A Study of Divine Bodies

A Study of Divine Bodies

Cover of Hobbes' Leviathan shows a body formed of multitudinous citizens, surmounted by a king's head.

A Study of Divine Bodies 

Summer Harvest: A Psalm By Valentinus

In the spirit I see all suspended,
In the spirit I know everything held:
The flesh (Matter) hanging from the soul (Demiurge)
The soul held aloft by the air
The air (Logos) suspended from the ether (Pleroma)
Fruits manifest themselves out of the Depth
A child emerges from the womb

There are different levels to the universe Matter, Demiurge, Logos and Pleroma these Valentinus calls flesh, soul, air, and ether  

The Gospel of Truth 

When he had appeared, instructing them about the Father, the incomprehensible one, when he had breathed into them what is in the thought, doing his will, when many had received the light, they turned to him. For the material ones were strangers, and did not see his likeness, and had not known him. For he came by means of fleshly form, while nothing blocked his course, because incorruptibility is irresistible, since he, again, spoke new things, still speaking about what is in the heart of the Father, having brought forth the flawless Word.
When light had spoken through his mouth, as well as his voice, which gave birth to life, he gave them thought and understanding, and mercy and salvation, and the powerful spirit from the infiniteness and the sweetness of the Father. 

Therefore, all the emanations of the Father are pleromas, and the root of all his emanations is in the one who made them all grow up in himself. He assigned them their destinies. Each one, then, is manifest, in order that through their own thought <...>. For the place to which they send their thought, that place, their root, is what takes them up in all the heights, to the Father. They possess his head, which is rest for them, and they are supported, approaching him, as though to say that they have participated in his face by means of kisses. But they do not become manifest in this way, for they are not themselves exalted; (yet) neither did they lack the glory of the Father, nor did they think of him as small, nor that he is harsh, nor that he is wrathful, but (rather that) he is a being without evil, imperturbable, sweet, knowing all spaces before they have come into existence, and he had no need to be instructed. 

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 Tripartite Tractate

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 Body of Jesus

The visible body of Christ is sometimes understood in these texts as the “body of God.”
The Tripartite Tractate characterizes the Savior as “the Totality in bodily form” (quoted below)
In the Tripartite Tractate, the Son is called the “body of the bodiless” (quoted above) 

The Nag Hammadi Library Melchizedek

Furthermore, they will say of him that he is unbegotten, though he has been begotten, (that) he does not eat, even though he eats, (that) he does not drink, even though he drinks, (that) he is uncircumcised, though he has been circumcised, (that) he is unfleshly, though he has come in the flesh, (that) he did not come to suffering, <though> he came to suffering, (that) he did not rise from the dead, <though> he arose from the dead.

The Tripartite Tractate

For not only did he accept for them the death 5 of those ~hom he had in minB to save, but he even accepted the smallness to which they had descended when they had (inclined) downwards into body and soul, for he let himself be conceived 10 and he let himself be begotten as a child with body and soul. For into all those conditions which they shared with those who had fallen. although they possessed the light.
Here the The Tripartite Tractate is contemplating on the significance of the Savior’s incarnation, his birth as an infant, and his assumption of body and soul

The Tripartite Tractate

The Savior was an image of the unitary one, he who is the Totality in bodily form.  Therefore, he preserved the form of indivisibility, from which comes impassability.

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Col 2:3  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Col 2:9  Because in him dwells all the fulness of the deity bodily,

The Tripartite Tractate

Concerning that which he previously was and that which he is eternally - an unbegotten, impassible one from the Logos, who came into being in flesh - he did not come into their thought. And this is the account which they received an impulse to give concerning his flesh which was to appear. They say that it is a production from all of them, but that before all things it is from the spiritual Logos, who is the cause of the things which have come into being, from whom the Savior received his flesh. He had conceived <it> at the revelation of the light, according to the word of the promise, at his revelation from the seminal state. For the one who exists is not a seed of the things which exist, since he was begotten at the end. But to the one by whom the Father ordained the manifestation of salvation, who is the fulfillment of the promise, to him belonged all these instruments for entry into life, through which he descended. His Father is one, and alone is truly a father to him, the invisible, unknowable, the incomprehensible in his nature, who alone is God in his will and his form, who has granted that he might be seen, known, and comprehended.

