Mind emanation

 In this study we will look at the aspects of the Mind of God which are referred to as the emanation of the aeons. First we will have an opening reading from 1cor 2:16

1Cor 2:16  For who hath come to know the mind of the Lord, that shall instruct him? But, we, have, the mind of Christ.

First the scriptures teach that all things are out of God: 

1Cor 8:6 there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, on account of whom all things are, and we because of him. (NWT)

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.

Here in 1Cor 8:6 we see the doctrine of emanation

emanate--"To issue forth from a source" (Webster). 

In many Gnostic systems, aeons and other beings are emanated as an outpouring from the divine source, rather than created or begotten. The emanation usually refers to a primordial cosmogony which flows from the Father.  

This process of emanation first begins within the mind of the Father it is the silent thought which effusion from him. it is best understood like this the logos was "with God" in that it emanated from him 

The concept of emanation is that from the One (the Monad) sometimes referred to as the Depth issue forth all things. The first stage in the process, the Divine Mind, thinks, and thus from it emanate the reason (logos) and wisdom (Sophia). These are called aeons which are aspects or attributes of the Deity. There are 30 aeons altogether which make up the fullness (pleroma). The pleroma is the sum total of the aeons and emanations of the Deity. The divine pleroma is thus the full manifestation of the glory of the transcendent Deity. In Valentinian texts. With thought, depth constitutes the first Valentinian pairs called syzygies these are androgynous aspects of the mind of the Deity. 

God existed before he created the Heavens and the earth. God exists outside of time and space in the Bythos or depth.

First of all the Pleroma did not always exist it was produced and formed by the Eternal Spirit this we call the emanation.

"He created the holy Pleroma in this way" (The Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

The word Pleroma means "fullness". It refers to all existence beyond visible universe. In other words it is the world of the Aeons, the heavens or spiritual universe. Bythos is the spiritual source of everything which emanates the pleroma,

The Pleroma is both the abode of and the essential nature of the True Ultimate Deity or Bythos. 

However there is another understanding to the Pleroma as well as being the dwellings place of the Aeons and the divine nature of the Deity it is also a state of consciousness. 

The Peroma is the total structure of the mind of the Deity. The emanations of the Aeons first happens within the consciousness of the Monad (The One) or the Deity. The emanation of the Aeons is the expanding of the Mind of the Deity. 

The Pleroma is the sum total of the divine attributes

The aeons are attributes of the Deity there are 30 divine attributes altogether each attribute is referred to as an aeon or an eternal these attributes emanate from the mind of the Deity.

In Jewish Mysticism known as kabbalah the Sefirot means emanations, which are the 10 attributes/emanations through which Ein Sof (The Infinite One) reveals Himself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the chain of higher spiritual realms.

To summaries this section the Pleroma is both a spatial and metaphysical

The Divine Mind

A spiritual understanding of God, the Divine Mind or logos, is the key to understanding the scriptures. In the account of creation as told by Moses, creation is brought forth by "God said"--Mind thought or logos.

John 1:1 Aramaic Bible in Plain English
In the origin The Word had been existing and That Word had been existing with God and That Word was himself God.

The Greek word "logos" which is translated in the English as "word" can also be translated as reason. (See 1Peter 3:15)

1Peter 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason <3056> of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 

The term “word” in the Bible most frequently translates the Hebrew and Greek words davar´ and logos. These words in the majority of cases refer to an entire thought, saying, or statement rather than simply to an individual term or unit of speech. (In Greek a ‘single word’ is expressed by rhēma (ῥῆμα 4487) [Mt 27:14], though it, too, can mean a saying or spoken matter.) 

Logos signifies the outward form of inward thought or reason, or the spoken word as illustrative of thought, wisdom and doctrine. in the very 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.

Brain and Mind

The logos is the reasoning intelligence of the divine mind or spirit:

Isaiah 40:13  Who has known the mind of the Lord? and who has been his counsellor, to instruct him?  (Greek Septuagint Version)

Isaiah 40:13  Who hath directed the Spirit of Yahweh, and, [as] his counsellor, hath taught him?

Here we can see that the Hebrew text as the word "spirit" and the Greek translation known as the Septuagint uses the word "mind". This shows that the word spirit is used sometimes in the bible as a synonym for the mind or heart. The spirit comprises both heart and mind. 

Spirit and Mind are synonymous; therefore we know God--Spirit--as Mind, the one Mind, or Intelligence, of the universe.

But was the Deity reason and speech only? In other words, an abstraction independent of substance; or, as some affirm, "without body or parts"? To preserve us from such a supposition, John informs us that "the Logos was with the Theos," Here was companionship and identity - "the Logos was with the Theos, and Theos was the Logos." Never was there a conceivable point of time, or eternity, when the one existed without the other. "Yahweh possessed me," saith the Logos, "in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from olahm (the hidden period) from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the open places, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the deep; when he established the clouds above; when he strengthened the fountains of the deep; when he gave to the sea his decree that the water should not pass his commandment; when he appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by him as one brought up with him (the Logos was with the Theos): and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:22).

Theos is the Brain, Logos is the Thought or Reasoning of the Spirit or Mind. Therefore the Logos is the mind of God. 

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.)

Thus the logos is the reasoning mind of God. Now reason has another name Sophia or the wisdom of God.

Here was the offspring of Yahweh, of whom it is said : " She is more precious than rubies. Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand, riches and honor: a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her." Here is an existence previous to the existence of the earth and all that it contains. " By me," says Wisdom, " Yahweh formed the earth." " I am understanding ;" and "by understanding he established the heavens."

As a comment upon this, it may be remarked that in Job it is written : " By his SPIRIT he garnished the heavens;" or in the words of David, " By the WORD of Yahweh were the heavens made ; and all the host of them by the Spirit of his mouth." For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. From these premises, then, it is evident that Wisdom, the Word, and the Spirit, are but different terms, expressive of the same thing; so that the phrases, "the Spirit of Wisdom," and "the Spirit of Counsel and of Might" are combinations expressive of the relations of the Spirit in certain cases

The apostle John, in speaking of this, saith, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was made not any thing which exists. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." This appears to me to be a very intelligible account of the matter. The Word, Wisdom, Spirit, God, all one and the same; for He, being the fountain and origin, is as the emanation from himself.

The Word, Wisdom, Spirit are not separate beings or persons but personifications of the Father.

Wisdom of Solomon 7:26 The New Revised Standard Version 

26 For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.

Our attention is called to the 1st chapter of Genesis: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

The Father sees himself in the light of the water (compare Genesis 1:2 with John 1:4)  The Father is self-reflective self-consciousness.

God is spirit and the logos was God therefore we have Brain (Theos or God), Mind (spirit) and thought/reason (logos) The Word of Spirit is the Father's thought or plan. Spirit-Mind forms within itself the Thought or Reason that was expressed in Creation. This is the “Word,” that was and is with God.

Valentinian interpretation of John chapter 1

John 1:1 Rotherham's Emphasized Bible 
1 ¶  Originally, was, the Word, and, the Word, was, with God; and, the Word, was, God.
2  The same, was originally, 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,
4  in him, was, life, and, the life, was, the light of men.--

This information will help us to understand the Valentinian interpretation of john chapter 1

Extracts from the Works of Theodotus:

7 Therefore, the Father, being unknown, wished to be known to the Aeons, and through his own thought, as if he had known himself, he put forth the Only-Begotten, the spirit of Knowledge which is in Knowledge. So he too who came forth from Knowledge, that is, from the Father's Thought, became Knowledge, that is, the Son, because “through' the Son the Father was known.” But the Spirit of Love has been mingled with the Spirit of Knowledge, as the Father with the Son, and Thought with Truth, having proceeded from Truth as Knowledge from Thought.

