solitary individual. Otherwise, how could he be a father? For whenever there is a "father," the name "son" follows. But the single one, who alone is the Father, is like a root, with tree, branches and fruit. (The Tripartite Tractate)

God told Israel that His Name was YAHWEH, meaning "I am that I am" or, more correctly translated, 'I will be who I will be' (Ex.3:13-15). This name was then slightly extended: "God said moreover (i.e. in addition) unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Yahweh God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob...this is My name for ever, and my memorial to all generations" (Ex.3:15).

Thus God's full name is therefore Yahweh God or "Yahweh Elohim".

The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, and our English translation inevitably misses out a lot of detail when it comes to translating the Hebrew words for 'God'. One of the common Hebrew words translated 'God' is 'Elohim', meaning 'mighty ones'. God's "memorial", the Name by which He wants us to remember Him, is therefore

YAHWEH ELOHIM

meaning

HE WHO WILL BE REVEALED IN A GROUP OF MIGHTY ONES.

It is therefore God's purpose to reveal His character and His essential being in a large group of people. By obedience to His word we can develop some of God's characteristics in ourselves now, so that in a very limited sense God is revealing Himself in the true believers in this life. But God's Name is a prophecy of the time to come when the earth will be filled with people who are like Him, both in character and by nature (cp. 2 Pet.1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust). 

If we wish to be associated with the purpose of God and to become like God to die no more, living for ever in complete moral perfection, then we must associate ourselves with His Name. The way to do this is to be baptized into the Name - i.e. Yahweh Elohim (Matt.28:19). This also makes us the descendants ("seed") of Abraham (Gal.3:27-29) who were promised the eternal inheritance of the earth (Gen.17:8; Rom.4:13) - the group of 'mighty ones' ('Elohim') in whom the prophecy of God's Name will be fulfilled.

Valentinian Cosmology in the Tripartite Tractate

Valentinian Cosmology in the Tripartite Tractate

the Tripartite Tractate Cosmology is very different to other Valentinian documents to have come down to us first there is no doctrine of an emanation of 30 aeons 

there no doctrine of the fall of Sophia instead it is the logos who falls 

The Aeons are emanations of the Divine Mind as well as Divine Beings
(For each of the aeons is a name corresponding to each of the Father's qualities and powers the Tripartite Tractate)

The Tripartite Tractate takes its cosmology from the gospel of John

The Head of Days

He existed before anything other than himself came into being. The Father is a single one, like a number, for he is the first one and the one who is only himself. Yet he is not like a solitary individual. Otherwise, how could he be a father? For whenever there is a "father," the name "son" follows. But the single one, who alone is the Father, is like a root, with tree, branches and fruit. It is said of him that he is a father in the proper sense, since he is inimitable and immutable. Because of this, he is single in the proper sense, and is a god, because no one is a god for him nor is anyone a father to him.

the Father is the Head of Days the head of the body 

Just as the Father exists in the proper sense, the one before whom there was no one else, and the one apart from whom there is no other unbegotten one, so too the Son exists in the proper sense, the one before whom there was no other, and after whom no other son exists. Therefore, he is a firstborn and an only Son, "firstborn" because no one exists before him and "only Son" because no one is after him. Furthermore, he has his fruit, that which is unknowable because of its surpassing greatness. Yet he wanted it to be known, because of the riches of his sweetness. And he revealed the unexplainable power, and he combined with it the great abundance of his generosity.

The son is the mind of the Father 

"Theos was the Logos."

In this text, then, there is ONE DEITY, and he is styled THE LOGOS. This word signifies, "the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed and made known; also, the inward thought or reason itself

No Logos, then there would be no Theos; and without Theos, the Logos could have no existence. This may be illustrated by the relation of reason, or intelligence and speech, to brain, as affirmed in the proposition, No brain, -- no thought, reason, nor intelligence. Call the brain Theos; and thought, reason, and understanding intelligently expressed, Logos; and the relation and dependence of Theos and Logos, in John's use of the terms, may readily be conceived. Brain-flesh is substance, or the hypostasis, that underlies thought; so Theos is substance which constitutes the substratum of Logos. Theos is the substance called Spirit; as it is written, "Theos is Spirit;" and he who uttered these words is declared to be himself both substance and spirit. Dr. John Thomas Eureka Volume 1 Of Deity Before Manifestation in Flesh.