In The Tripartite Tractate 114,1–11, the flesh of Christ is from the Logos, not from the archons.

The Gospel of Philip

The lord rose from the dead. He became as he was, but now his body was perfect. He possessed flesh, but this was true flesh. Our flesh isn’t true. Ours is only an image of the true.

Jesus revealed himself [at the] Jordan River as the fullness of heaven’s kingdom. The one [conceived] before all [71] was conceived again; the one anointed before was anointed again; the one redeemed redeemed others.

It is necessary to utter a mystery. The father of all united with the virgin who came down, and fire shone on him.
On that day that one revealed the great bridal chamber, and in this way his body came into being.


Lu 3:22  And the Holy Ghost 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 Dialogue of the Savior

Even if it comes forth in the body of the Father among men, and is not received, still it [...] return to its place. Whoever does not know the work of perfection, knows nothing.

Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body didst thou prepare for me;

Extracts from the Works of Theodotus:

59 First, then, he put on a seed from the Mother, not being separated but containing it by power, and it is given form little by little through knowledge. And when he came into Space Jesus found Christ, whom it was foretold that he would put on, whom the Prophets and the Law announced as an image of the Saviour. But even this psychic Christ whom he put on, was invisible, and it was necessary for him when he came into the world to be seen here, to be held, to be a citizen, and to hold on to a sensible body. A body, therefore, was spun for him out of invisible psychic substance, and arrived in the world of sense with power from a divine preparation. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)


60 Therefore, “Holy Spirit shall come upon thee” refers to the formation of the Lord's body, “and a Power of the Most High shall overshadow thee” indicates the formation of God with which he imprinted the body in the Virgin. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)

61 And he died at the departure of the Spirit which had descended upon him in the Jordan, not that it became separate but was withdrawn in order that death might also operate on him, since how did the body die when life was present in him? For in that way death would have prevailed over the Saviour himself, which is absurd. But death was out-generalled by guile. For when the body died and death seized it, the Saviour sent forth the ray of power which had come upon him and destroyed death and raised up the mortal body which had put off passion. In this way, therefore, the psychic elements are raised and are saved, but the spiritual natures which believe receive a salvation superior to theirs, having received their souls as “wedding garments.” (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus)


The Son is a “character of the Father brought down from above and placed into a body in this cosmos”

The Apocalypse of Weeks The Book of Enoch

The Apocalypse of Weeks

The Apocalypse of Weeks

93.1 After this, Enoch began to speak from a book:

93.2 And Enoch said: "Concerning the sons of righteousness, and concerning the elect ones of the world, [throughout the whole 7,000 year period] and concerning the plant of righteousness and uprightness, I will speak these things to you, and make them known to you, my children. In consequence of that which has been shown to me, from my heavenly vision and from the voice of the Watchers and Holy Ones have I acquired knowledge; and from the tablet of heaven have I acquired understanding."

93.3 And Enoch then began to speak from a book, and said: "I was born the seventh, in the first week, [It doesn’t give reference as to when this week actually starts, however it appears that each week is a 700 year period for all ten of them to fit into a 7,000 year period. Interestingly this is like saying a week (7,000 years) ten times of weeks (700 years)! And since it says he was “born the seventh” (and there is a second witness to this in 1:14) I am making the start date of the first week on 3993 BC at the “founding of the world” when Adam sinned as it seems to fit perfectly throughout the whole “ten part” time period (one could use 3992 when Cain was born but in this scope of time it would make little difference]
 while justice and righteousness still lasted. [this “period of  tranquillity” is the time period from Adam and Eve getting new garments of skin to the end of the day of rest that Jehovah had gone into – so from 3993BC to 2993 which would take the period of  tranquillity well into the second of the ten weeks that Enoch describes in great detail with regard to the flood and Noah’s time]

93.4 And, after me, [after 3040BC when Enoch is transferred (Hb 11:5)] in the second week, [3293 - 2593BC] great injustice will arise, and deceit will have sprung up.[this marks the time when the sons of god the seed of Seth and the seed of Cain commit the many grievous crimes upon the earth as recorded in Chapter 9 of Enoch and Genesis 6]. And in it [the second week] there will be the First End, and in it, a man will be saved. Meaning that Noah a righteous person is delivered 7But when the first [week] is completed, iniquity shall grow up; and during the second week he shall execute the decree [the one made in Chapter 14] upon sinners [both the sons of god and the sons of men - the execution of the decree being the deluge on those who do not enter the Ark which occurred from 2371 to 2370BC. So this too fits in well with the story of Noah and the end of this particular week].