Note the Only-Begotten is the father's own thought also called the the spirit of Knowledge

The Father could be known through the two Spirits proceeding from him, which were mingled together. These spirits are the Spirit of knowledge (πνεῦμα γνώσεως) and the Spirit of love (πνεῦμα ἀγάπης).

Now since the word "logos" means the entire thought it would be logical to conclude that this reasoning had within its self, foreknowledge, forethought, insight or gnosis, this is referred to as the spirit of knowledge also contained within the reasoning is life grace light which is the spirit of love

In Extracts from the Works of Theodotus 6-7, the principal Tetrad (a group or set of four aeons,) consisted of the Mind, the Truth, the Logos, and the Life but the Father was not counted as a member of the Pleroma. 

The Extracts from the Works of Theodotus goes on to say: 

8 But we maintain that the essential Logos is God in God, who is also said to be “in the bosom of the Father,” continuous, undivided, one God.

God came forth, the Son, Mind of the All. This means that even his thought takes its existence from the root of the all, since he had him in mind (Valentinian Exposition from the Nag Hammadi Library)

The All preexisted within the Father, and the son who is the Father's Thought and Will, revealed it

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: 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 phrase “The Word was in the beginning” was not a temporal expression, but it “shows the order of emanation” (See Ptolemy's Commentary On The Gospel of John Prologue)

Since the term logos signifies an inward thought it would be logical to conclude that logos is Sige or silence in the Valentinian system. 

Silence has a partner or companion (syzygies, pair) with the Depth (Bythos)

The Depth is another aspects or attributes of the Father or the Deity

Thus the logos is the silent thought of the Deity.  

The Deity was reasoning with himself this reasoning lead to the rest of the Emanations or attributes coming forth from the divine mind. The Deity was always self aware and had self knowledge

There is one life force: the creative all-embracing life, even the logos which is God. This life is eternal and without limit, from before time to everlasting.

The things made, or externalized, are from the one and inseparable Mind and thought or God and logos, the self-existent and ever active, the cause of all that appears.

The Divine Mind or logos the ever-present, all-knowing Mind; the Absolute, the unlimited. present everywhere at the same time, all-wise, all-loving, all-powerful Spirit.

There is but one Mind, and that Mind cannot be separated or divided. All that we can say of the one Mind is that it is absolute.

1 Corinthians 2:16 for, "Who has known the mind of Yahweh so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ

The Divine Mind, the creative power or Spirit in action. The Divine Mind first conceives the idea, then brings its external form to fulfilment. Believers, acting in accordance with the Divine Mind, place themselves under this same creative law and thus brings the divine ideas into manifestation.

The first Emanation is Logos, the masculine Father Principle of the Divine Mind that thinks and plans the molds for all expression through form. Mind builds form.

The second Emanation is Love, the feminine Mother Principle of the Divine Mind Love Substance that nourishes and sustains the molds formed by Mind. Love fills Form.

The Logos is Light, Life and Action.

The Logos is the Christ Principle, Holy Breath, Holy Spirit. This is the beginning of the first Day of Manifestation.

As the Emanations completed their second circuit,
 The Deity begot Lesser Gods, the Elohim, who plan the rest of manifestation or the rest of creation.
The Deity is spirit as well as Logos, wisdom and life this is Sophia 

# Emanation in Kabbalah According to the Old Testament

In Kabbalistic thought, the term **emanation** refers to the flow of the Deity’s essence into creation. This is the process by which divine attributes, or Sefirot, unfold to structure and sustain the Natural World, while the Deity remains unified and corporeal. The primary Hebrew term associated with this concept is **Atzilut (אֲצִילוּת)**, which translates as “emanation” or “flowing forth.” The Old Testament provides both the linguistic foundation and conceptual framework for understanding this process.

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### 1. The Hebrew Word and Its Roots

The word **Atzilut** is not explicitly spelled out in the canonical Old Testament; however, its conceptual root occurs in several passages. In particular, the root **אצ״ל (atzal)** conveys the sense of setting apart, transferring, or emanating divine spirit:

* **Numbers 11:17:** “And I will take of the spirit that is upon you and put it upon them [the seventy elders]” — in Hebrew, **וְאָצַלְתִּי (ve-atzalti)**.

  The Deity tells Moses that He will **extract and transfer a portion of the divine spirit**, giving it to others. This verb conveys a form of emanation: divine essence flows from one vessel into others, retaining unity while extending influence.

* **Ezekiel 42:6:** The term **atzal** appears in descriptions of sacred separations in the temple, indicating **something set apart from the whole** for divine purpose. In Kabbalistic terms, this anticipates the conceptual foundation for emanation: divine substance is never divided in essence but can be channeled or set apart in functional flows.

Thus, the Old Testament provides the linguistic foundation for **Atzilut**. The Deity’s essence is both one and capable of **emanating** into creation, whether through speech, action, or spirit.

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### 2. The Concept of Emanation in Scripture

Emanation in Kabbalah is the process by which the Deity’s attributes flow outward into creation. Unlike a one-time act of creation, this flow is **continuous and structured**, ensuring order in the Natural World. The Old Testament illustrates this in several ways:

* **Genesis 1:1–3:** “In the beginning, the Deity created the heavens and the earth… and the Deity said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

  The creative word (דָּבָר, *dabar*) functions as an emanative act, channeling divine essence into tangible forms. Light, as the first creation, is a manifestation of the Deity’s presence flowing into the universe.

* **Proverbs 8:22–31:** Wisdom (חָכְמָה, *Chokhmah*) says, “The Deity possessed me at the beginning of his way… when he prepared the heavens, I was there.”

  Wisdom here is described as **pre-existent and emanative**, participating in the ordering of creation. This parallels the Kabbalistic concept that emanations exist prior to and alongside creation.

* **Psalm 104:24–30:** The Deity’s activity sustains rivers, mountains, and living creatures. These acts represent **continuous emanation**, showing that creation is not static but a perpetual flow of divine substance.

In these passages, the Hebrew Bible conveys that emanation is both **active and dynamic**, extending the Deity’s attributes into forms perceivable in the Natural World.

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### 3. The Process of Emanation

Kabbalah organizes emanation through **ten Sefirot**, each representing a channel through which divine essence manifests. These emanations are both **distinct in function** and unified in substance, reflecting the Deity’s one corporeal essence.

#### 3.1 Keter (Crown) – Divine Will

The first emanation, **Keter**, represents the Deity’s hidden will and the initiating source of all flows:

* **Isaiah 55:8–9:** “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”

  Keter is hidden, transcendent, initiating all emanation from the Deity’s essential will.

* **Proverbs 8:22–23:** “I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed.”

  The Deity’s will, as Keter, precedes creation and provides the impetus for all subsequent emanations.

#### 3.2 Chokhmah (Wisdom)

The second emanation, **Chokhmah**, is the first revealed expression of divine intellect and creative energy:

* **Proverbs 3:19:** “The Deity by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.”

  Wisdom functions as the emanative principle shaping the cosmos.

* **Genesis 1:3:** “Let there be light.”

  Light represents the tangible manifestation of wisdom flowing into the Natural World.

#### 3.3 Binah (Understanding)

**Binah** is the shaping principle that receives the potential of wisdom and structures it into form:

* **Genesis 2:7:** “And the Deity formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”

  Binah channels divine potential into material and organized forms.

* **Exodus 31:3:** “I have filled him with the Spirit of the Deity, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge.”

  Understanding acts as the intermediary through which divine energy is applied practically.

#### 3.4 Chesed (Lovingkindness)

Chesed reflects divine benevolence and mercy:

* **Psalm 136:** “His steadfast love endures forever.”

  Mercy emanates as a constant outflow into creation, sustaining life and human flourishing.

* **Exodus 34:6–7:** “Merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”

  Lovingkindness is both active and observable in the natural order and human experience.

#### 3.5 Gevurah (Judgment)

**Gevurah** is the emanation of discipline and restraint:

* **Deuteronomy 32:4:** “The Deity is perfect in all his ways… just and upright is he.”