Theos is the Brain, Logos is the Mind or thought

God came forth: the Son, Mind of the All, that is, it is from the Root of the All that even his Thought stems, since he had this one (the Son) in Mind. The Nag Hammadi Library A Valentinian Exposition

The son here is a personification of the mind of God or the Father's first thought. We will look more at personifications later. 

The Cosmology of creation begins and unfolds within the mind of the Father 

But furthermore (he says), "That which came into being in it was Life."[Jn 1:4] Here he discloses a pair. For he says that the entirety came into being through it, but Life is in it. Now, that which came into being in it more intimately belongs to it than what came into being through it: it is joined with it and through it it bears fruit. Indeed, inasmuch as he adds, "and Life was the light of human beings", [Jn 1:4] in speaking of human beings he has now disclosed also the Church by means of a synonym, so that with a single word he might disclose the partnership of the pair. For from the Word and Life, the Human Being and the Church came into being. And he called Life the light of human beings because they are enlightened by her, i.e. formed and made visible. Paul, too, says this: "For anything that becomes visible is light." [Eph 5:13] So since Life made the Human Being and the Church visible and engendered them, she is said to be their light.

the body

The Father

The Tripartite Tractate

This is the nature of the unbegotten one, which does not touch anything else; nor is it joined (to anything) in the manner of something which is limited. Rather, he possesses this constitution, without having a face or a form, things which are understood through perception, whence also comes (the epithet) "the incomprehensible. If he is incomprehensible, then it follows that he is unknowable, that he is the one who is inconceivable by any thought, invisible by any thing, ineffable by any word, untouchable by any hand. He alone is the one who knows himself as he is, along with his form and his greatness and his magnitude. And since he has the ability to conceive of himself, to see himself, to name himself, to comprehend himself, he alone is the one who is his own mind, his own eye, his own mouth, his own form, and he is what he thinks, what he sees, what he speaks, what he grasps, himself, the one who is inconceivable, ineffable, incomprehensible, immutable, while sustaining, joyous, true, delightful, and restful is that which he conceives, that which he sees, that about which he speaks, that which he has as thought. He transcends all wisdom, and is above all intellect, and is above all glory, and is above all beauty, and all sweetness, and all greatness, and any depth and any height.

The Son

the sole first one, the man of the Father, that is, the one whom I call

the form of the formless,

the body of the bodiless,

the face of the invisible,

the word of the unutterable,

the mind of the inconceivable,

the fountain which flowed from him,

the root of those who are planted,

and the god of those who exist,

the light of those whom he illumines,

the love of those whom he loved,

the providence of those for whom he providentially cares,

the wisdom of those whom he made wise,

the power of those to whom he gives power,

the assembly of those whom he assembles to him,

the revelation of the things which are sought after,

the eye of those who see,

the breath of those who breathe,

the life of those who live,

the unity of those who are mixed with the Totalities.

Bodies are not exclusively connected to the material world at the lowest level. The Father and the Son at the uppermost level of depth above the Pleroma can have bodies  

The church

Those which exist have come forth from the Son and the Father like kisses, because of the multitude of some who kiss one another with a good, insatiable thought, the kiss being a unity, although it involves many kisses. This is to say, it is the Church consisting of many men that existed before the aeons, which is called, in the proper sense, "the aeons of the aeons." This is the nature of the holy imperishable spirits, upon which the Son rests, since it is his essence, just as the Father rests upon the Son.

They were forever in thought, for the Father was like a thought and a place for them. When their generations had been established, the one who is completely in control wished to lay hold of and to bring forth that which was deficient in the [...] and he brought forth those [...] him. But since he is as he is, he is a spring, which is not diminished by the water which abundantly flows from it. While they were in the Father's thought, that is, in the hidden depth, the depth knew them, but they were unable to know the depth in which they were; nor was it possible for them to know themselves, nor for them to know anything else. That is, they were with the Father; they did not exist for themselves. Rather, they only had existence in the manner of a seed, so that it has been discovered that they existed like a fetus. Like the word he begot them, subsisting spermatically, and the ones whom he was to beget had not yet come into being from him. The one who first thought of them, the Father, - not only so that they might exist for him, but also that they might exist for themselves as well, that they might then exist in his thought as mental substance and that they might exist for themselves too, - sowed a thought like a spermatic seed. Now, in order that they might know what exists for them, he graciously granted the initial form, while in order that they might recognize who is the Father who exists for them, he gave them the name "Father" by means of a voice proclaiming to them that what exists, exists through that name, which they have by virtue of the fact that they came into being, because the exaltation, which has escaped their notice, is in the name.