93.5 And after this in the third week, at its end, a man will be elected as the Plant of Righteous judgement [this “man” being Abraham]; , and after him will come the Plant of Righteousness, forever. [future event – one who comes from the seed of Abraham - Jesus].

93.6 And after this,, in the fourth week [1893 – 1193BC], during its completion, the visions of the holy and the righteous shall be seen [the time of Moses and the visions on Mt. Sinai], and a Law for all generations take place [Moses’ prophecies concerning the coming Christ (a prophet like him –Dt 18:15)], and a habitation shall be made for them [the Promised Land by covenant].


93.7 And after this, in the fifth week [1193 – 493BC], at its end [or during its completion that is toward the end of the week], a House of Glory and Sovereignty will be built forever. The house is not the temple but the house of David  The Davidic line (also referred to as the House of David

93.8 And after this, in the sixth week [493BC – 209AD], all those who live in it [the house of dominion] will be darkened. [the Jewish system was one of the darkest under the Mosaic Law at the hands of the Pharisees], the hearts of all of them shall be forgetful of wisdom [they focus on the Law and maintaining a yoke on people instead of listening to the wisdom of God], and in it shall a Man [Immanuel/Jesus] arise and come forth [as the Messiah].
And during its completion [toward the end of the sixth week] He shall burn the house of dominion with fire [the judgment and consequent destruction of the temple and the fall of Jerusalem (70AD)], and all the race of the elect root shall be dispersed [the Diaspora].


93.9 Afterwards, in the seventh week [209AD – 909AD], an apostate generation shall arise [under the Roman Catholic Church]; and many shall be its deeds, and all its deeds perverse [intense persecution and death to any “true” Christian who would question their teachings or authority or try to translate the bible in other languages etc…]. During its completion [towards its end], the righteous shall be selected from the everlasting plant of righteousness [those who were under the alter in rev 6 and the 144‘000 of rev 7]; and to them shall be given the sevenfold doctrine of his whole creation [ they will function as witnesses of righteouseness  Unfortunately they had to hide this knowledge to keep it from being destroyed by the church].

91.12 And after this there will be another week; the eighth , that of righteousness [909AD – 1609AD], to which shall be given a sword to execute judgment and justice upon all oppressors [the Lollards movement, Protestant movement (Luther), Wycliffe accomplished translating the bible in English and it was well on its way to being the most published book in the history of the world as it became a global phenomenon – it was the Word of God (the sword) that executed judgment and justice (not physical but spiritual) on anyone who denied the power of the Old Testament and the Gospels].  and the sinners will be handed over into the hands of the righteous. [the “sinners” of the “middle ages” or “medieval times” were eventually subdued by the rise of the European powers and delivered into their hands],

91.13 And, at its end, [toward the end of the week] they [the elect ] shall acquire habitations by their righteousness  and a House [the “body” which is comprised of those who truly tried to bring God back into the everyday lives of men] will be built for the Great King in Glory, forever.

91.14) And all mankind shall look to the path of uprightness. And after that, in the ninth week, [1609AD – 2309AD] the righteous judgement shall be revealed to the whole world, [this is the time period we are now in, when the kingdom of God will be set up in the earth and righteous judgement shall be revealed to the whole world. The real “terrifiers” (Is 13) will be taken out of the way] And all the works of the godless shall vanish from all the earth, [not all of the people shall be destroyed but the work shall disappear];  And the world [the order of things or the system of things] shall be written down for destruction. [those who got the mark of the beast and worshipped it while blaspheming God and His truth are bound for Gehenna to be destroyed]; and all men [both good and evil] shall be on the watch for the path of integrity [all men, will look for the Christ and His brothers for understanding and guidance]. This period must continue for 300 years well into the Kingdom of God on earth under the new heavenly administration]

91.15 And after this, matter on the tenth week [2309 - 3009AD], in the seventh part, [not “seventh day” - this seventh part being the last 100 years 2909AD-3009AD] there shall be an everlasting judgment [on the last day of the tenth week those who have died during the 1000 years will be brought out  of the grave to be judged], which shall be executed by the Watchers of the eternal heaven  [upon the archons or world rulers of this age]; the great judgment which shall come from all of the angels [the angels are the sanits and the end of all that is evil will come as death itself is swallowed up forever - Amen!]