  Judgment tempers mercy, maintaining harmony in creation.

* **Psalm 89:14:** “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.”

  Emanation requires both mercy and limitation.

#### 3.6 Tiferet (Beauty)

**Tiferet** integrates mercy and judgment into harmony:

* **Isaiah 61:3:** “To grant them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.”

  Beauty emerges from balance, a visible manifestation of emanative order.

* **Psalm 27:4:** “To behold the beauty of the Deity.”

  Humans perceive emanative harmony in both creation and moral order.

#### 3.7 Netzach (Victory)

Netzach ensures endurance and persistence of divine influence:

* **Psalm 18:2:** “The Deity is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.”

  Endurance emanates into the Natural World, sustaining life and providence.

* **Isaiah 40:28–31:** “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”

  Divine force flows continuously, enabling persistence.

#### 3.8 Hod (Glory)

Hod channels divine recognition and splendor:

* **Psalm 29:2:** “Ascribe to the Deity the glory due his name.”

  Glory becomes perceptible in creation and human acknowledgment.

* **Exodus 34:5–7:** “The Deity descended in the cloud and stood with him there.”

  Visible manifestation of divine glory is an emanative act.

#### 3.9 Yesod (Foundation)

Yesod channels divine activity into tangible forms:

* **Genesis 1:10–12:** Land, vegetation, and life emerge through structured emanation.

* **Psalm 104:5:** “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.”

  Yesod stabilizes and transmits divine substance into reality.

#### 3.10 Malkhut (Kingdom)

Malkhut represents the full manifestation of divine sovereignty:

* **Psalm 103:19:** “The Deity has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

* **Psalm 145:13:** “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.”

  Malkhut is where emanations coalesce and the Deity’s presence becomes perceptible in creation.

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### 4. Continuous Emanation in the Natural World

The Old Testament emphasizes that emanation is ongoing:

* **Psalm 104:24–30:** Rivers, mountains, and life cycles are sustained by continuous divine flow.

* **Genesis 1:** Repeated divine speech (“And the Deity said…”) shows successive acts of emanation forming and stabilizing creation.

* **Numbers 11:17:** Transfer of spirit to the seventy elders exemplifies the ongoing flow of divine substance among humanity.

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### 5. Human Perception and Moral Experience

Emanation is perceivable through:

1. **Wisdom and law:** Proverbs 3:1–6 and Exodus 31:3 reflect divine order in human understanding.

2. **Nature:** Psalm 104 reveals creation as the visible product of emanative flow.

3. **Divine providence:** Mercy and judgment in Psalms and Deuteronomy demonstrate moral and natural consequences of emanation.

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### 6. Summary

Using the Old Testament, Kabbalistic emanation can be understood as:

1. **The flow of the Deity’s corporeal essence into creation.**

2. **Structured through ten Sefirot,** each with scriptural support.

3. **Continuous and dynamic,** sustaining and ordering the Natural World.

4. **Perceivable in creation, morality, and divine providence,** while the Deity remains unified and hidden in essence.

The Hebrew roots, particularly **ve-atzalti** (Numbers 11:17) and **atzal** (Ezekiel 42:6), provide linguistic support, linking Kabbalistic emanation to the Old Testament’s descriptions of divine speech, spirit, wisdom, and providential acts.

By examining creation, law, and divine action in scripture, we see the Old Testament as a foundational source for understanding **Atzilut** and the structured process by which the Deity’s attributes continuously flow into the Natural World, sustaining all life and order.

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Emanation in Kabbalah According to the Old Testament

Emanation in Kabbalah describes the process by which the Deity’s essence flows into creation, giving form, order, and life to the Natural World. The Deity remains unified and corporeal, while emanations—often called Sefirot—express particular aspects of divine activity. The Hebrew Scriptures provide abundant insight into this process, revealing how divine substance manifests in creation, morality, and providence.

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1. The Primordial Flow of Divine Will

The first emanation in Kabbalistic thought is the divine will, often called Keter (Crown). Keter represents the hidden, initiating force from which all other emanations derive. In the Old Testament, this is mirrored in the notion of the Deity’s thoughts and counsel:

• Isaiah 55:8–9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Deity. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
  Here, the Deity’s hidden will precedes creation, an unseen source that initiates the flow of divine substance.

• Proverbs 8:22–23: “The Deity possessed me at the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed.”
  The Deity’s wisdom is intertwined with will, existing before creation and functioning as the conduit through which all else emanates.

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2. Wisdom as the First Revealed Emanation (Chokhmah)

The second emanation, Chokhmah (Wisdom), is the first visible expression of divine will. It embodies creative energy and the organizing principle in creation:

• Proverbs 3:19: “The Deity by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.”
  Wisdom is presented as a formative force in creation, showing the Deity’s essence actively shaping the cosmos.

• Proverbs 8:27–30: “When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep… I was beside him, like a master workman.”
  This passage describes wisdom as a co-active emanation, functioning alongside the Deity to bring order and structure.

• Genesis 1:3: “And the Deity said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
  Light emerges as an initial tangible result of wisdom flowing into the Natural World.

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3. Understanding as the Shaping Principle (Binah)

The third emanation, Binah (Understanding), receives the potential of wisdom and gives it concrete form. It is the intellectual and formative aspect of divine substance:

• Genesis 2:7: “And the Deity formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”
  The shaping act demonstrates Binah: giving form to potential, creating order from unformed matter.

• Exodus 31:3: “And I have filled him with the Spirit of the Deity, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge.”
  Understanding functions as the channel through which divine knowledge and form are imparted.

• Proverbs 4:7: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting, get understanding.”
  Understanding is essential to manifesting divine order in the Natural World, a necessary emanative step following wisdom.

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4. Lovingkindness (Chesed) as Outflowing Mercy

The fourth emanation, Chesed, reflects the Deity’s mercy and generosity:

• Psalm 136: “His steadfast love endures forever.”
  The repeated declaration portrays divine kindness as a continuous flow into creation.

• Genesis 6:8: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Deity.”
  Favor and mercy are expressions of Chesed, an emanation through which divine benevolence interacts with humanity.

• Exodus 34:6–7: “The Deity, the Deity, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression.”
  Mercy and lovingkindness are channels through which the Deity sustains and governs creation.

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5. Judgment and Restraint (Gevurah)

The fifth emanation, Gevurah (Severity), is the balancing principle of divine justice:

• Deuteronomy 32:4: “The Deity is perfect in all his ways, a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
  Gevurah is evident in divine justice and limitation, ensuring that mercy is ordered and does not lead to chaos.

• Exodus 15:3: “The Deity is a man of war; the Deity is his name.”
  Gevurah is the active power that restrains and disciplines, part of the emanative flow into the Natural World.

• Psalm 89:14: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.”
  Judgment balances mercy, a dual aspect of the emanative process.

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6. Harmony (Tiferet) as Integrative Beauty

The sixth emanation, Tiferet, harmonizes Chesed and Gevurah:

• Isaiah 61:3: “To grant them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.”
  Beauty arises from balance, reflecting the integrated flow of mercy and justice into the Natural World.

• Psalm 27:4: “One thing have I asked of the Deity… to dwell in the house of the Deity all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Deity.”
  Tiferet manifests as a visible harmony of divine attributes perceived in creation and human life.

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7. Victory and Endurance (Netzach)

The seventh emanation, Netzach, represents divine persistence and the sustaining power of creation:

• Psalm 18:2: “The Deity is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.”
  Netzach sustains creation and providence, ensuring the continuous outflow of divine substance.

• Isaiah 40:28–31: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”
  Victory and endurance are expressions of divine force flowing inexhaustibly.

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8. Glory and Splendor (Hod)

The eighth emanation, Hod, signifies divine glory and recognition:

• Psalm 29:2: “Ascribe to the Deity the glory due his name.”
  Hod channels the acknowledgment of divine order into human perception.