The fall

Of all the Aeons only the first pair Mind and thought knew and comprehended the greatness of the self-existent Uncreated Eternal Spirit and could behold him but the last and youngest Aeon Logos or (Reason).

The intent, then, of this one who is the Logos, was good. When he had come forth, he gave glory to the Father, even if it led to something beyond possibility, since he had wanted to bring forth one who is perfect, from an agreement in which he had not been, and without having the command. and without the knowledge or consent of his female counterpart Sophia (wisdom) he projected from his own being a flawed emanation.

Thus the Logos motivated by abundant love and seeking only to give glory to the self-existent Uncreated Eternal Spirit creates other beings which are the seven archangels their leader is Michael who is the Demiurge the creator of the material cosmos or the physical heavens

But when the logos perceives that these are inferior to the emanations of the self-existent Uncreated Eternal Spirit indeed mere shadows and phantoms of them, lacking reason and light, dwelling in ignorance, bringing forth more and more defective creatures little weakling, hindered by the illnesses by which he too was hindered

This logos is the cause of the creation of the world and the lower beings including mankind but the logos is not the agent of creation the Demiurge is the agent of creation being used by the logos as a hand

This defective Logos is interceded for by his counterpart the Divine Logos or First Thought the Son in the Pleroma  

Logos and the Demiurge 

Over all the archons he appointed an Archon with no one commanding him. He is the lord of all of them, that is, the countenance which the Logos brought forth in his thought as a representation of the Father of the Totalities. Therefore, he is adorned with every <name> which <is> a representation of him, since he is characterized by every property and glorious quality. For he too is called "father" and god" and "demiurge" and "king" and "judge" and "place" and "dwelling" and "law."
The Logos uses him as a hand, to beautify and work on the things below, and he uses him as a mouth, to say the things which will be prophesied.
The things which he has spoken he does

The invisible spirit moved him in this way, so that he would wish to administer through his own servant, whom he too used, as a hand and as a mouth and as if he were his face, (and his servant is) the things which he brings, order and threat and fear, in order that those with whom he has done what is ignorant might despise the order which was given for them to keep, since they are fettered in the bonds of the archons, which are on them securely.


body--The outward expression of consciousness; the manifestation of the thinking part of man.
God creates the body thought, or divine reasoning, and man, by his thinking, makes it manifest depending upon the spiritual understanding of the individual whose mind it is. 

As God created man in His image and likeness by the power of His word, so man, as God's image and likeness, projects his body by the same power.


The Logos needs to use the Demiurge as body to interact with the world

Bodies are the way in which a being is perceived from, and interacts with a lower level

One (more actualised) being can be (function as) the body of another (less actualised)

The interaction downwards from the Father, Son, Logos, Demiurge and finally to the archons should be interpreted as a Body politic a divine corporation

The author of TT 100:31-33 wrote, “the Logos uses him [the Demiurge] as a hand, to beautify and work on the things below.” Also, see Exc 47:2, 49:1-2; Haer 1:5,1-4; 1:17,1; 2:6,3.

The cosmology of the Tripartite Tractate is one of a Corporeal conceptualisation: Body like that from Leviathan: Or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiasticall and Civil

Book by Thomas Hobbes

Aeonology Hebrews 11:3

Aeonology

or 

The doctrine of the emanation of the Aeons 

To begin this study we will have an opening reading from Hebrews 11:3:

by faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying of God, in regard to the things seen not having come out of things appearing; (Hebrews 11:3 Young's Literal Translation)

So what is aeonology? 

From Ancient Greek αἰωνιολογία (aiōniología, “the study of aeons”), from αἰώνιος (aiṓnios, “eternal, everlasting, endless”) from αἰῶν (aiôn, “lifetime, lifespan, aeon, epoch”) + λόγος (lógos, “speech, oration, study”); Surface etymology is aeon +‎ -logy.