91.16 And the First Heaven will vanish and pass away and a New Heaven will appear, and all the Powers of Heaven will shine forever, with sevenfold light.

91.17 And after this, there will be many weeks without number, forever, [after the 1,000 year when God is all in all],  in goodness and in righteousness. And from then on sin will never again be mentioned. there will be no more remembrance of it

The Boundary Between the Physical and Spiritual Heavens

The Firmament or Expanse
The Firmament, the chasm, the limit, the middle or boundary

The outermost extension of the Upper Aeons is called ‘the limit’ and ‘the exalted boundary’: “...so that the limit which the Father had set might be established.” “...as for the one who is set up in this way and who is within the exalted boundary.” (Tripartite Tractate)


Lk 16:26  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm<5490> is fixed<4741>, so that those who desire to pass hence to you cannot, nor do they who desire to cross from there pass over unto us.

Heb 12:18  For ye are not come unto the mount <3735> that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Heb 12:20  (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain <3735>, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

Just as there exists a great chasm in Hades between the righteous and the unrighteous. so also there exists a great chasm between the Physical universe and the spiritual universe, this is called the Great Firmament

The Firmament is the boundary everywhere and no where 

Valentinians would sometimes refer to the Cross to explain the Boundary. 
Both Jews and Gnostic Christians believe the firmament is the Boundary between Physical universe and the spiritual universe
In Valentinianism the Boundary has many names the chasm, the limit, the middle or boundary

The Boundary or 
The Limit (horos G3735)

Valentinians would use a Greek word ὅρος (horos G3735) to try and explain the Firmament. Since the Greek word has a etymology term "limitation" or "restriction". Also the Greek word ὅριον (horion G3725) means "borders" and the two words are closely related. The word  ὅρος (horos G3735) has a second meaning a "mountain" . 

The Greek word (horion G3725) seems to come from the another Greek word ὅρος (horos) 3735 meaning a mountain this is where I got the idea to quote from Luke 16:26 as the chasm would be related to the mountain.

Strong's Concordance 3725. ὅριον horion hor’-ee-on; neuter of a derivative of an apparently primary ορος horos (a bound or limit); a boundary-line, i.e. (by implication) a frontier (region): —  border, coast. 

3725. ὅριον, ὁρίου, τό (from ὅρος (boundary)) (fr. Sophocles down), a bound, limit, in the N. T. always in plural (like Latinfines) boundaries (R. V. borders), equivalent to region, district, land, territory. (Thayer's Greek Lexicon) 

According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon the Greek word ὅριον G3725 comes from the word ὅρος G3735

horizo

3724. ὁρίζω horizo hor-id’-zo; from 3725; to mark out or bound ("horizon"), i.e. (figuratively) to appoint, decree, sepcify: —  declare, determine, limit, ordain. 

3724 ὁρίζω horizo hor-id’-zo 

from 3725; v; TDNT-5:452,728;  {See TDNT 563 } 

AV-determine 2, ordain 2, as it was determined + 2596 + 3588 1, declare 1, limit 1, determine 1; 8 


In the New Testament horizo is translated ‘determinate’, ‘ordain’, ‘limit’, ‘declared’. This word gives the English ‘horizon’ which has no element of fate in its meaning, but means simply the ‘boundary’ where sea and sky appear to meet.

Strong's Concordance ὅρος (horos) 3735. ὄρος oros or’-os; probably from an obsolete ορω oro (to rise or "rear"; perhaps akin to 142; compare 3733); a mountain (as lifting itself above the plain): —  hill, mount(-ain). 

5490. χάσμα chasma khas’-mah; from a form of an obsolete primary χαω chao (to "gape" or "yawn"); a "chasm" or vacancy (impassable interval): —  gulf.