• Exodus 34:5–7: “The Deity descended in the cloud and stood with him there.”
  The visible manifestation of divine glory is an emanation that interacts tangibly with creation.

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9. Foundation (Yesod)

The ninth emanation, Yesod, is the channel connecting divine activity to the physical plane:

• Genesis 1:10–12: The gathering of waters and the emergence of dry land demonstrate Yesod, transmitting divine structure into tangible reality.

• Psalm 104:5: “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.”
  Yesod stabilizes creation, transmitting divine substance into permanence.

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10. Kingdom (Malkhut)

The tenth emanation, Malkhut, represents the Deity’s presence fully manifested in the Natural World:

• Psalm 103:19: “The Deity has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”
  Malkhut is the realized sovereignty, the point at which divine emanations coalesce in creation.

• Psalm 145:13: “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.”
  Through Malkhut, the flow of divine substance becomes perceptible and operative in reality.

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11. The Process of Emanation in Scripture

The Hebrew Bible repeatedly emphasizes that creation is a continuous emanative process rather than a one-time event:

• Psalm 104:24–30: The Deity’s actions in sustaining rivers, mountains, and living creatures exemplify the ongoing flow of divine substance into the Natural World.

• Genesis 1: Repeated divine speech (“And the Deity said…”) indicates that creation results from emanative acts, each word channeling divine essence into form.

• Jeremiah 10:10–11: “The Deity is the true God; he is the living God and the enduring King.” All emanations flow from this living source, never independent of the unified corporeal Deity.

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12. Human Perception of Emanation

Humans experience emanation through:

1. Moral guidance: Wisdom and understanding are reflected in the Torah (Proverbs 3:1–6).

2. Natural phenomena: Rivers, vegetation, and celestial order (Psalm 104) show the tangible effect of emanations.

3. Providence: Mercy, justice, and endurance (Psalm 136, Deuteronomy 32) demonstrate how emanations sustain and guide creation.

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Conclusion

Kabbalistic emanation, when viewed through the Old Testament, is the flow of the Deity’s corporeal essence into creation, structured through the ten Sefirot. Each emanation represents a facet of divine activity:

• Keter: Hidden will

• Chokhmah: Wisdom

• Binah: Understanding

• Chesed: Lovingkindness

• Gevurah: Judgment

• Tiferet: Harmony

• Netzach: Victory

• Hod: Glory

• Yesod: Foundation

• Malkhut: Kingdom

The Scriptures provide multiple parallels for this process—divine speech, wisdom, providence, and action. Creation is thus not an abstract or one-time act but a continuous emanative flow, revealing the Deity’s attributes while preserving the unity and corporeality of the divine essence.

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This document draws entirely from the Old Testament, showing how Kabbalistic concepts of emanation and the Sefirot can be fully reconstructed from scriptural language and imagery.

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If you want, I can also create a table mapping each Sefirah directly to every Hebrew verse that supports it, which would make it a fully referenced study ready for teaching or publication.

Do you want me to make that table?

Christian Sefirot

# The Valentinian Sefirot


“I will speak my mystery to those who are mine and to those who will be mine. Moreover it is these who have known him who is, the Father, that is, the Root of the All, the Ineffable One who exists as Oneness. He dwells alone in silence, and silence is tranquility since, after all, he was in fact One and nothing existed before him. He also exists as Twoness and as a Pair, and his partner is Silence. And he possessed the All dwelling within him. And as for Intention and Persistence, Love and Permanence, they are indeed unbegotten.” (*A Valentinian Exposition*, Nag Hammadi Library).


In this passage the Valentinian writer describes the emanations of the Root of the All, who first exists as Oneness, then extends himself as Twoness with Silence, and then further multiplies into additional emanations. The text continues:


“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. For on behalf of the All, he received an alien Thought since there were nothing before him. From that place it is he who moved \[...] a gushing spring. Now this is the Root of the All and Oneness without any one before him. Now the second spring exists in silence and speaks with him alone. And the Fourth accordingly is he who restricted himself in the Fourth: while dwelling in the Three-hundred-sixtieth, he first brought himself (forth), and in the Second he revealed his will, and in the Fourth he spread himself out.” (*A Valentinian Exposition*).


Here the Root spreads himself out first into Two, then into Four, and finally into Three Hundred Sixty, the ultimate extent of the Pleroma. Yet in another sense he remains restricted within the primal Four. These four emanations are reminiscent of the four worlds (*Olamot*) of Kabbalah, as well as the four letters of the divine name YHWH. In Jewish mystical tradition, the Tetragrammaton could be permutated into the seventy-two names of God, the *Shemhamphorash*, by recombining its letters. The Valentinians seem to have understood their fourfold emanation in parallel to this mystical structure.


Jewish mysticism often presented the divine names not merely as words but as emanations, hypostases of the divine attributes themselves. The angels were originally personifications of these emanations, their names ending in *-el* to indicate their origin in divine power: Micha-EL, “the loving-kindness of God”; Rapha-EL, “the healing of God.” In Kabbalah, these angelic functions crystallized into the *sefirot*, the ten divine emanations. Similarly, in Valentinian thought, the Pleroma unfolded through syzygies, male-female pairs that expressed divine aspects in personal form.


The *sefirot* are ten vessels, emanations of God’s powers and virtues: wisdom, knowledge, mercy, justice, and so on. They are symbolized in the synagogue menorah, where the seven lamps correspond to the seven visible attributes but point back to the totality of the ten. “The seven lamps allude to the branches of human knowledge, represented by the six lamps inclined inwards towards, and symbolically guided by, the light of God represented by the central lamp.” Between the ten *sefirot* run twenty-two paths, corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, making in total thirty-two paths of wisdom. This tree-like structure reflects the “image of God” in man: “I see men as trees walking” (Mark 8:24).


Samuel Zinner observes:


“Moreover the name Theudas is curiously reminiscent of Syrian Jewish-Christian tradition and this might explain the many Jewish (actually; Jewish-Christian) Kabbalistic elements in the Valentinian system. Traditional scholarship over-emphasizes Hellenistic aspects of Valentinus’ thought. We therefore now turn to an examination of the possible Jewish components found in his metaphysics. First in the Valentinian system Logos and Zoe (Word and Life) emit ten emanations whereas the celestial Son of Man and Ecclesia (Church) emit twelve emanations. These numbers correspond precisely to the ten sefirot and the twelve tribes of Israel which Kabbalists add together in order to arrive at the number of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.” (*The Gospel of Thomas*, Samuel Zinner).


Later Valentinian schools, such as that of Ptolemy, preserved this Jewish coloring. Zinner notes: “In the later Valentinian school of Ptolemy we encounter a doctrine of two Sophias precisely paralleled in the Kabbalah: upper and lower Shekhinah, the upper being wholly righteous, the lower being morally ambiguous.” (*The Gospel of Thomas*). In the same way the Jewish-Christian Ebionites distinguished between the heavenly Savior and the earthly Jesus, so the Valentinians distinguished between higher and lower Sophia.


The *shi’ur qomah* traditions of Judaism described God in terms of measure and extent. Likewise, Valentinus spoke of the Father’s measure and of emanations such as Sophia as the last of the aeons, “precisely as Shekhinah is the final sefirah in Kabbalah” (*The Gospel of Thomas*). Ptolemy even taught that the aeons were “Words,” just as the ten *sefirot* corresponded to the ten creative words in Genesis.


Gematria also played a role. Zinner comments: “The Valentinian use of gematria in the Greek name *Iesous* is also indicative of typical Kabbalistic procedures. Although gematria was by no means confined to Jewish circles, in light of the other extensive specifically Jewish parallels in Valentinus’ thought it is more natural to associate his practice of gematria with Judaism than with Hellenism.” (*The Gospel of Thomas*).