So has you can tell this post will be a study of the word aeon

Aeon Its Meaning

The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (vol. IV, p. 643): Time: The O.T. and the N.T are not acquainted with the conception of eternity as timelessness. The O.T. has not developed a special term for "eternity." The word aeon originally meant "vital force," "life;" then "age," "lifetime." It is, however, also used generally of a (limited or unlimited) long space of time. The use of the word aeon is determined very much by the O.T. and the LXX. Aeon means "long distant uninterrupted time" in the past (Luke 1:10), as well as in the future (John 4:14). 

αἰών Aiwn is compounded of aei and wn. The word aei is from aw, aew, or ahmi, signifying primarily, "to blow, to breathe"; secondly, "to live, to pass or spend time." From this derivation aei would present the idea of a going on; and as a particle of time is expressive of that which is unlimited or undefined; "not so much that which cannot be bounded as that which is not bounded -- which is not attempted to be defined, but is considered as going on, on, on. Aei, therefore, alone, would not express the true idea of eternity, but only of time, whose end is not bounded by any specification. This flowing word, indicative of passing time, must be connected with, and, as it were, anchored upon another of more stability, in order to give it any kind of fixedness." This other word is wn, the particle of that verb of existence which expresses, in its philosophical sense, the highest mode of being. One part of the compound word, then, is unconfined; the other, since wn is of all tenses, altogether excludes the idea of time. Aiwn, then, is not time, long or short, bounded or endless. Dr. John Thomas Eureka

Time is said to move in a circle, on account of its likeness to an Aeon; hence an aeon, and a cycle or circle, are analogous. It is therefore used in the indefinite sense of life, existence, or state of being. Thus, that end which contains the period of each existence is called its aiwn. The aeon of man is three-score years and ten; while the aeon of Deity is "from time indefinite even to time indefinite." It is, therefore, A COURSE OF TIME, aei, circling around, well, BEING; the circling depending upon the nature of the being circled. Hence, Deity being essentially life, the circling of time can never cease in relation to him; but priesthood and man being essentially terminable, the circling of time around them cannot always continue. The diameters of their aeons may be measured by their continuance. Dr. John Thomas Eureka

Eternity is not an endless number of years, and things that are spiritual and eternal cannot be measured by days and months and years.

It is, however, also used generally of a (limited or unlimited) long space of time. The use of the word aeon is determined very much by the O.T. and the LXX. Aeon means "long distant uninterrupted time" in the past (Luke 1:10), as well as in the future (John 4:14).

Hebrews 1:2 says: di hou kai epoiesen tous aeonas, "through Whom also He makes the aeons." Notice the Greek word aeonas is rendered "worlds" in this passage in the KJV. The ASV margin says "ages;" and the New Scofield Bible reads "ages." Ephesians 3:11: "according to the purpose of the aeons which He makes in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Both these passages state that God makes the Aeons; therefore they had a beginning, and so were not "eternal" in the past. 

Time

Divisions of time make up an aeon this can be seen from the Tripartite Tractate found in the Nag Hammadi Library:

Just as the present age, although a unity, is divided by units of time and units of time are divided into years and years are divided into seasons and seasons into months, and months into days, and days into hours, and hours into moments, so too the age of the Truth, since it is a unity and multiplicity, receives honour in the small and the great names according to the power of each to grasp it - by way of analogy - like a spring which is what it is, yet flows into streams and lakes and canals and branches, or like a root spread out beneath trees and branches with its fruit, or like a human body, which is partitioned in an indivisible way into members of members, primary members and secondary, great and small. (The Tripartite Tractate)

The reading from the Tripartite Tractate says that the present age or aeon is divided into units of time

Time signifies the measure of events. The events are the main thing and they should always be so recognized, else the measure of them assumes undue importance. Divisions of time signify degrees of of spiritual growth and development; night being ignorance, and day understanding.

Divisions of time into hours, days, weeks, years and ages are prepared by the word of God. (Heb 11:3). From the spiritual viewpoint there is no such thing as time in the way that man has come to regard it. With God a thousand years are as one day and one day is as a thousand years.

What is the spiritual significance of the Scriptural reference to “days”? A day, in the Scriptures, represents a degree of spiritual understanding. The “first day” represents the first perception of spiritual truth. The “second day” represents a still more advanced and understanding of Truth. Each day up to the “sixth day” represents higher degrees of understanding; the sixth day represents the highest perception of Truth in the consciousness.