The two Greek words ὅρος (horos) 3735 and 5490. χάσμα chasma are not related but they share the same idea that is that a mountain or chasm is the border or limit of a territory or land   

Here we can see how horos (The Boundary or The Limit) is used as a symbol for the Firmament the division between waters and waters.

The next Greek word to look at From Luke 16:26 is 4741 στηρίζω sterizo stay-rid’-zo 

from a presumed derivative of 2476 (like 4731); v; TDNT- 7:653,1085;  {See TDNT 745 } 

AV-stablish 6, establish 3, strengthen 2, fix 1, stedfastly set 1; 13 

1) to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix 
2) to strengthen, make firm 
3) to render constant, confirm, one’s mind

"In all these (regions) there is a great chasm fixed." Movement to or from was impossible.

Therefore the Boundary or the Limit had to be fixed into place like the Firmament

Psalm 36:6  (35:6) Thy righteousness is as the mountains (ὅρος (horos) of God, thy judgments are as a great deep (G12 ἄβυσσος): O Lord, thou wilt preserve men and beasts. LXX

Psalm 36:6  Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.

Here in Psalm 36:6 we now have a link between the Bythos (Depth βάθος) and the horos (mountain ὅρος)

The Firmament

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above (H5921) the firmament: and it was so (Gen. 1:7).

Philo says in Opif. 36-37 that the first thing to be created in the visible cosmos was heaven, which is called the firmament. In Plant. 3-4 it is also called the “boundary” which separates the visible cosmos from the ideal world. 

The firmament is the boundary between the visible universe and the Pleroma (fullness) the spiritual heavens 

The word “firmament” — that which is firm or fixed — is taken from the word used by the translators of the Septuagint, στερεωμα, from the idea that the heavens above us are a solid concave.

It properly means an expanse — a thing spread out. The verb from which the word is derived means to beat; then, to beat out — that is, to spread out by beating, as gold is; and then, simply to spread out, to expand. Compare #Ps 136:6 Isa 42:5 44:24. In Syriac the word means to make firm; but this idea is not necessarily in the Hebrew word. The idea of a firmament as something firm is derived from the Septuagint — in Genesis 1:6, στερεωμα — in this place, εν στερεωματι. 

Philo describes here how God began to shape the pre-cosmic matter and bring it from a state of “confusion” into a state of “separation”: ἐκ συγχύσεως εἰς διάκρισιν ἄγων ὁ κοσμοπλάστης μορφοῦν ἤρξατο. Heaven is not separated out of matter, but God set it as a boundary between the visible and the invisible world. Heaven, i.e. the firmament, is arranged as a boundary and “container” that divided the material creation and the regions of earth, water, air and fire from the divine world


Gen 1:6 And God [Elohim] went on to say: Let an expanse (Firmament) [chasm, the limit, the middle or boundary between the light matter universe and the dark matter universe, which is above the Firmament were God lives, this is called the pleroma] come to be in between the waters [aeons that is God’s heavenly hosts or dwelling place so Elohim is these waters. So Elohim is the waters above the Firmament ] and let a dividing occur between the waters [above and the heavens called the pleroma] and the waters [below, the Physical Heavens].

Gen 1:8 And God began to call the expanse (Firmament atmosphere, sky, or physical universe, outer space) Heavens [shamayim always in the pural - heavens] [this Firmament is the name for our atmosphere, the first heaven, and for space, the light universe, the second heaven and for God's home in the dark matter/energy universe, the 3rd heaven.

The true God then divides the light matter universe and the dark matter universe and separates them by 'an expanse' which is some sort of heavenly barrier, which is symbolized by the atmosphere of the earth.

This spiritual barrier is symbolized by the atmosphere of the earth, the earthly expanse, which is a barrier between the clouds (the waters above) and the seas (the waters below).

The Pleroma is the 3rd Heaven. The firmament or expanse is the limit, the middle or boundary between the Physical Heavens and the spiritual heavens called the Pleroma.

Valentinus assumed the existence of two boundaries one is between the ineffable depth and the rest of the fullness or Pleroma and the other bounds the material universe from the pleroma

Psalm 150:1 ¶ Praise ye Yahweh. Praise God in his sanctuary (that is in the upper depth of the Pleroma): Praise him in the firmament of his power (that is the Boundary between the ineffable depth and the rest of the Pleroma). 