The *Gospel of Truth*, likely authored by Valentinus himself, displays strong Jewish-Christian features. Zinner notes its avoidance of the word “God,” suggestive of Jewish reverence for the divine name, and its attribution of emanational qualities that parallel the *sefirot*: Wisdom, Knowledge, Forbearance, Crown, Glory, Love. Even the feminine bosom of the Father is described as the Holy Spirit, in a triad of Father, Mother, and Son. Folio 38-39 declare that the Son is the Name of the Father—another deeply Jewish-Christian theme.


Paul writes: “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). The image of God is expressed in twelve aspects, reflected in the twelve disciples. In Valentinianism, the aeons of the Pleroma are aspects of the divine mind, attributes that can be manifested in believers.


Thus the Valentinian system of emanations stands in close relation to Jewish mystical tradition, particularly the *sefirot* of Kabbalah. Both traditions portray the divine as unfolding in stages, through attributes or hypostases, by which the invisible is made manifest. The syzygies of the Pleroma and the emanations of the *sefirot* are two branches of a single mystical tree, rooted in the same soil of Jewish-Christian esotericism.


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Divine Attributes as Aeons

Divine Attributes as Aeons

In the theology of emanations, the fullness (Pleroma) of the Deity is expressed through distinct realities, called aeons. These are not mere abstractions but living manifestations of the divine attributes, each possessing form and substance within the incorruptible realm. The aeons are the radiations of the Father’s own nature—extensions of His hypostasis into distinct, harmonious expressions. When Scripture describes the qualities of the Deity—love, wisdom, justice, power, holiness—it is not describing impersonal traits, but eternal realities that, in the heavenly order, exist as personal and active manifestations.

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Primary Attributes as Aeons

Some of the most fundamental attributes of the Deity are plainly set out in Scripture. “God is love” (1 John 4:8)—love is the self-giving nature of the Father toward His creation, an aeon that binds all other virtues together in perfect unity. “The LORD gives wisdom” (Proverbs 2:6); “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33). Wisdom, in its aeonic form, is the divine intelligence through which all worlds are framed and ordered. Justice, declared in Deuteronomy 32:4 as the foundation of His ways, is the aeon that safeguards equity and righteousness in the divine order. Power, shown in Job 37:23 and Luke 1:35, is the active force that accomplishes all the Father wills.

The Father is also a God “not of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Peace, in its aeonic expression, is not mere absence of conflict but the perfect harmony of all parts of creation under divine order. Holiness, described in Isaiah 6:3, Habakkuk 1:13, and Revelation 4:8, is the incorruptible purity that characterizes the Father’s being and those who share His nature. Happiness (1 Timothy 1:11) and mercy (Exodus 34:6; Luke 6:36) likewise proceed as living emanations from Him.

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The Thirteen Attributes from Exodus 34:6–7

When the name of Yahweh was proclaimed to Moses, the Deity revealed Himself by declaring thirteen distinct attributes (Exodus 34:6–7). Each of these, in the aeonic sense, is a perfected reality within the Pleroma:

1. Yahweh – He who will be: the self-existent One, faithful to His purpose.

2. Yahweh – The repetition signifies constancy and unchanging nature.

3. El – Power, the might that undergirds all creation.

4. Compassionate – Tender regard for the weak and suffering.

5. Gracious – Freely bestowing favor apart from merit.

6. Slow to Anger – Measured patience, never ruled by impulse.

7. Abounding in Loving-kindness – Overflowing covenant loyalty.

8. Abounding in Truth – Perfect reliability and fidelity.

9. Keeping Loving-kindness for Thousands – Enduring benevolence to multitudes.

10. Forgiving Iniquity – Lifting the burden of moral corruption.

11. Forgiving Transgression – Removing acts of rebellion.

12. Forgiving Sin – Cleansing moral failure and missing of the mark.

13. By no Means Clearing the Guilty – Upholding justice, ensuring righteousness prevails.

These are not simply verbal descriptions—they are the names of eternal realities. In the heavenly realm, each of these attributes has its own distinct mode of existence as an aeon, fully in harmony with all others, proceeding from the one divine source.

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The Sevenfold Spirit from Isaiah 11:2–3

Isaiah 11:2–3 reveals the “Spirit” that would rest upon the promised Branch, Messiah, in a sevenfold description. Each of these may also be seen as an aeon, proceeding from the Deity and operative within the Son:

1. The Spirit of Yahweh – The essential divine presence, source of all other emanations.

2. The Spirit of Wisdom – Insight into the true nature of all things.

3. The Spirit of Understanding – The ability to discern meaning and purpose.

4. The Spirit of Counsel – Perfect guidance, leading in the right path.

5. The Spirit of Might – The power to accomplish divine intent.

6. The Spirit of Knowledge – Complete acquaintance with truth and reality.

7. The Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh – Reverent awe, perfect submission to the divine will.

These seven are presented as a unity, “resting” upon the Anointed One. In aeonic terms, they exist as harmonious emanations, fully active in Him and, by extension, in those who share His nature.

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Aeonic Harmony and Divine Personality

When Scripture says that “God is love,” “God is light,” or “God is holy,” it is not stating that these are abstract qualities in Him—it is declaring that His entire nature is the fullness of these aeons. The aeons are personal, for they are expressions of a living Being. They are also relational, flowing into one another without conflict, each enhancing the beauty of the whole.

In creation, these aeons are reflected imperfectly. Love is tainted by selfishness; justice is warped by partiality; wisdom is obscured by ignorance. But in the Pleroma, the aeons exist in their original perfection, as the radiant outflow of the incorruptible Spirit-substance of the Deity.

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Aeons as the Bridge Between the Father and Creation

The aeons function as the mediating realities between the Father’s unapproachable glory and the creation that proceeds from Him. They are the means by which His nature is communicated without diminishing His essence. For example, the aeon of Wisdom orders the cosmos; the aeon of Justice maintains its moral balance; the aeon of Mercy extends restoration to the fallen. All act in perfect unity because they are all rooted in the one hypostasis of the Deity.

In this way, the divine attributes listed in 1 John 4:8, Proverbs 2:6, Deuteronomy 32:4, Job 37:23, 1 Corinthians 14:33, Isaiah 6:3, 1 Timothy 1:11, and the other passages are more than scriptural descriptions—they are eternal powers in the incorruptible realm, existing as aeons, proceeding from the source of all being.

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Conclusion

The attributes of the Deity are not mere adjectives—they are living, personal emanations that constitute the order of the Pleroma. The thirteen revealed in Exodus 34:6–7 and the seven from Isaiah 11:2–3 provide a map of this divine order. Love, wisdom, justice, power, holiness, peace, happiness, and mercy all exist as incorruptible realities, proceeding from the Father, harmonizing perfectly in the eternal fullness. Through these aeons, the Deity is known, creation is sustained, and redemption is accomplished. They are the radiance of His nature—the bridge between the uncreated glory and all that exists.

el אֵל The Higher Power

Titles and the Name of the higher power EL אֵל


How to read the Names and Titles of the Deity from a Christian Gnostic kabbalah perspective











**Title: El אֵל — The Higher Power as a Corporeal Spirit**


In the Hebrew Scriptures, the term **El (אֵל)** stands as one of the most ancient and significant designations for the Deity. El is not an abstract title nor a generic reference to "God" in the modern sense of the word. Rather, it conveys a specific idea: **power**, **might**, **strength**, and **authority**. Unlike the English word "God," which stems from the Anglo-Saxon "god" meaning "good," the Hebrew El does not denote moral quality. It expresses instead the concept of active, dynamic force. This is confirmed by the lexicon of Gesenius, who states that the Hebrew mind always associated **El** with the idea of strength and power.


The Deity of the Bible is not a formless or immaterial essence. **El is a corporeal spirit**. That is, El exists physically—tangibly—and operates through substance. The traditional philosophical division between "spirit" and "matter" is foreign to the biblical worldview. In Hebrew thought, **spirit is not immaterial**; rather, spirit is made of finer atoms—more subtle than flesh and blood, but no less material. The idea that spirit is composed of atoms aligns with a corporeal understanding of divine substance, supported by both scripture and early interpretative tradition.