Aeon/Age--A cycle or a dispensation. Jesus was acquainted with cycles or ages of spiritual development of which the natural man knew nothing. Jesus came at the end of an age. Age to mortal man is the measurement of the life or existence of a person or thing. It is based on the false concept of time as reality. "What is the signal of Your presence, and the completion of this age?" (Matt. 24:3,)

Father Time

The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos (χρόνος) and kairos.  In some Greek sources, Kairos is mentioned as a brother of Chronos. However, other sources point out that it is his son.

The Greek deity Chronos (not to be confused with the Titan Cronus) is the personification of time in Greek mythology

Chronos is usually portrayed as an old, wise man with a long, grey beard, such as "Father Time".

Father Time is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device.

5550. χρόνος chronos [khron’-os

The Greek word Aeon is also personified as a deity in Greek mythology

So both the words Age and Time are personified as deities, this will help us to understand the Gnostic term Aeons as personifications of the Deity or aspects extensions of being, attributes or archetypes of the Deity.

Aeon is Time Indefinitely

Aeon (Greek Αἰών). The "time" represented by Aeon is unbounded, in contrast to Chronos as observed time divided into past, present, and future. He is thus a god of eternity.

We mustn't confuse Aeon/Age with the word epoch which can be a variation of time periods.

And Philo seems to have taken this view. He (i. 277) regards aeon, "age," as the archetype, or spiritual equivalent, of chronos, "time." Time, chronos, is measured by the motions of the visible Cosmos, who is "the younger son" of the Father, whence it follows that Time (i. 277) "has the rank of grandson in relation to God" not Time, he says, but "Age, aeon, is the name that must be given to their life (/Stos)" by "their" apparently meaning that of God and the Elder Son, the Logos. Age, aeon (he implies) is measured by the motions of the invisible Logos, who is the Elder Son of the Father. Hence, though he does not use the expression, he would apparently agree with the statement, that the Logos, or Word, is "the Father of the aeons" (Light on the gospel from an ancient poet by Edwin Abbott Abbott)

The Aeonian Nature

Isaiah 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Yahweh is residing in eternity or as the Septuagint rendering puts it dwelling (in) the aeon. This shows that aeon is the nature of the Yahweh;

Malachi 3:6 “Because I, Yahweh, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

Yahweh's nature being aeonian he does not change 

Paul wrote, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is aeonian (2 Cor 4: 18). The word aeonian describes those things human eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard, because they belong to the unseen realm of the kingdom of God.

Both in the New Testament (Rom 16: 26) and in the Old, God himself is described as the aeonian God. Abraham called upon the name of the Lord, the aeonian God (Gen 21:33).

Rom 16:26  But now made manifest, and through means of prophetic scriptures, according to the command of the age-abiding God, for obedience of faith unto all the nations made known,

Gen 21:33 After that he planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and called there upon the name of Yahweh the indefinitely lasting God “God to time indefinite.” Heb., ´El `ohlam´, “God of eternity.”

These two scriptures quoted above signifies that God always was, is now and always will be. He is the great I am, creator of time and space, and himself outside and beyond both. He is spirit, not flesh and is invisible to human sight.

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

In Heb 9: 14 we read of Christ, who through the aeonian Spirit offered himself unblemished to God. The Greek word pneuma, translated into English as Spirit, basically means wind. Hence it seldom appears alone, but needs qualification to make its meaning clear. Most commonly we read of the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. Here Paul uses the words Aeonian Spirit, to make it clear that he is referring to the supernatural, heavenly, invisible Spirit that proceeds from God, rather than its earthly shadow the wind.

Aeons as emanations of "God"

To emanate is to bring about and sustain all things from inward outward via light/waters that the True Deity supplies through GNOSIS. Gnosis meaning the truth/logos/knowledge/wisdom, or essence of God’s nature

2tim 3:16 Every scripture, is God-breathed (2315. θεόπνευστος theopneustos), and profitable--unto teaching, unto conviction, unto correction, unto the discipline that is in righteousness,--

[Inbreathing (2315 /theópneustos) relates directly to God's Spirit( Gk pneuma) which can also be translated "breath."]