Psalm 19:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens (the Pleroma or the waters above the heavens) declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Psalm 19 suggests that the heavens (the pleroma) are a greater work of God than the mere firmament which is referenced as a small example of God’s creative work. 

This would be compatible with the notion of firmament which we have developed above in comparing the relatively small matter of the visible heavens with the grand design of the invisible which are currently totally beyond mankind's comprehension

“It is he (the Father) whom the outside worlds all, like the stars of the firmament at night, see. As men desire to see the sun, in this way also the outside worlds desire to see him, on account of his invisibility that surrounds him.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

According to the Scriptures, there is a physical/spiritual structure to the universe. The Apostle Paul makes reference to the importance of this knowledge in the book of Ephesians where he wrote:


"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness (pleroma) of God."(Ephesians 3:17-19 KJV)

"[It is] he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name."
(Amos 9:6 KJV)


The first heaven is the Earth's atmosphere:

"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." (Gen 1:20 KJV)

The second heaven is the vast expanse of the physical universe - outer space as we call it:

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:" (Gen 1:14 KJV)

These two heavens constitute a continuum called the "firmament," and this firmament is collectively called "Heaven":

"And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." (Gen 1:8 KJV)

The Third Heaven is above this upper "Sea," and this higher sea is below the Throne of God:


"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind."
(Revelation 4:6 KJV)

This particular "Sea" is above the firmament (the known physical universe). It represents a firm and impassable barrier between the world of man (below) and the world of God or pleroma (above).

As we said, this is a present "sea" of separation is a FIRM and impassable barrier between the world of man (below) and the world of God (above) and they only way through there is in the Lord Jesus Christ. That barrier structure can be seen in the design of the Tabernacle and the Temple. It is represented by the Veil.

The "Sea" under discussion is a barrier between the second and third heavens, represented by the veil between the 'Holy Place' and 'Holiest of All.' The 'Brazen Alter' represents the Earth where the sacrifice was to be made. The 'Laver' in Moses' Tabernacle, and the 'Molten Sea' in Solomon's Temple, were places for the priests to wash themselves before entering the 'Holy Place'. You MUST be washed in the Blood of the Lamb of God to pass into that most Holy Place.

The Firmament is the Middle the space between the Upper and the Lower Aeons

The middle is like a veil between the Upper Aeons (‘the eternal’ ‘those who exist’) and the Lower Aeons (‘matter’ ‘those who do not exist’): “And then the existent separated itself from the non-existent. And the non-existent is the evil which has manifested in matter. And the enveloping power separated those that exist from those that do not exist. And it called the existent ‘eternal’, and it called the non-existent ‘matter’. And in the middle it separated those that exist from those that do not Exist, and it placed veils between them.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

- The middle as a veil : “A veil exists between the world above and the realms that are below; and shadow came into being beneath the veil; and that shadow became matter; and that shadow was projected apart.” (Hypostasis of the Archons)

- The middle as a curtain between the Upper and Lower Aeons: “the Father of the Universe, that his unimaginable goodness might be revealed, he created that curtain between the immortals and those that came afterward” (Sophia of Jesus Christ





what we have learned


The first heaven (the atmosphere)
The second heaven (outer space)
The sea above outer space and below the third heaven (a sea of separation)
And above it all, there is the Third Heaven.

The Limit is linked to the cross because it is also the time after death a state of ‘non-existence’ which is greatly feared.

There is a boundary or Limit between God and the Fullness. There is a second boundary or Limit between the Fullness and the deficiency.


“firmament” is separated from the infinite Void (waters), a bounded finite space in which to create. It is the power of imposing limits, that is of boundaries, that creates form. Without a boundary there is no form,

Church Leaders are Archons

The rulers wanted to fool us, since they saw we were connected with the good.
They took the names of the good and gave them to the not good so with names they could trick and rope us to the not good.

So, as if they were doing us a favor, they took names from what is not good and transferred them to the good, in their own way of thinking. For they wished to take free people and enslave them forever.

in this passage in the gospel of philip the rulers have used names to prevent people from being free. they seem to have valued the use of these names so a name that referred to something good now refers to something that is not good,

[the “rulers” although having some knowledge of the truth had no love for their brothers and kept it for themselves in selfish pride and covetness].