### The Power Behind the Name


The pictographic elements of the name El reinforce this idea. The letter **Aleph (א)**, shaped like an ox head, represents leadership and strength—primal energy at the root of action. The **Lamed (ל)**, shaped like a shepherd’s staff, denotes authority, direction, and instruction. Together, the word **El** communicates a force that leads, governs, and executes dominion through tangible influence. It is not the title of an incorporeal being hiding in abstraction, but of a **powerful, active presence** in the world—one that moves, speaks, creates, and reveals.


The Genesis narrative identifies El as **the Possessor of the heavens and the earth** (Genesis 14:22). El Elyon—**the Most High Power**—is the title given to the Deity by Melchizedek, priest and king of Salem. This name implies the existence of other elohim (powers), yet affirms the supremacy of one source: El Elyon, the Highest. This establishes a hierarchy of tangible, real beings, with El at the top. That these powers are referred to as elohim—plural—is consistent with the ancient understanding of **many corporeal beings** participating in the administration of the cosmos, under the authority of one supreme corporeal Spirit.


### El and the Name Yahweh


In Exodus 6:3, the Deity makes an important statement to Moses: *“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob by the name El Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh was I not known unto them.”* This passage reveals the layered character of divine self-revelation. **El Shaddai**—translated as "the Powerful Ones"—signifies not a singular, isolated being, but a **collective force**, manifesting strength through a plurality of agents. The Deity operates **through elohim**, heavenly powers that serve His will.


However, the word **El** remains singular. It is the name the Deity Himself chose when first appearing to the patriarchs. El conveys not only supreme authority, but **corporeal existence**. El *appeared* to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—not in visions of formless essence, but through tangible encounters, audible speech, and visible presence. The Deity walked, spoke, and made covenant. This implies materiality, not abstraction. The Deity did not simply make Himself *seem* real—He **is real**, and He is made of substance, though not like earthly flesh.


### Spirit as Tangible Substance


In many modern theological systems, **spirit is described as non-material**. But this idea derives more from Greek philosophy than Hebrew thought. In the Bible, **spirit (Hebrew: ruach)** is a force, often compared to wind or breath—not because it is immaterial, but because it is **invisible yet physically active**. Wind is real. Breath has substance. Likewise, spirit consists of particles—**fine atoms**—not perceptible to the naked eye, but nonetheless material.


This understanding is reflected in the earliest Christian and Jewish writings. Theodotus, a Valentinian teacher, declared that **even spiritual beings have form and body**, though they are made of a different substance than the flesh of mortals. The same idea is echoed in the notion that the Only-Begotten, the First-Created, and the angels all have structure. They are not ghosts or metaphors—they are **corporeal beings composed of spiritual material**. Thus, **El**, as the supreme Spirit, must likewise be **corporeal**.


### EL Shaddai and Manifestation in Plurality


The term **El Shaddai** adds another layer. The word **Shaddai** has often been translated “Almighty,” but its plural ending hints at a deeper meaning. It refers to the **powerful ones**, a plural group manifesting the will of the singular El. When Abraham received the three visitors (Genesis 18), these were corporeal beings. They walked, ate, and spoke. One of them identified as Yahweh, but all three operated as messengers of divine power. This shows how **El manifests power through physical agents**, without ceasing to be one unified Deity.


This manifestation of plurality within unity is not metaphysical mystery—it is corporeal operation. El does not project metaphors; He sends **real beings**—agents of His will, made of spiritual atoms. They act in the physical world because they themselves are physical, though of higher substance.


### Conclusion: El Is the Higher Power—A Corporeal Spirit


The title **El** does not point to an abstract God. It refers to **the Higher Power**, a Being who is **tangible, real, active**, and above all, **corporeal**. Spirit is not the opposite of matter, but a finer form of it. El is not invisible because He lacks substance, but because His substance is too fine for mortal eyes. Yet He reveals Himself, speaks, acts, and makes covenant—all actions of a real, material presence.


Understanding El as **a corporeal Spirit** restores a sense of reality and coherence to biblical theology. It grounds our view of the Deity in substance, not speculation—in strength and power, not sentimentality. El is the one true Power—**made of atoms**, yet higher than all. He is the **Possessor of heaven and earth**, the **Most High**, and the **Spirit that moves**, not in metaphor, but in **tangible power**.





 

Adam Kadmon and the Mystical Body of Christ

Adam Kadmon and the Mystical Body of Christ

the Jewish concept of Adam Kadmon is the Christian concept of the “Mystical Body of Christ"

However the Christian understanding of Adam Kadmon is very different from the Jewish concept which is a primordial heavenly man. It is he that is the true “image of God,” a majestic vessel of divine glory, the ideal human (Deut. 4:32; PdRK 4:4, 12:1, Lev. R. 20:2). All earthly humans (Gen. 2-3) are in his image 

What is most striking to me is Paul’s insistence on the “order” of being. Paul pointedly states the “spiritual Adam” was not first.

So, too, it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being," the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual.

The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.

Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one. (I Corinthians 15:45-50)

This indicates to me that Paul is both aware of and modified an already well-known doctrine of a “spiritual Adam” that people believed preceded the earthly Adam. Since Jesus came millenia after human creation, Paul finds it necessary for the spiritual Adam be the crowning moment of humanity, rather then its origin.

Jesus sometimes use the term "Son of man" not to refer Himself but the Heavenly Adam Kadmon, the perfect man the full grown Christ


Therefore the true Adam Kadmon is a Corporate Being the mystical body of Christ

Jesus is the head of this Adam Kadmon or son of man the true believers are the body of Adam Kadmon


“Now you are Christ’s body, and members individually,” in a spiritual sense. 1Co 12:27


Adam Kadmon also refers to a the higher state of consciousness which Jesus' atonited message produces. Jesus is the first fruits or prototype of this higher consciousness the Christ-consciousness. Jesus' aonited teachings put the body of Christ-consciousness in reach of us all.


Adam Kadmon is a Corporate Being called the Son of Man (Dan 7 Rev 1) others call it the mystical body of Christ it refers to large number/body of people who are in the Christ consciousness or the Corporate Being the Son of Man the multitudinous Christ

Anthrôpos and Ecclesia

Christ and the pre-existisnt chrurh

the anointing spirit is called the First Man




In many Gnostic systems the Anthropos -- an aion in the Pleroma, one of the attributes of the Ultimate Oneness, the Ideal of earthly humans -- was regarded as an androgyne

In view of this extraordinary tendency, it is not surprising that Adam, Seth, and "the Seed of Seth" should be hypostasised into supernal entities; Adam and Seth being two versions of the "Archetypal Man"  or Anthropos (in the non-Godheadic sense), and the "seed of Seth" or Gnostic Souls occupying their correct hierarchical position immediately below.

Magic in Classical Gnosticism: A Reflection on "On the Origin of the World

 Magic in Classical Gnosticism: A Reflection on "On the Origin of the World"

The relationship between Gnosticism and magic has long been a topic of discussion among scholars and seekers. While modern interpretations of Gnosticism often incorporate practices like tarot, crystal energy, or reiki, these elements diverge significantly from the themes found in classical Gnostic texts. A careful examination of the Nag Hammadi Library provides insight into the Gnostic perspective on magic and related practices.