[G. Archer, "2315 (theópneustos) is better rendered 'breathed out by God' as the emphasis is upon the divine origin of the inscripturated revelation itself" (A Survey of OT Introduction, fn. 7, 29).]

Heb 11:1 Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities (5287 ὑπόστασις hupostasis hoop-os’-tas-is) though not seen.
2 For by means of this the men of old times had witness borne to them.
3 By faith we perceive that the ages (165 αἰών aeon ahee-ohn’) were put in order by the word of God, so that what is seen has come to be out of things that do not appear.

The ages or aeons were set in order by the word of God that means they were "God-breathed",or 'breathed out by God' this means that the ages emanated from God they are the unseen realities 

1 Cor. 8:6  yet to us there is but one God, the Father, out of whom are all things and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ on account of whom are all things, and we by Him.

The Father, out of whom are all things 

The Deity is Absolute power from whose incorruptible substance radiates holy spirit or active force before all existing things. This self-existing incorruptible substance is essentially spirit—spirit substance—moral and physical: The Divine One —all things are out of Deity (1 Cor. 8:6). All things being out of Deity, they were not made out of nothing. The sun, moon and stars, together with all things pertaining to each, were made out of something, and that something was the radiant flowing out of His substance, or active force, which pervades all things. By his active force, all created things are connected with the creator of the universe, which is light that no man can approach unto, so that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father, who is not far from every one of us.

John 1:3  All things, through him, came into existence, and, without him, came into existence, not even one thing: that which hath come into existence,

The Eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14) as Creator, is necessarily before all things, and is, therefore, the "Theos," and the "Logos" of John 1:3, where it is testified that "all things were made on account of Him; and without Him was made not one thing which exists."

For out of Him, (ex autou) and through Him, and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory for the Aeons. Amen" (Rom. 11: 33-36).

The source or fountain of power in the universe is one. It is a unit. Therefore, everything which exists is out of Him. Hence the Creator did not "make all things out of nothing."

Hence the sun, the moon, and the stars, and all the things they can see, taste, feel, smell, and hear upon earth, are God. But do not confuse that which "is of Him" with the "Him" out of whom all things proceed.

The Fullness of the Aeons

Odes of Solomon 7:11 Because he is, he is imperishable the pleroma of the Aeons and their Father. Michael Lattke translation.

7:11 For He it is who is incorrupt, the perfection of the worlds and their Father. James Charlesworth  translation

Now let's look at the word essence now this is from the latin word essentia, essencia  from Latin essentia meaning "being, essence," abstract noun formed (to translate Greek ousia "being, essence") from essent-, present participle stem of esse"to be," from PIE root *es- "to be."

Now why am I talking about this word called essence because that is exactly what the Aeons are they are the essence of God they are different parts of God different to be parts of God states of God and we have many different kinds of aiions in the plural they are listed as word, will, thought, life, understanding, grace, perception prudence you see these are essences of God they are parts of God and they make up the wholeness

The word aeon originally meant "vital force," "life;" then "age," or "lifetime." this is because αἰών is so connected with ἄημι (aēr 109) to breathe, blow, as to denote properly that which causes life, vital force.

Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon: Aeon: A period of existence; one's lifetime; life; an age; a generation; a long space of time; an age.

The key words are a period of existence vital force a lifetime a generation a long space of time it's hard to to get this as human beings because we live in space-time continuum in the physical self.

What you have is you have different parts of yourself that are making up your existence or your vital force you see in the make up your lifetime or your long span of space and time. This is the active part of the understanding of the word aeon which is the vital force in just simply being shining itself forth or emanating and so forth. It isn't merely existing that is what an aeon essentially means through the Greek word the essence of that being that is shining in space-time continuum is the aeonic expression when it's done in its most pure essence of that being is intended from the beginning then the aspect of that individual or vital life force or essence or existence shines forth and is truly living you see in time-space that's why it's called an a on this is what we really understand from the beginning of the route understanding of this word through the Latin word aeon

Now the divine Aeons are not in time and space the Aeons of Mother-Father they always have been and they are and they always will be as they are part of God just our thought or gnosis of the existence of the true Mother-Father brings about the creation of those things the beginning of those things for us you see but they always were those vital forces or those essences always existed.

The analogy of the pantry

You can think of it again like different herbs in a pantry and the door shut and you open the door and you take the pepper out that is one essence of God or one Aeon of God. So the pepper has a certain spice to it or a certain characteristic or essence or vital force to it and so you put the pepper on the spaghetti. 