The rulers (archons) [church leaders, the Holy See the Pope's administration] wanted to deceive man, since they saw that he had a kinship with those that are truly good [the Elohim and God himself we have the potential to become like our Divine Parent].

They took the name of those that are good [holy] and gave it to those that are not good [false religious doctrines], so that through the names [the father, the son and the holy spirit] they might deceive men and bind them to those that are not good [man gets baptised into a false church in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, not knowing that this baptism and use of those names is nonsense].

And afterward, what a favor they do for them! They make them be removed from those that are not good [who are actually good] and place them among those that are good [who are actually not good].

[the Roman Catholic Church. Get out of her my people!]

These things they [the church leaders] knew, for they wanted to take the free man [ransomed, free from sin, born again, sanctified] and make him a slave to them forever

[they crated images or "personas" of people whom are loyal to the deception in order to confuse people “they themselves are not going in and they are hindering those who are from doing so”]

[so that through the names they might deceive him and bind them to those that are not good [this is the very nature of "religion", to bind and rebind people to do according to their will which is in opposition to the will of the Father, this is the spirit of the Antichrist which loves to “lord it over” men by binding them not only to the “letter” but also their own “traditions” and doctrines that they might “become as one of us” (false gods) for these are still in the conousness of sin]

The earthly rulers wanted to deceive people, since they understood that people have a connection with the good. They took good names and gave these names to bad things in order to deceive people and bind them to the bad in this way. And now these earthly rulers suggest to people that they keep away from the “bad” and cling to the “good” — those people who associate with them. These earthly rulers strive to make formerly free men slaves forever.

The Ascent of the Soul The Gospel of Mary

The Ascent of the Soul The Gospel of Mary

The Ascent of the Soul in The Gospel of Mary


"And Desire said, 'I did not see you go down, yet now I see you go up. So why do you lie since you belong to me?'
"The soul answered, 'I saw you. You did not see me nor did you know me. You took the garment (I wore) for my (true) self. And you did not recognise me.'
"After it had said these things, it left rejoicing greatly.
"Again, it came to the third Power, which is called 'Ignorance.' [It] examined the soul closely, saying, 'Where are you going? You are bound by wickedness. Indeed you are bound! Do not judge!'
"And the soul said, 'Why do you judge me, since I have not passed judgement? I have been bound, but I have not bound (anything). They did not recognise me, but I have recognised that the universe is to be dissolved, both the things of earth and those of heaven.'
"When the soul had brought the third Power to naught, it went upward and saw the fourth Power. It had seven forms. The first form is darkness; the second is desire; the third is ignorance; the fourth is zeal for death; the fifth is the realm of the flesh; the sixth is the foolish wisdom of the flesh; the seventh is the wisdom of the wrathful person. These are the seven Powers of Wrath.
"They interrogated the soul, 'Where are you coming from, human-killer, and where are you going, space-conqueror?'
"The soul replied, saying, 'What binds me has been slain, and what surrounds me has been destroyed, and my desire has been brought to an end, and ignorance has died. In a world, I was set loose from a world [an]d in a type, from a type which is above, and (from) the chain of forgetfulness which exists in time. From this hour on, for the time of the due season of the aeon, I will receive rest in silence.' "

The beginning of the vision is missing the revelation starts with the second power Desire. I would suppose that the vision is a revelation to Mary Magdalene about herself about her own enlightenment

"And Desire said, 'I did not see you go down, yet now I see you go up. So why do you lie since you belong to me?'

"The soul answered, 'I saw you. You did not see me nor did you know me. You mistook the garment (I wore) for my (true) self. And you did not recognise me.'

"After it had said these things, it left rejoicing greatly.

The Garment here is the ego or personality which the soul clothes itself with it is not the true real self which is the Christ consciousness

Again, it came to the third Power, which is called 'Ignorance.' [It] examined the soul closely, saying, 'Where are you going? You are bound by wickedness. Indeed you are bound! Do not judge!'




Ignorance judges the soul to be bound by the wickedness of the passions and lacking in discernment do not judge it commands. The soul is bound to the lower world by its physical nature which produces sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery


Mary Magdalene represents the psyche of the carnal consciousness. This psyche is demoniacal, and from it Jesus cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2). It is there that the emotions have their centres of action. It is the seat of desire.