One pertinent text is *On the Origin of the World*. In this work, the rulers (archons) are portrayed as negative forces that introduce errors, including magic, into the world. The text states:

*"Let us return to the aforementioned rulers, so that we may offer some explanation of them. Now, when the seven rulers were cast down from their heavens onto the earth, they made for themselves angels, numerous, demonic, to serve them. And the latter instructed mankind in many kinds of error and magic and potions and worship of idols and spilling of blood and altars and temples and sacrifices and libations to all the spirits of the earth, having their coworker fate, who came into existence by the concord between the gods of injustice and justice."*

This passage paints magic as part of a broader system of errors introduced by the archons to enslave humanity. Practices such as the worship of idols, sacrifices, and the use of potions are depicted as tools of deception, leading people away from the true knowledge (gnosis) of the divine. This perspective reveals a Gnostic rejection of magic as something tied to the material realm, associated with the rulers of this world rather than the transcendent God.

Historically, the resurgence of magic and mysticism has often coincided with periods of social and religious upheaval. In 19th-century Europe, spiritualism revived interest in witchcraft, mysticism, and occult practices. When combined with elements of Christianity, this led to the emergence of forms of Satanism. In the 20th century, public Satanism grew alongside a decline in the influence of the Catholic Church, filling a spiritual void with occult practices.

Modern expressions of mysticism and the occult often draw from traditions like Kabbalah, tarot, and astrology. Kabbalah, a mystical stream of Judaism, seeks to explain the connection between God and creation, the existence of good and evil, and the path to spiritual perfection. However, these practices have frequently been co-opted by New Age movements and occult organizations, such as the Free Masons and the Order of the Golden Dawn. Practices like tarot card reading and astrology are commonly associated with Kabbalistic interpretations, though they often stray from their original Jewish context.

For instance, tarot cards, which are sometimes linked to Kabbalistic doctrine, include 22 trump cards that correspond to the 22 paths in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. These cards are interpreted through the lens of the universe's structure, including elements, planets, and zodiac signs. Similarly, amulets, talismans, and rituals aimed at warding off evil or bringing good fortune have long been part of occult traditions.

The Bible strongly condemns such practices. Isaiah 8:19-20 states:

*"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? On behalf of the living [should they seek] unto the dead? To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them."*

This admonition reflects the biblical view that seeking guidance from spirits, wizards, or other occult sources is a rejection of reliance on God. For those seeking the divine, the focus should remain on God’s word and testimony.

In light of these considerations, it becomes evident that classical Gnosticism does not embrace magic or occult practices. The association of modern “Gnosticism” with tarot, crystal energy, and similar practices is a contemporary development, often disconnected from the core teachings of early Gnostic thought. For those exploring Gnosticism, a return to primary texts like *On the Origin of the World* provides clarity, emphasizing the importance of rejecting the errors of the archons and seeking true knowledge of the divine.

THE SONS OF ZADOK AND THE CHRISTIAN GNOSIS

 THE SONS OF ZADOK AND THE CHRISTIAN GNOSIS

 

The Galilean Master, as he is presented to us in the New Testament, appears in many respects as an astonishing reincarnation of the teacher of righteousness. Like the later He preached penitence, poverty, humility, love of one's neighbor, and chastity. Like Him, He prescribed the observance of the Law of Moses, the whole law, but the law finished and perfected, thanks to His own revelations. Like Him He was the Elect and Messiah of God, the Messiah redeemer of the world. Like Him He was the object of the hostility of the priests, the party of Sadducees. Like Him He pronounced judgment on Jerusalem, which was taken and destroyed by the Romans for having Him put to death. Like Him, at the end of time, He will be the supreme judge. Like Him, He founded a Church whose adherents fervently awaited His glorious return.      

                                               Andre Dupont-Sommer  

          Many if not most of the scholars dealing with the origin of Christian Gnosticism lead us to the conclusion that the most paramount influence on Gnosticism was mystical Judaism, in particular the Merkavah mysteries and the early Kabala. The question most often neglected however is through what channels this transmission took place.      

          Within a relatively short period of time in the 1940's, two phenomenal caches of manuscripts were discovered; the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, and the Nag Hammadi Codices of Egypt. These finds have become not only invaluable sources to provide the missing links of transmission between the Essenes and the first Christian Gnostics, but they also give new insights on how early Jewish mysticism influenced later traditions such as Catharism and Templarism.      

          More than a century before the New Testament was written the Essenes were teaching ideas, proverbs, prayers, blessings and even parts of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus later taught. Even the term New Testament is taken from the Essene term 'the New Covenant'. What became known as the Eucharist or re-enactment of the Last Supper can certainly be traced to the bread and wine communion of the Essenes known as the Messianic Meal. Let us recall that Jesus raised the 'cup of the new covenant' in true Essenic fashion, promising His disciples that they would eat and drink with Him in His coming kingdom.      

          The Manual of Discipline refers specifically to the Messianic Meal whose basic elements were bread and wine. "And when the table has been prepared for eating, and the new wine for drinking, the priest shall be the first to stretch out his hand to bless the first fruits of the bread and the new wine".      

          One of the most remarkable similarities between the Essenes and the early Christians was the institution of communal societies that were bonded together by their apocalyptic visions. Both communities practiced community of goods, liturgical meals and baptism. The Essenes as well as the Church of James at Jerusalem called themselves 'the Poor'.      

 And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples and said: Blessed are you 'Poor', for yours is the kingdom of God.  

                                                    Luke 6:20      

For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contributions for the 'Poor' among the Saints at Jerusalem.

   Romans 15:26      

And they would have us remember the 'Poor', which very thing I was eager to do.      

 Galatians 2:10      

Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are 'Poor' in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?      

                                                      James 2:5      

And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need.      

                                                      Acts 2:44-45  

          In relationship to the community of goods, we now have a bit better insight as to why the early Christians were told to give their possessions to the 'Poor'. The hierarchy of Qumran consisted of a council of twelve similar in some ways to the role of the twelve disciples.      

          Below the Essene council of twelve were the inspectors or overseers (Mebaqqer), whose function greatly resembled that of the early Christian inspectors known as Episcopoi. The roles of the inspectors are especially similar, whose duties included presiding at meetings, in particular Eucharistic or communal feasts; they were responsible for the admission of new members to their communities and the administration of communal goods.          

          There is little if any doubt that the eschatological ideologies of the two communities were very similar. Both communities held strong expectations that the 'end of days' was soon forthcoming, and ordered their communal beliefs and practices according to this article of faith. The eschatological nature of the two communities can also be seen in some of the major doctrines that they embraced. Both employed dualistic language to describe the options in the universe, being light and darkness. In the Manual of Discipline we find:  

 God has created man to govern the world, and has appointed for him two spirits in which to walk until the time of His visitation: the spirits of truth and falsehood. Those born of truth spring from a fountain of light, but those born of falsehood spring from a source of darkness. All the children of righteousness are ruled by the prince of light and walk in the ways of light, but all the children born of falsehood are rules by the angel of darkness and walk in the ways of darkness.  

          For a further elaboration of the Essene ideas on this subject we need look no farther than the scroll of the War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of darkness which contains a detailed description of the eschatological final battle between the Sons of Light and darkness. For readers of the New Testament, these ideas will seem profoundly familiar.      

Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has 'Light and darkness'?  

 Corinthians 6:14  

Again Jesus spake to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life."      

                                                      John 8:12      

The Light shines in the darkness and darkness has not overcome it.                                                      

 John 1:5      

The Light is with you a little longer. Walk while you have the Light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may become sons of Light.      

 John 12:35-36      

And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and man loved Darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be exposed.      

 John 3:19-20      

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light.      

 1 Peter 2:9      

He who says he is in the Light and hates His brother is in the darkness still. He who loves his brother abides in the Light, and in it there is no cause for stumbling. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.      

 1 John 2:9-11  

John the Baptist  

 We are told in the New Testament of John the Baptist, the great harbinger of Christianity that, "The word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zachary, in the desert" (Luke 3:2). We might initially think that the desert might mean a desolate place in general, however, this most probably referred to a particular place, being the areas near Qumran. In fact the Essenes often called their community at Qumran the 'desert', and furthermore the region where John conducted his baptismal mission was only two miles from the Essene community. The New Testament Gospels apply the words of Isaiah to John "The voice of one crying in the 'desert'; prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of God". In the Essene Manual of Discipline we find, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God".      