You see because you are making spaghetti no pepper on it that is your mission you are on a mission to have more spicy spaghetti. So you put that aeon on or that vital force or essence on your spaghetti so you can have the experience which is gaining the wisdom or the knowledge of what it’s like to have spaghetti with that spicy or has a spice on it known as pepper.

 But that pepper was always in that infinite pantry but when you grabbed it, you made it apart of your experience in the space-time continuum chronologically in your sequence sequence of doing things. And thus it became part of your existence you see that’s how it works but we understand it existing when we become aware of it. but it always was this is what an aeon is now. 

Do those aeons have their own awarenesses do they exist in the plural individual - mother father they do just as we do so we all have our characteristics even though we're part of God we still are separate from God in our will we are free moral agents in other words we have complete independent will to shape whatever we want

God emanates the different aspects and they come to be their own essence that's why they're called individual Aeons even though they are made up of the unity and it's hard to know that or understand that because we live in the universe of compartmentalization 

so we will always understand rather through time and space the way to overcome or transcend time and space is to see it that way in your mind.  

So I give you that analogy of the pantry the eternal pantry that you open up and you get different spices you have access to all of these vital forces or essences of God. 

You have access to all of these vital forces or essences of God 

God is not hiding them from you. 

God is actually wanting to reveal them to you and he did this through gnosis which is the path through Christ

Christ mission was to revel the true father and the essence of who God really is and not what you've been told by the Church

now there are different aspects of God if you want the essence of faith then you go through that Aeon if you want the essence of truth then you go through the Aeon known as Christ 

if you want the essence of God through wisdom then you go through that and so forth in it so on

 but all of these Aeons have always been accessible to you because you are an extension of God you are part of God you it has always been part of you from the eternal past in the eternal moment and the eternal future.

 that's there too so that you may have individuation because everybody's gonna come to their truth in their own way through the darkness through the ignorance but the ignorance is there so that you may find your wisdom that's what wisdom is wisdom is not had by it being given to you

 wisdom can only be had through experiencing the essence of existence through the Aeons and with Soph witches in this case is through Sophia 

now there are different aspects of God if you want to if you want the essence of faith then you go through that Aeon if you want the essence of truth then you go through the Aeon known as Christ 

if you want the essence of God through wisdom then you go through that and so forth in it so on but all of these Aeons have always been accessible to you because you are an extension of God you are part of God you it has always been part of you from the eternal past in the eternal moment and the eternal future.

The Aeons are a series of hypostases (extensions of being attributes or archetypes of God) that emanated outward from a common source.
The Aeons are extensions of the Deity’s unity, but without spacial or temporal measure (i.e. boundless and eternal).

The aeons are a stretching or expansion of the One: “This one, however, stretched himself out and it was that which he stretched out which gave a foundation and a space and a dwelling place for the universe, a name of his being” (Tripartite Tractate)

- Aeons are emanations of the Father: “All the spaces are his (the Father’s) emanations.” (Gospel of Truth)

- As emanations, the aeons have no spacial or temporal measure: “since the emanations are limitless and immeasurable”(Tripartite Tractate)

- Aeons are an extension of the Father, without separation: “The emanation of the Totalities, which exist from the one who exists, did not occur according to a separation from one another, as something cast off from the one who begets them. Rather, their begetting is like a process of extension, as the Father extends himself to those whom he loves, so that those who have come forth from him might become him as well.” (Tripartite Tractate)

- This expansion of the One (monad) to the many (the all) continued from tens of thousands to countless myriads: “Among the things that were created the monad is first, the dyad follows it, and the triad, up to the tenths. Now the tenths rule the hundredths; the hundredths rule the thousandths; the thousands rule the ten thousands. This is the pattern among the immortals.” (Eugnostos the Blessed) “They (the immortals) provided for themselves hosts of angels, myriads without number for retinue.” (Eugnostos the Blessed)

Aeon; These are the emanations from first cause, the Parent. The word not only refers to the "worlds" of emanation the Pleroma, but to the personalities as well. Sophia, Logos, and the other high principles are aeons, they are aspects of the divine mind.

The word aeon means temporal sometimes a spatial concept in addition it is also used for personal beings whether spiritual or material.