Now the female offspring of the soul are wickedness and passion, but a healthy state of the passions and virtue is male,

The feelings and affections, which are the seat of the emotions in our unenlightened heart, belong to the soul.

The soul is ascending through different levels of the carnal consciousness or the senses until it raises to the higher self the Christ consciousness which releases the soul from the emotional errors (the demons) that have their existence in the unenlightened heart and establishes peace and repose in the consciousness

The purification of the soul is a change of mind and purpose (Acts 5:31; 11:18). Belief in the gospel of the kingdom is to have this state of mind and character according to “the law of faith.” The Gospel is intended to enlighten and purify the mind while enriching the emotions, attitudes and decisions with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Gal 5:22-23) . Where the truth prevails there is 'righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' (Romans 14:17) which will result in edification of one another (v 19).

The 7 forms of the fourth power represent the 7 demons cast out of Mary Magdalene. The powers are the Archons or the rulers of power of the senses

The 2nd Power is Desire the carnal mind craving, the 3rd Power is Ignorance it believes it has power to judge others, but the soul knows that all power belongs to God alone, the fourth Power is Wrath which has 7 forms the seven Powers of Wrath

the 7 forms of the fourth power are (spiritual) darkness, the second desire (craving), the third ignorance (of the Truth), the fourth is the zeal for death (a lack of consciousness), the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh (which enslaves the emotions), the sixth is the foolish wisdom of flesh (materialistic worship, born of the carnal mind), the seventh is the wrathful wisdom (false doctrines and theories born of the carnal mind, which is a counterfeit of true Wisdom). These are the seven powers of wrath (the limited and inferior thoughts and attitudes ).

Their collective character and name is wrath

The idea of seven steps of ascent to divinity (which correspond to the seven heavens) is widely known.

The Ascent of the Soul in The Gospel of Mary is not about the soul ascending to the literal heavens but the heavens which is a state of consciousness in harmony with the thoughts of God.

The Ascent of the Soul is to it free from the powers of human nature not matter

The 4 Powers are within ourselves

The 4 Powers are the 7 forms which are established as parts of our Being

They represent the senses

the powers are a personification of human nature or human qualities this is seen from the Testament of Reuben chapter 2 the concerning the seven spirits of error

Testament of Reuben

2:1 And now hear me, my children, what things I saw concerning the seven spirits of error, when I repented.
2:2 For seven spirits are established against man, and they are the sources of the deeds of youth.
2:3 And seven other spirits are given to man at creation, so that by them every human deed is done.
2:4 The first is the spirit of life, with which man's whole being is created. The second is the spirit of sight, with which comes desire.
2:5 The third is the spirit of hearing, with which comes instruction. The fourth is the spirit of smell, with which is given tastes for drawing air and breath.
2:6 The fifth is the spirit of speech, with which comes knowledge.
2:7 The sixth is the spirit of taste, for consuming food and drink; by it comes strength, because in food is the substance of strength.
2:8 The seventh is the spirit of procreation and intercourse, with which comes sin through fondness for pleasure.
2:9 For this reason, it is the last in order of creation, and the first in that of youth, because it is filled with ignorance, and leads the youth as a blind man into a ditch, and like an animal over a cliff.

3:1 In addition to all these there is an eighth spirit of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and the image of death.
3:2 With these spirits are mingled the spirits of error.
3:3 First, the spirit of fornication resides in the nature and in the senses; the second, the spirit of insatiableness, in the stomach; the third, the spirit of fighting, in the liver and gall.
3:4 The fourth is the spirit of flattery and trickery, in order that through excessive effort one might appear to be at the height of his power.
3:5 The fifth is the spirit of pride, that one may be boastful and arrogant. The sixth is the spirit of lying, which through destructiveness and rivalry, handles his affairs smoothly and secretively even with his relatives and his household.
3:6 The seventh is the spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfil the desire of his heart; for injustice works together with the other spirits by the taking of gifts.
3:7 And with all these the spirit of sleep is joined which is that of error and fantasy.
3:8 And so every young man is destroyed, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the Law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers as befell me also in my youth.
3:9 And now, my children, love the truth, and it will preserve you: hear you the words of Reuben your father.