          In the relationship of Jesus to the 'desert' found in Luke 1:80, "The child grew, and was strengthened in spirit and was in the 'desert' until the day of his manifestation in Israel". I doubt that Luke meant that the young Jesus grew up literally in the middle of the desert. We are also told that John came from a priestly family, as did a great deal of the Essenes, who called themselves the 'Sons of Zadok'. In many of the Essenes Hymns we find allusions to preparing the way of the Lord in the desert in order to give knowledge (Gnosis) of salvation.      

          We also know from the New Testament that John ate locusts. The Essene Damascus Document even states how locusts are to be prepared for consumption (roasted). Also in assuming that John and for that matter Jesus were not married and perhaps celibate, we must remember that the Essenes generally practiced ascetic celibacy, indicating that John nor the Essenes were aligned with mainstream Judaism.      

          Possibly the strongest connection of John to the Essenes will be found in their practices and beliefs concerning eschatology in relationship to baptism. Both stated that the coming judgment of the worlds was imminent, and that penance by means of baptism was the way of preparation, and the method of entry into the Essene community as well as the Christian community.      

The Essenes and the Gnostics  

      To find hints of Essenism in Christian Gnosticism we may conveniently begin with Simon Magus, who is considered by many to be the father of Christian Gnosticism. Simon was a disciple of Dositheus who was clearly an Essene. He was described as a 'Son of Zadok', and lived near Damascus which was a habitation of Essene exiles. Dositheus was not only a disciple of John the Baptist but became chief of John's sect after his death. Also, Dositheus appears as the revealer in the 'Three Steles of Seth', in which connection it should be noticed that according to some heresiological reports he also played the role of godfather in the formation of the Gnostic schools rather than Simon.      

          One dominant connecting link between the Essenes and the Gnostics is the Book of Enoch. The church suppressed the Book of Enoch and accused by later church Fathers to be a product of Gnostic writers, until pre-Christian copies were found at Qumran. It was considered to be too ‘Essene’ for the Christians, and too ‘Christian’ for the Jews. It was popular in the second century with Barnabus and Athenagoras, and in the third century with Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus and Tertullian, but from the forth century onward it fell into discredit, and under the ban of Hilary, Jerome and Augustine it generally passed out of circulation and became lost to western Christianity.  

          If Qumran was the mother of Christianity then Enoch was the father. The verifiable connections of Enoch and Gnostic literature are too numerous to list here and deserve a specific work dedicated to this matter. We can say however that the French Gnostic Church has realized this connection long before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. In 1907 Bishop-Primate John Bricaud stated that the Book of Enoch along with the primitive Kabala was a major part of the ancient Gnosis that was committed to writing.      

          There is in fact a great deal of common literature among the Essenes and Gnostics. The Odes of Solomon were especially popular with Palestinian Gnostics, as is evidenced within the Pistis Sophia. Among the Odes of Solomon we find one of the Essene thanksgiving psalms that were found at Qumran, and thought by some to have been written by the Teacher of Righteousness.      

          The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs was also a common work, even though the Christian versions underwent certain changes in order to Christianize this piece of literature, which is perhaps the greatest of all the works of the pseudepigrapha. Most significant of all however is the fact that so much of the New Testament writings, especially Paul and John can be found dispersed throughout the Dead Sea Scrolls.      

          The next step that we should take would be to trace Essene thought within the development of Gnosticism throughout the last two millennia. In the Middle Ages, the Cathars made use of a certain book, 'Barlaam and Josaph' as did the Essenes. This book has strong hints of the story of Buddha, which shows a common admiration for eastern thought.      

          Another name that will be found in so many western esoteric traditions is that of Melchizadek . We find that this name is prevalent not only among the Essenes and Gnostics, but also holds a great significance among the Templars, who were agents of the Gnosis. The name Melchisedek is derived from the Hebrew 'Melki Tzaddiq', meaning king or ruler of righteousness.          

          According to the Bible, Melchisedek was born without a father or mother. To the Templars this meant that he was not born on this planet, but was a spiritual being who came from elsewhere. The Bible states that Melchisedek gave Abraham bread and wine after the later had conquered the kings of Edom. In the Templar tradition, this relates to a symbolic act of highest importance. The giving of bread and wine to Abraham is just another way of saying that because Abraham had conquered the warring elements within himself, he had reached the stage where he was ready to take another step on the ladder of evolution. By a direct transmission of some type, initiated Abraham into a new level of consciousness and awareness.  

          The bread and wine administered by was of course the source of the communal meal of the Essenes and the Eucharist of the Christians. To the Templars, therefore, Melchisedek is one of the key figures of the Order of the Temple. He was the father figure of the Templars in the same way that Hiram Abiff is the father figure within the tradition of Freemasonry. At Chartres, one of the great French cathedrals, where construction was sponsored by the Templars, an impressive stone carving and a beautiful stained glass window pay homage to , the father of the Eternal Priesthood.      

          In conclusion, the Order of the Temple not only considered the Essenes to have been heirs and guardians of the Priesthood of , they also held a tradition that John the Baptist, Jesus and their parents (whom their tradition held to be Essenes) were also.      

 Hence the group we refer to as the Essenes, which has the outgrowth of the periods preparations from the teachings of Melchisedek, as propagated by Elijah and Elisha and Samuel. These were set aside for preserving themselves in direct line or choice for the offerings of themselves as channels through which there might come the new or Divine Origin.      

 Edgar Cayce (Reading 254-109)      

Zacharias at first was a member of what you could term the orthodox priesthood. Mary and Elizabeth were members of the Essenes, and for this reason Zacharias kept Elizabeth in the mountains and in the hills. Yet when there was the announcing of the birth and Zacharias proclaimed his belief, the murder, the death took place.      

 Edgar Cayce (Reading5749-8)  

THE SUPPRESSION  

          Within the last decade or so in America, Gnostic Churches have been springing up in great numbers, as heretical weeds that will not and cannot be suppressed. In bookstores, books on Gnosticism and the Dead Sea Scrolls can be found side by side as they most rightfully should be. There seems to be a rising tide, a tide of the need of truth dawning within our new Age of Aquarius as there was in the dawn of the age of Pisces when the Essenes and the Gnostics flourished side by side.      

          The Dead Sea Scrolls have been hidden from the public for far too long. It is ironic that the ‘Ecole Biblique’, a branch of the Dominican order, has suppressed them. Once again the villainy of Rome has attempted through its channels to give us a new Dark Age. Fortunately, the genocidal fires of the Inquisition have temporarily expired and the torture chambers deemed illegal. I truly believe that it was by Divine Providence that the finds of Qumran and nag Hammadi were protected until such time that they could be safely recovered. It is now not only up to the scholars but also the students of primitive Christianity to weave the threads of truth together.

          In closing, let us remember that wonderful theosophical motto: 'There is no religion higher than the truth'.

Other articles by Bishop John Cole: ,

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  John Allegro, The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. (New York, Gramercy Publishing Co. 1956)

  Michael Baigent & Richard Leigh, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception. (New York, Summit Books, 1991)

  John Bricaud, The Esoteric Christian Doctrine. (Barbados, Universal Gnostic Church, 1990.) English translation of 1907 French Edition

  Jean Danielou, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Primitive Christianity. (New York, mentor Omega. 1958)

  Jeffrey Furst, Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus. (New York, Coward-McCann, 1969)

  Rev. Dr. Charles Francis Potter, The Lost Years of Jesus Revealed. (New York, Fawcett Gold Medal, 1962)

Hugh Sconfield, Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls. (New York, Thomas Yoseloff, 1957.)

  The Essene Odyssey. (Rockport, Mass. Element.1984)

  Hershel Shanks, Ed., Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls. (New York, Random House, 1992)